A man in San Francisco has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly participating in a brutal antisemitic assault on a Jewish woman and her friend. The incident occurred on 14 June in the city’s Marina District and involved a group of six individuals shouting antisemitic slogans, including “F*** the Jews, Free Palestine,” reports The Jerusalem Post.
The altercation began when the male victim, 27, asked the group to stop chanting because his friend, Alana Gans, 28, is Jewish. Juan Diaz-Rivas, 36, reportedly confronted Gans in an intimidating manner, prompting her friend to intervene. As the two attempted to leave, the group pursued them, and one attacker allegedly “sucker-punched” the male victim, knocking him unconscious. The assault continued with members of the group punching and kicking the unconscious man while hurling antisemitic slurs.
Gans was also attacked, though less severely injured. A bystander who tried to help was punched and kicked as well. The attackers briefly fled but returned to yell further antisemitic abuse before police arrived. Gans, a law student at the University of California College of the Law, later described the incident as the “scariest moment of [her] life.”
Diaz-Rivas has been charged with two counts of assault with force likely to cause great bodily harm, with a hate crime enhancement. Prosecutors argued for him to be held without bail due to the severity and hateful nature of the attack. Assistant District Attorney Jamal Anderson stated that the assault posed a clear public safety risk. Despite defence claims that “only half the story” had been heard, Judge Harry Jacobs ruled that the antisemitic nature of the attack warranted detention without bail. Díaz-Rivas’s next hearing is scheduled for July 2.
The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area praised the district attorney for pursuing hate crime charges, describing the incident as “a disgusting act of hate” that must be met with accountability. California State Senator Scott Wiener condemned the attack, calling it a “terrifying” hate crime, warning that rising antisemitism in San Francisco and across the US is leading to real-world violence.
“The daily antisemitic statements and actions we see – demonising Jews, holding Jews to unique standards, and promoting anti-Jewish stereotypes and conspiracy theories – inevitably lead to violence,” Wiener stated.
Photo credit: screenshot/x/JCRC-Bay-Area
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