Authorities Investigate Attack on Elderly Jewish Couple in Vicinity of Beverly Hills Synagogue as Possible Hate Crime

A Jewish couple spoke out after being attacked and robbed on their way to their local synagogue in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, on Saturday. They said a man shouted “Give me your earrings, Jew!” and was very angry.

NBC LA captured Raphy, 75, and Rebecca, 70, on Sunday. They said that the attack had left them shocked and shaken, but more motivated to live out their faith in a country where antisemitism is on the rise. Because they were afraid of getting in trouble, the couple asked that their second names not be used.

“It was shocking at first. He pointed to his head and said, “I got hit in the forehead hard.”

“And all of a sudden I saw the guy hitting my husband with a belt and screaming, ‘Give me your earrings, Jew,'” Rebecca thought back.

They then started chasing their attacker before a police officer arrived and saw what was going on, they said. As Rebecca put it, “We chose not to let it go.”

Beverly Hills police said in a statement that 44-year-old Jarris Jay Silagi was arrested and booked on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, attempted robbery, and elder abuse. They also said that he did these things out of hate.

A hate crime “enhancement” can be used to add time to a person’s sentence in California if they are found guilty. Silagi may have a lawyer, but it wasn’t clear. When asked for comment on Sunday afternoon, the local public defender’s office did not reply right away.

“I was enraged, not because of the thing [injury] but because I was hit as a Jew,” said Raphy.

Rebecca also said that their 13-year-old grandson asked if he should take off his kippah, which is a Jewish boy or man’s skullcap, because of the attack. “That for me, was a shock if a 13-year-old boy already understands that there might be danger in wearing part of what we were supposed to wear proudly.” She told me.

Raphy got to his local synagogue just in time for a planned Torah reading, even though the attack had left him bloody and scared. “80 other people were waiting for that — and it would have been a much bigger blow [for them] than a little bit of blood.”

He goes to the church often and was supposed to read from the Bible as a “lay reader” on Saturday morning. According to Rabbi Pini Dunner of Beverly Hills shul, “he went home, changed shirt, and came to synagogue” after the attack.

Dunner has been in touch with the couple since the event on Saturday morning. He said that he thinks they were easily recognized as Jewish because they were wearing black-and-white clothes and the husband was wearing a yarmulke.

Dunner said the attacker took off his belt and hit Raphy with it as the couple walked a few blocks to the business area synagogue.

The injured husband chased the attacker while the attacker’s pants fell, and cops eventually caught him, Dunner said. He said the attack happened at 9 a.m. near the police station and Beverly Hills City Hall.

According to the police, the husband had cuts and was handled by paramedics at the scene.

Dunner and the cops said Rebecca was not hurt.

In the U.S. since the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists began on Oct. 7, this was one of many attacks against Jews and Arabs.

Police in New York City were looking for a man on Sunday who they said was making antisemitic comments while punching a 66-year-old customer in a supermarket Tuesday morning after the older man accidentally hit him.

Police said the victim rejected medical care.

“Everyone is very much on edge, because antisemitism has become a big subject everyone is talking about,” Dunner stated. “Jews are being targeted, and they feel the pressure.”

A statement from Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook on Sunday said, “This disgusting act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated.”

There aren’t many accurate statistics on the city’s Jewish population, but it is known for having a large Jewish community. This population was boosted by Jews who left Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to avoid religious persecution.

Court records show that Silagi was found guilty of second-degree robbery in 2012 when he was accused of trying to steal someone’s phone in the outdoor eating area of a Beverly Hills restaurant. He was given a five-year prison term.

Inmate records show that he was being held on Sunday because his $300,000 bail had not been paid. He had been set to go to court on Tuesday.