Ohio man convicted of hate crime in beating of victim he thought was Jewish

Izmir Koch, along with others, was heard shouting ‘I want to kill all the Jews’ in 2017 assault; could face up to 10 years in prison

By JTA 20 December 2018, 5:24 pm

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Illustrative. A man's hands in handcuffs. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

An Ohio man was convicted of a hate crime for attacking a man he thought was Jewish.

Izmir Koch, 33, of Huber Heights, was found guilty by a judge for his part in the assault of a man smoking a cigarette outside a local restaurant on February 4, 2017.

Koch asked people standing outside the restaurant if anyone there was Jewish. When the victim responded in the affirmative, although he was not actually Jewish, Koch allegedly punched him, knocking him to the ground. Koch then continued to hit and kick him, as did others standing outside the restaurant.

The victim suffered injuries to his ribs and a fracture of the orbital floor, the bottom portion of his eye socket.

Before and during the assault, Koch and the other assailants were heard shouting, “I want to kill all of the Jews” and “I want to stab the Jews,” according to the Department of Justice.