A couple were targeted for their Jewish faith in an assault and attempted robbery as they walked to a synagogue in Beverly Hills, California, on Saturday, according to police and the synagogue’s rabbi.
Responding officers arrested Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, and booked him on allegations of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery and elder abuse, with the added allegation that he was motivated by hate, Beverly Hills police said in a statement.
Under California law, a hate crime “enhancement” can be used to add time during sentencing if a defendant is convicted. It was not clear whether Silagi has legal counsel. The local public defender’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.
“When he came up to them, he screamed at her, ‘Jew, give me your jewelry,’ and then started hitting him on the head,” said Rabbi Pini Dunner, of Beverly Hills Synagogue, who has been in touch with the victims since the incident Saturday morning.
Dunner said he believes the couple were clearly recognizable as Jewish, as they wore black-and-white clothing, with the husband donning a yarmulke. Police have not identified the victims.
Dunner said the attacker took off his belt and used it to strike the husband, 75, who was with his 70-year-old wife as they walked to the synagogue just a few blocks away in the city’s business district.
The bloodied husband pursued the attacker as the latter’s pants fell down, with police ultimately apprehending him, Dunner said. He said the attack took place at 9 a.m. near Beverly Hills City Hall and police headquarters.
Police said the husband suffered lacerations and was treated by paramedics at the scene.
The victim is a regular presence at the synagogue and had been expected to participate as a “lay reader” of scripture Saturday morning, Dunner said.
“He went home, changed shirt and came to synagogue” after the attack, Dunner said.
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The wife was unharmed, Dunner and police said.
It was one of a number of antisemitic and anti-Arab attacks in the U.S. since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas militants on Oct. 7.
Authorities in New York City were searching Sunday for a man they said was uttering antisemitic remarks as he punched a 66-year-old shopper in a drugstore after the elderly man accidentally bumped into him Tuesday morning, police said in a statement.
The victim refused medical treatment, police said.
“Everyone is very much on edge, because antisemitism has become a big subject everyone is talking about,” Dunner said. “Jews are being targeted, and they feel the pressure.”
Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said in his department’s statement Sunday, “This despicable act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated.”
Although reliable data is scant, the city is known for its a sizable Jewish population, bolstered by émigrés who fled religious persecution after Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Silagi was previously convicted of second-degree robbery after it was alleged he tried to take someone’s phone in the outdoor dining area of a Beverly Hills restaurant in 2012, according to court documents. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
He was being held Sunday in lieu of $300,000 bail, according to inmate records. He was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
