Two pro-Palestinian men were charged Tuesday with a hate crime for allegedly attacking two Jewish diners outside of a Los Angeles sushi restaurant in May.
“A hate crime is a crime against all of us,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “My office is committed to doing all we can to make Los Angeles County a place where our diversity is embraced and protected.”
Thirty-year-old Xavier Pabon and 36-year-old Samer Jayylusi were each charged with two felony counts of assault as well as a hate crime allegation.
Pabon and Jayylusi were allegedly part of a caravan who drove down North La Cienega Boulevard on May 18. Footage posted to Twitter showed what appeared to be two Jewish diners eating outside the Sushi Fumi restaurant when the caravan drives by. Members of the caravan were allegedly asking individuals whether they were Jewish before attacking them. One individual could be heard screaming Jews should be “ashamed” of themselves.
🚨🚨 Tonight pro-Palestinian individuals were driving with megaphones around La Cienega & Beverly (a heavily Jewish area) in Los Angeles and threw objects at Jews at a restaurant table. Some threw things back.
The pro-Palestinian group came to the sidewalk to fight.
— Sia Kordestani (@SiaKordestani) May 19, 2021
Subsequent footage appeared to show members of the caravan attacking the two diners before one of the victims fights back. It is unclear whether Pabon and Jayylusi were part of the physical altercation. (RELATED: REPORT: Jews Make Up 57.5% Of Religious Hate Crimes, Despite Being 2% Of The Population)
Reportedly the drivers were yelling “F**k the Jews.”
You can see the pro-Palestinian group attacking two people on the sidewalk In this video, and one of them fights back.
A victim is hospitalized.
— Sia Kordestani (@SiaKordestani) May 19, 2021
Jayylusi was arraigned Tuesday and Pabon is expected to be arraigned Thursday. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.