San Diego Rabbi Assaulted

An Orthodox Jewish rabbi was assaulted in San Diego on Monday in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

The attack took place at a 7-Eleven close to the Chabad House at San Diego State University at around 10 a.m. The San Diego Jewish World identified the victim as being Rabbi Aharon Shapiro, 65, a field representative for the Orthodox Union. Shapiro told the San Diego Jewish World that the alleged assailant, who he described as a white male with curly brown hair in his 30s and around 5’8” or 5’9”, followed him into the 7-Eleven and asked Shapiro if he’s Jewish. After Shapiro replied in the affirmative, the man allegedly began saying with a raised voice, “‘Jews all deserve to die!’ ‘Israel is killing people!’ ‘Israel doesn’t deserve to exist.’” Shapiro countered, “Israel is ours because God gave it to us” and told the man to read the Bible.

The rabbi proceeded to purchase two cans of Coke Zero, and on his way out the man “grabbed one of my tzitzits, pulled it off the garment, threw it on the floor, said something vile which I don’t remember, and he ran out the door,” Shapiro alleged.

He also told the San Diego Jewish World that the incident is symptomatic of how “our political leaders are not really friendly to Israel and we have enough simmering anti-Israel rhetoric and anti-Jewish rhetoric that is permeating America, so people pick up on it and want their five seconds of fame.”

Anti-Defamation League San Diego and Jewish Federation of San Diego said in a joint statement on Tuesday, “Yesterday’s alleged assault on a San Diego Rabbi that was accompanied by antisemitic slurs is reprehensible and another indicator of the hatred that exists toward the Jewish community. We are grateful that San Diego Police are investigating this incident as a hate crime and call on local leaders to condemn this act of hate.”

ADL and @JewishSanDiego joint statement on the alleged assault of a San Diego rabbi inside a convenience store. pic.twitter.com/QEbTq4C7FF

— ADL San Diego (@ADL_SD) July 25, 2023

ABC 10News reported that on Wednesday, antisemitic flyers were found on several cars in the Allied Gardens area of San Diego. Stop Antisemitism Executive Director Liora Rez told ABC 10News, “We see that this being just another example of the hate speech we see online manifesting into hate that we see in the physical realm whether it be via these leaflets or violence against this rabbi.”