An Israeli man who is the cousin of one of the deceased hostages was brutally assaulted by an anti-Israel mob in California.
By Rachel Avraham
According to recent media reports, Ariel Yaakov Marciano, 24, a young Israeli man who was attended a bar mitzvah in California, was brutally assaulted by a mob of 20 anti-Israel activists for the crime of speaking Hebrew. The Jewish Journal reported that Marciano was visiting Santa Monica Pier, when suddenly he noticed dozens of protesters carrying Palestinian and Mexican flags.
“I was wearing my Star of David necklace, I also met another Israeli man from Las Vegas, and we were speaking Hebrew, so they realized we were Israeli,” Marciano told the Jewish Journal. “At that point, they attacked me. One of them hit me on the back of the head, and I started bleeding. Others pushed me around and tore the necklace off my neck. I pushed one of the masked attackers, and then they all jumped on me.”
Marciano said to the Jewish Journal that he doesn’t know what happened to the man from Las Vegas who was accompanied by his wife and two children, one of whom suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and was in a wheelchair.
Although there were many bystanders in the area, the Jewish Journal reported that it took a while before someone stepped in to help Marciano. According to the report, the shaken young man quickly uploaded a video to Instagram showing blood running down his face. In the video, he pleaded: “All Israelis in L.A., come to Santa Monica—they just lynched me here.”
On his way to the police station, Marciano, shouting “God bless Israel,” was pepper-sprayed by one of the protesters, the Jewish Journal added. “The police didn’t do anything, but I can’t really blame them. There were too many demonstrators, and there’s nothing much the police can do against so many. The ones who attacked me were Mexicans, and one tall Black guy held a knife to me and said, ‘You’re lucky I’m not stabbing you.”
Marciano has already suffered immensely prior to this incident. According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, “Marciano has endured devastating personal losses to terrorism. His cousin, Guy Illouz, was kidnapped at the Nova music festival on October 7th and later murdered in Hamas captivity. Another cousin fell in battle during the 2014 Gaza war.”
Despite the brutal assault in Los Angeles, Marciano vowed to remain proud of his Jewish identity. “I lost one cousin in this war and another in Operation Protective Edge. I won’t take off my Star of David.”
According to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, hours later, while sitting in a restaurant, Marciano received an unexpected gesture. A stranger approached him and handed back the stolen necklace. “He was a Chinese man who told me, ‘Here, this is yours,’” Marciano said. “I don’t know how he found me, but the chain came back. I will keep wearing it.”
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Santa Monica Police Department released a statement shortly after the event, commenting that they are “deeply troubled by an act of violence…where a man was surrounded, assaulted, and singled out because of his religious identity.”
According to the report, the police department added that they are investigating the event as a hate crime, and condemned all forms of hate and antisemitism, adding that the investigation remains active and that detectives are reviewing video footage and pursuing leads.
In turn, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)’s California chapter also condemned the event, the Jerusalem Post reported. “In America, targeting Israelis and Jews for violence is abhorrent and a hate crime,” Interim ADL Los Angeles Regional Director Peter Levi said. “We are experiencing a deplorable escalation of antisemitism across Southern California, warranting the immediate attention of law enforcement, community leaders, and elected officials. We call on everyone to take a stand against the violence and intimidation targeting our community,” he added.
Photo from Insight 360 News USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQmksFuFKF8
