Content warning: rape, violence.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, there has been an increase in antisemitism in the United States both online and on the ground during the flare-up of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has seen large pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country. As of Thursday, the ADL tallied 193 antisemitic incidents in the week since the conflict began, compared to 131 the previous week. Antisemitic attacks have been reported elsewhere in the world as well. Here is just a snippet of what’s happened.
In Los Angeles, Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attack Jews at a sushi restaurant in Beverly Grove.
In an altercation Tuesday night recorded on video, a group of men waving Palestinian flags attacked diners at a sushi restaurant in the neighborhood of Beverly Grove, throwing punches, bottles and other objects. The diners included a group of Jewish men.
Another man at the scene, who was not Jewish, told the local CBS affiliate that he and his group also were attacked and that he was pepper-sprayed when he tried to defend the group. He added that the attackers used antisemitic language to determine who at the restaurant was Jewish.
“We have to recognize this for what it is: It’s anti-Jewish and antisemitic,” LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said in an interview. “You have to be specific and say what it is.”
In New York City, Pro-Palestinian protesters shout ‘f***ing Zionist’ and one person is burned
One person was burned when two fireworks were thrown from a car amid an altercation with anti-Zionist protesters in a heavily Jewish New York City business district, according to police.
The fight on Thursday evening came on what appeared to be the final day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel prior to a ceasefire that took effect overnight. Additional videos circulating on social media appeared to show other physical altercations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators in New York City earlier in the day.
The New York City altercation occurred at about the same time as a pro-Israel demonstration in the city that also attracted pro-Palestinian counterprotesters. It took place in the Diamond District, a Midtown Manhattan street with many Jewish-owned businesses.
Across Europe…
In Brussels, London and Vienna, dozens of men were filmed at rallies on Saturday shouting in Arabic: “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning.”
The chant relates to an event in the seventh century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar, located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is widely understood as a battle cry when attacking Jews.
In London, attacks in Jewish neighborhoods are on the rise.
A motorcade of cars with Palestinian flags on Sunday drove through a heavily Jewish part of London with one person shouting through a loudspeaker: “F*ck the Jews; rape their daughters.”
A rabbi was beaten by two young men who hurled antisemitic slurs at him in Chigwell, a town just northeast of London. The rabbi, Rafi Goodwin, sustained moderate injuries that required hospitalization. Police arrested the suspects, who also allegedly stole the rabbi’s phone.
Police in London also arrested a man whom witnesses said broke into the car of an Orthodox Jewish man on Friday and began hitting the driver unprovoked. Passersby detained the suspect until police arrived on the scene in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish part of the British capital.
In Germany,
A non-Jewish man assaulted in Munich and called a “Jewish pig.” The alleged attacker punched his victim, a 33-year-old Berlin man, in the face while calling him “Jewish pig” and “shit hipster.” The victim sustained minor injuries. A 44-year-old Munich man has been arrested.
Nazi symbols and antisemitic rhetoric were spray-painted on a Jewish cemetery in Heusenstamm, near Frankfurt. Swastikas, antisemitic slogans, yellow stars and genital depictions were painted on several headstones. The vandalism happened sometime between Saturday and Monday. There are no suspects.
