A witness reported hearing antisemitic slurs during the attack, but no hate crime charges were filed.

By World Israel News Staff

Three men accused of violently beating two Israelis outside a restaurant in an upscale Bay Area neighborhood last week have been arrested and are now facing criminal charges.

The attack, captured on video by a bystander, shows three men repeatedly pummeling two Israelis in San Jose’s Santana Row district. The clip quickly went viral.

The victims said they had been speaking Hebrew outside the restaurant when they were suddenly attacked.

“I don’t know where it came from or why,” one of the victims told CBS News, declining to be identified out of fear of retaliation.

A witness told CBS News they heard one of the assailants yell “f– the Jews” during the assault.

Authorities identified the suspects as Henry Brunell Chamaki, 32, of Morgan Hill, and Roma Akoyans, 20, and Ramon Akoyans, 18, of San Jose.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said all three are being charged with felony and misdemeanor assault. Despite the antisemitic nature of the incident, prosecutors have not filed hate crime enhancements.

“We won’t tolerate pummeling a victim on the ground in front of a restaurant or anywhere, and we will hold the perpetrators fully accountable,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “Our public spaces have to be safe for all to enjoy without fear.”

According to California State Bar records, Chamaki is a practicing attorney. The law firm where he was most recently employed, Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP, said he stopped working there in January.

“Murphy Austin was shocked and disturbed to learn of the violent incident reported in San Jose,” the firm said. “The conduct described in the reports is deeply troubling. Murphy Austin condemns antisemitism, violence, and acts of hatred in any form.”

The three suspects turned themselves in after tipsters alerted authorities to their identities. Police had already secured arrest warrants for the men.

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The incident comes at a time of high alert for Israelis and Jews because of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which has a record of staging attacks on Jewish targets around the world.

By Philissa Cramer, JTA

Jewish leaders in California are condemning an assault of Hebrew-speaking Israelis outside a San Jose cafe on Sunday that has sparked a viral video and a police investigation.

The Jewish News of Northern California obtained multiple videos of the assault and its immediate aftermath and spoke to the Israeli men, who said the two groups had not interacted before the incident.

One of them said he recalled hearing one of the assailants say “f—ing Jew” during the attack.

The videos show three men punching an older man as diners look on, some shouting but none intervening.

One of the assailants loses his shoe and retrieves it before he and the other two men with him run off along Santana Row, a thoroughfare lined by outdoor dining.

The videos do not show what happened immediately before the assault began.

The J. also spoke to multiple witnesses, including a retail worker whose parents were born in Iran and said he heard one of the assailants speaking Farsi, the language spoken there.

The incident comes at a time of high alert for Israelis and Jews because of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, which has a record of staging attacks on Jewish targets around the world.

It also adds to a string of incidents, many in Europe, in which Israelis abroad say they have been assaulted because of their national identity when someone has heard them speaking Hebrew.

Police in San Jose say they are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. No arrests have yet been announced.

“Antisemitism and all acts of hatred have no place in San Jose,” Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement.

“I have been in touch with our police department and leaders in the local Jewish community regarding this deeply disturbing incident and will continue to monitor the situation closely as the investigation continues.”

Jewish Silicon Valley, a nonprofit serving the region, said it was working with a range of local groups and officials to respond to the incident, including Chabad of Almaden, where the Israeli men said they first met; the Israeli consulate; and County of Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen, whose online biography also notes that he has also been the president of his local synagogue.

“Unfortunately, we are ready for these types of moments,” Jewish Silicon Valley said in a message to constituents. “Our longstanding relationships with law enforcement and elected officials allow us to mobilize immediately in moments of crisis.”

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