Videos of a brazen, daytime assault on two Israeli Americans outside a San Jose restaurant have ignited a social media firestorm, with online sleuths attempting to identify suspects and politicians stepping up to condemn the incident.
Unconfirmed reports have been circulating online about the identities of the three assailants, whose faces can clearly be seen in videos captured by witnesses of Sunday’s incident.
San Jose police are continuing to investigate the assault as a possible hate crime. They had announced no arrests as of early evening on Wednesday.
When asked if the San Jose Police Department is investigating the three men whose names and photos have been widely shared across social media, SJPD said Wednesday in an email to J. that the department “cannot confirm the validity of videos circulating on social media. However, the investigation is active and ongoing, and we are continuing to review evidence and are actively conducting followup.”
The assault happened around 3:38 p.m. Sunday, according to SJPD. People nearby watched as the scene unfolded outside Augustine restaurant in the busy, upscale Santana Row shopping area. On Tuesday, two videos captured by witnesses spread rapidly on social media.
The Israeli American victims of the assault, Lior Zeevi, 47, and his friend Daniel Levy, 48, told J. that they were attacked after speaking Hebrew and that one of the assailants said “f***ing Jew” during the assault.
Within hours of the release of videos, speculation began swirling over the identity of the three assailants. Many social media posts included photos of men who appear to resemble those in the footage, along with detailed personal information about them. Those posts suggested that the men are skilled at mixed martial arts and part of the Assyrian community, despite no confirmation of their identities from law enforcement. Assyrians are an ancient Christian group with ancestry in Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Three Assyrian organizations based in the U.S. have released statements denouncing the attack.
“Let us say this clearly: this attack against these Jewish individuals in no shape or form represents the Assyrian people,” read a joint statement posted Tuesday by the Illinois-based Here I Am Charitable Foundation and the Assyrians Against Anti-Semitism Initiative, two Assyrian groups.
“Assyrians, being Semites and descendants of Shem from his son Ashur (Genesis 10:22) have always dealt with antisemitism targeting our community as well as the Jewish community for thousands of years,” Sargis Sangari, president of the Illinois-based United Jewish and Assyrian Heritage Organization, wrote in a letter posted Wednesday on Facebook.
Rafi Brinner, senior director of community security at the Jewish Federation Bay Area, suggested that both Israeli and American Jews should practice heightened vigilance and keep a low profile right now due to widespread condemnation of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
“Just because we have a right to be who we are, speak Hebrew in public, wear a kippah, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t consider our surroundings,” Brinner told J. on Wednesday.
“That’s not to suppress anyone’s Jewish identity,” he added. “It’s really a matter of taking precautions.”
Brinner noted that he would recommend the same approach anywhere in the U.S. and that there is no higher risk in the Bay Area compared with other parts of the country.
“It can feel like just any other day,” Brinner said, “but it’s war time.”
The Santa Clara County’s District Attorney’s office, headed by Jeff Rosen, who is Jewish, wrote in an email to J. that the DA’s office has been in close contact with SJPD and that the investigation is ongoing.
Meanwhile, politicians have stepped up to condemn the assault.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the violence “disgusting” in a post on X and thanked SJPD.
Silicon Valley’s two members of Congress, Rep. Sam Liccardo and Rep. Ro Khanna, each condemned the attack and vowed prosecution of the perpetrators.
“Violence targeting any members of our community—including our Jewish and Israeli community members—amounts to an attack on all of us,” Liccardo wrote on X.
“This kind of antisemitism has no place in our community. I unequivocally condemn these attacks. The assailants must be held accountable and prosecuted,” Khanna wrote on X.
Khanna’s repeated public criticism of Israel and the Netanyahu-led government, including describing Israel’s war against Hamas as a “genocide,” has alienated part of the Jewish and Israeli American community in his district.
Ethan Agarwal, who is running to unseat Khanna, criticized his post.
“We HAVE to turn down the dial of anti-Israeli rhetoric,” Agarwal wrote on X. “@RoKhanna acknowledge your role in this, and apologize for inflaming tensions.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is running for governor, described the assault as “deeply disturbing” on X on Tuesday.
“Antisemitism and all acts of hatred have no place in San José,” Mahan said in the post. In a video posted Wednesday on Instagram, Mahan vowed to “ensure accountability” and support the Jewish community.