Video footage showing a group of pro-Palestinian men attacking Jewish diners in Los Angeles on Tuesday night is being widely circulated on social media.
The incident took place after men in cars started hurling anti-Semitic comments at Jewish diners outside the Sushi Fumi restaurant in West Hollywood. The diners yelled back, prompting the attack.
A witness, who is not Jewish, told CBS Los Angeles that the men in the cars also threw bottles at him and his Jewish friends who were dining together. Another witness, on condition of anonymity, alleged that the men yelled many anti-Semitic slurs, including "dirty Jew."
'Israel Kills Children and Women Every Day!'
The video, shared on Twitter, shows a convoy of vehicles driving by the restaurant while honking horns and displaying Palestine flags. One of the vehicles stops outside the establishment and two men are heard saying "Israel kills children and women every day!" into a loudspeaker, to which one of the diners responds with "Fuck you!"
"You guys should be ashamed of yourselves!," one of the occupants of the vehicle while another can be seen holding a Palestine flag.
A second clip, shared by Zionist activist Eve Barlow, shows one of the apparent diners picking up a metal barricade outside the restaurant and attempting to assault a man in a head covering with it. The man grabs the barricade and tries to hit back but misses. He is then joined by another man in a face covering.
The camera shifts out of view momentarily before returning to the original scene where the man in the head covering can be seen punching the Jewish man who tried to hit him with the barricade.
Another angle of the altercation shows the masked men repeatedly kicking and raining blows on the Jewish man before fleeing away from the scene.
The anonymous witness also told CBS Los Angeles that the men who threw the bottles then got out of the cars and initiated the attack, which the Los Angeles Police Department is now investigating as a possible hate crime.
Mark Ruffalo, Sarah Silverman React to Video
The video has sparked outrage on social media with the likes of pro-Palestine activist Mark Ruffalo and comedian Sarah Silverman expressing their anger on Twitter.
This is disgusting and wrong. Attacking Jewish people for the actions of Netanyahu must be called out. This is as bad as any violence against any people. This is why we need a #CeasefireNOW! Please @JoeBiden come out strong for an immediate end to this war," Ruffalo tweeted on Wednesday in response to Barlow's video.
"Jews in the diaspora need allies. WE ARE NOT ISRAEL," Silverman pointed out. "And we sure as fuck aren't the Israeli government. (Thank you to the mensch in grey)."
Israel-Palestine Conflict
The incident comes amid heightened tensions and massive protests about ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine. In just one week, following the Israeli government's attempts to take over Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian territory, Israeli government forces have killed 200 Palestinians, including 59 children.
Violence in the Palestinian territory of Gaza escalated over the last few days with Israeli forces striking scores of targets in the Hamas-controlled region with airstrikes in response to hundreds of rockets that were launched by the militant group last week in the wake of the evacuation of Palestinians.
This has caused a spike in anti-Semitic attacks, primarily across Europe and most significantly in Germany, including attacks on synagogues and anti-Semitic slurs being directed at Jews.
