LA police arrest suspect in restaurant attack on Jews

Police are still hunting for more perpetrators in the attack by Pro-Palestinian activists on Jewish patrons at a Los Angeles restaurant.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Police in Los Angeles on Saturday said they had made the first arrest and were searching for more of the attackers who allegedly assaulted Jewish diners last week at a restaurant in the city, NBC Channel 4 news reported.

The unidentified man was taken into custody with the assistance of the U.S. Marshal Service. He was described as “one of the primary suspects” in an assault on several Jewish men Tuesday outside a restaurant in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles.

“The male is one of the primary suspects in the assault and beating of several men who were outside of a restaurant in the Mid-City area of LA on May 18,” the LA Police Department said in a tweet.

The man was arrested Friday evening at a home outside of Los Angeles on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the LAPD said, adding that police were requesting that bail be set higher because it was a hate crime.

Following a large pro-Palestinian march in the city, the assault took place as diners were eating outdoors at a sushi restaurant in what LA Mayor Eric Garcetti called an “organized anti-Semitic attack.”

A video uploaded to social media showed a group of about 30 men, several wearing Arabic-style headscarves, exiting cars and shouting “Who’s Jewish?” before attacking restaurant patrons while yelling anti-Semitic slurs.

Five people were lightly injured. The Anti-Defamation League LA office offered a reward of “$5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the assault.”

“Jewish Angelenos, like all residents, should always feel safe in our city … LA is a city of belonging, not of hate. There is simply no place for anti-Semitism, discrimination or prejudice of any kind in Los Angeles. And we will never tolerate bigotry and violence in our communities,” Garcetti said in a Twitter post.

In a separate incident that same evening, two drivers tried to run down a Jewish man who fled for his life, the report said.

“These were anti-Semitic hate crimes that are unconscionable,” LA Councilman Paul Koretz said in a statement after the incident. “These violent acts will not go unchecked. We will do everything necessary to bring these criminals to justice and to restore order on our city streets … we will work diligently to deploy more resources to the region and bring justice for the victims who were brutally beaten.”

The attacks were not limited to Los Angeles, as Jews were being attacked by pro-Palestinian supporters last week in numerous incidents in New York, Seattle, Albuquerque, Seattle, London, Berlin, Toronto and Montreal.