The Combat Antisemitism Movement & American Sephardi Federation Condemn Antisemitic Attack Targeting Jewish Diners in Los Angeles

May 19, 2021

Last night Iranian American Jews enjoying sushi outside at a restaurant in Beverly Hills were harassed and physically assaulted by anti-Israel protestors. (Full details of the incident are available here.) For Iranian Jews, who came to America as refugees fleeing persecution from the Iranian regime, this antisemitic attack brings back traumatic memories.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement and American Sephardi Federation urge the LAPD and District Attorney’s Office to apprehend and prosecute these antisemitic attackers to the fullest extent of the law and, moreover, condemns those anti-Israel protesters who have targeted and attacked Jews and Jewish communities in Los Angeles, New York, and elsewhere around the United States.

“Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” is an example of antisemitism under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which has been adopted by the US Executive Branch and more than 30 countries.

The targeting of Iranian American Jews exposes the antisemitic agenda of many anti-Israel protestors. Much as the Iranian regime-backed Hamas, Houthi, and Hezbollah terrorists, these protestors are not interested in peace but rather in the annihilation of Israel and Jews wherever they are to be found. This hatred has no place in America, a nation of immigrants and force for good in the world.