(KTLA) An Iranian American with an Israeli flag in his windshield was the target of an antisemitic verbal assault last week in Los Angeles, an incident that was captured on camera.
The victim, who only wanted to be identified as a Los Angeles resident named Justin, was alone in his vehicle on May 22 in the Reseda neighborhood when the unprovoked tirade unfolded. He said he displays the flag on his car to show support for his Jewish friends and family.
Justin told affiliate KTLA the man rolled down his window and threatened to kill him.
“He said, ‘I’m going to f—— kill you,'” Justin recalled.
In dashcam footage of the incident, an unidentified man behind the wheel of a Kia gets in front of Justin’s Tesla and brakes hard. His recklessness, according to Justin, engaged the Tesla’s emergency braking system, nearly leading to Justin being rear-ended by the motorist behind him.
The man in the Kia then exits his vehicle, cellphone in hand, presumably to film the exchange himself, and proceeds to direct a profanity-laced series of threats, yelling that Justin was “a f—— coward. I’ll beat your a– in front of everybody, okay?”
The man spits toward Justin’s vehicle, accuses him of not being an American and tells him, “Go back to your country, you Zionist piece of s—.”
The public display of antisemitic road rage came one day after a young, soon-to-be-engaged couple, both members of the Israeli Embassy, were gunned down outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21.
The suspected gunman in that case has been apprehended, and federal investigators have called the incident a targeted act of terrorism.
Justin, who believes instances of antisemitic attacks are increasing, said he feels it’s important to show solidarity and engage in dialogue.
“I would love to offer this person who accosted me, or someone like him, if you want to debate the merits of the war, we can look at that and analyze things, and we can be as objective as possible and acknowledge our biases,” he explained. “[We can] try to see if we can reason that way in public, and then we won’t be so confused about who our neighbors are and prejudge people and feel so righteous to be openly bigoted against somebody who could be perceived to be Jewish.”
The incident, according to Justin, who filed a police report, is being investigated as a hate crime, though so far, the man has not been located or arrested.
