Suspect faces multiple charges in alleged antisemitic attack in Beverly Hills, police say

(CNN) — A man arrested in Beverly Hills over the weekend faces multiple charges in an alleged hate crime after prosecutors said he “violently attacked” a Jewish couple as they were walking to their synagogue to celebrate Shabbat.

The suspect, Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, has been charged with one felony count each of attempted second-degree robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon, as well as two felony counts of “assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Silagi is accused of running at the couple as they walked to the synagogue on Saturday, hitting the 75-year-old husband in the head with a belt and trying to rob the wife, the district attorney’s office said, noting the husband was wearing a yarmulke.

Silagi was arraigned Tuesday and prosecutors have recommended he be held on $1,310,000 bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in jail.

“We entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf after the court declared a doubt of his competency,” said Head Deputy Public Defender Greg McCambridge, who is representing Silagi. That declaration means the suspect will need to have a competency hearing to see if they can move forward with the charges, the public defender’s office confirmed.

“We are sensitive to the intense public interest this matter has generated, but caution against a rush to judgment until all the facts are established in court,” added McCambridge.

The 75-year-old victim, Raphal “Raphy” Nissel, told CNN he and his wife were on their usual stroll to the synagogue when a man came up behind him and hit him in the head with an object.

His wife, Rebecca Nissel, recalled the man saying, “Give me your earrings, Jew.”

Raphal Nissel said he became “enraged” at the thought that they might be targeted for being Jewish. “I was really, really upset and I decided to intimidate him and I wanted to tackle him somehow,” he said, but the man turned and started to run.

Nissel said he tried to approach the man in a way that would make him run toward the police department, which is located inside the civic center next to where the incident occurred. Rebecca then alerted police nearby and the suspect was apprehended soon after, he said.

In a news release about the incident, police said they discovered the victim with a laceration on his head from being hit by a belt. The victim did not know Silagi or have any connection to him, police said.

Police said a member of the department saw somebody matching the alleged attacker’s description leaving the scene. Officials said they used that information to identify and detain Silagi.

Nissel said he was treated at the scene and had his forehead wound stapled shut.

The assault happened near the intersection of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard, which is within a mile of at least three synagogues and about four blocks from the luxury shopping destination Rodeo Drive.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the attack “appalling” in a post on X. “Glad to hear the person responsible for this is in custody. They must be held to full account,” he added.

The attack comes as advocacy groups report a spike in incidents targeting Jews, Arabs and Muslims in the United States as war rages on between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. In the two months following Hamas’s October 7 raid of Israel, the Anti-Defamation League said it recorded a 330% increase in reports of antisemitic incidents compared to the same period last year.

Antisemitism is reaching “historic levels” in the United States, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in October.

“In fact, our statistics would indicate that for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, they account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes,” Wray said about the Jewish American population.

Nissel said he was still eager to make it to the synagogue after the attack and he was determined not to miss his weekly role of reading a Torah passage to the congregation.

“I’m not going to give (the attacker) this victory. They’re not going to disturb my life and others’ life,” he said.

“What’s important to me is that those incidents should not happen,” he said of his experience. “In today’s crazy world, I believe we all have to be a little bit more cautious and more careful and more vigilant.”

His wife said she felt very disturbed by the attack, which deepened her perspective on the experiences of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.

“When you watch a brutal attack like that, it has an effect on your mind,” Rebecca Nissel said, noting she felt shaky for hours afterward. “I was just thinking about all the hostages which are underground for so many weeks and the effect. If this little incident which we had to go through had such an effect on me, what it means to be in the dark, in the tunnels, for such a long time?”

She said she believes it is “important to be fighting antisemitism in every which way.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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