Police in San Jose, Calif., are investigating a violent attack against two adult men outside an upscale restaurant as an antisemitic hate crime, a spokesperson for the police department confirmed on Tuesday.
On Sunday afternoon, three assailants approached the two victims outside Augustine, a restaurant and cafe located in the Santana Row shopping mall. The two men — Israeli Americans — were speaking Hebrew when the attackers allegedly overheard them, according to the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council.
“The victims alleged that the suspects used antisemitic language during the altercation. The incident is currently being investigated by the Assaults Unit as a possible hate crime,” a spokesperson for the San Jose Police Department told Jewish Insider.
A video shows the three young men repeatedly punching and kicking the victims directly in front of other diners and as bystanders walked past. The assailants then fled before police arrived.
Tali Klima, a spokesperson for the grassroots advocacy group Bay Area Jewish Coalition, urged elected officials in the Silicon Valley community to speak out against the attack.
“We call on our local elected officials to finally take a strong stand against this hatred using not only their words but also concrete actions. It is time to take threats to the Jewish community seriously,” Klima said on Tuesday.