‘Don’t mess with Iran, f*** the Jews’: 2 Israeli-American men beaten in California
Victims say they were speaking Hebrew when attacked outside San Jose restaurant; 1 knocked unconscious; police probing possible hate crime
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Two Israeli Americans were hospitalized after they were attacked in San Jose, apparently after they were heard speaking Hebrew by three young men, who were heard saying, “Don’t mess with Iran,” and “fuck the Jews” during the assault.
According to a local ABC affiliate, the two men were speaking in Hebrew as they waited for a table at a Santana Row restaurant when they were attacked on Sunday.
“Every punch connected directly to where they wanted, to the head directly. It was on purpose to hit and make maximum damage,” one of the victims told ABC7. The outlet said the victims asked not to be identified.
“One of the witnesses said that they heard them saying, ‘Don’t mess with Iran,’ which we don’t know why,” the second man said.
“We don’t have any problem with them. But, I heard at the beginning of the fight, something with, ‘F the Jews,'” he said.
One of the victims was knocked unconscious and required stitches, and the other was treated for bad cuts and bruises.
An additional video from @jewishsf shows a closer vantage point of the assault.
According to one of the victims, one of the suspects uttered “f***ing Jew” while repeatedly beating him to the ground. pic.twitter.com/GClqx6lkRi
— JCRC Bay Area (@SFJCRC) March 10, 2026
San Jose police were investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, reports said.
There were no reports of arrests.
Videos showed diners continuing to sit at tables at the restaurant as the pair was beaten on the sidewalk in front of them.
The faces of the three attackers can be seen clearly in the footage.
JCRC is aware of a disturbing incident at Santana Row in San Jose in which two Israeli Americans were brutally attacked while speaking Hebrew. After arriving at a restaurant, they were approached by three unknown individuals and punched multiple times, leaving one victim briefly… pic.twitter.com/GZ9IkMnxfU
— JCRC Bay Area (@SFJCRC) March 10, 2026
A witness told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was a short distance away when he noticed the attack, and that nobody stepped in to stop it.
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna condemned the attack.
“The assault on Israeli Americans in San Jose while speaking Hebrew is horrific,” he wrote on his personal account on X. “This kind of antisemitism has no place in our community. I unequivocally condemn these attacks. The assailants must be held accountable and prosecuted.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle that “antisemitism and all acts of hatred have no place in San Jose.”
“Being able to talk about our differences and celebrate them is what makes us the safest big city in America,” Mahan said. “I have been in touch with our police department and leaders in the local Jewish community regarding this deeply disturbing incident and will continue to monitor the situation closely as the investigation continues.”
Antisemitic incidents have surged worldwide since the start of the war, sparked when Hamas launched its devastating cross-border assault against Israel on October 7, 2023 in which it killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
According to a study published in October, more than half of Jewish Americans say they had experienced antisemitism over the preceding year, and many now consider such hostility a normal part of Jewish life.
Polls have found that around half of Americans oppose US-Israeli military action against Iran.
The Times of Israel Community.