Suspect charged in antisemitic assault, robbery of couple in Beverly Hills
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- A suspect has been charged in a violent attack and robbery of a Jewish couple as they were walking to a synagogue in Beverly Hills.
Jarris Jay Silagi, 44, is accused of striking a 75-year-old man with a belt buckle on Saturday, causing him to bleed, and then attempting to rob the man's wife, while making statements about them being Jewish.
Silagi apparently refused to leave his jail cell Tuesday for his first scheduled court appearance and his public defender entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Silagi's bail was set at $1.3 million, and his next court date was scheduled for Dec. 17.
Couple light menorah after antisemitic attack
"We want to send an unequivocal message that this conduct will have very severe consequences," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said.
Silagi is facing charges that include one count of attempted second-degree robbery; one count of elder or dependent adult abuse, infliction of injury; one count of assault with a deadly weapon; and two counts of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury.
Investigators say the attack happened Saturday near North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard. The couple was walking to a synagogue while observing Shabbat during the Hanukkah holiday and the male victim was wearing a yarmulke.
The suspect allegedly shouted antisemitic statements as he attacked the man, and then attempted to rob his wife of jewelry, police said.
Firefighter-paramedics treated the victim at the scene. He did not require additional medical attention at the time, according to authorities.
The man's son posted a photo on social media of the bloodied shirt his father was wearing when he was assaulted.
Alan Nissel said his 75-year-old father, Raphy, was walking to Young Israel of North Beverly Hills, an orthodox synagogue, when he was attacked.
"(He) hit my father over the head with a belt and as he came to and realized he was bleeding, (the suspect) turned to my mother and referred to her as a Jew or a dirty Jew ... 'Give me your earrings and jewelry,' I don't think the memory of the words are exactly clear. What is clear, of course, is that he called her a Jew," said Nissel.
The suspect left the scene and was later located by a police forensic specialist, who spotted a man matching a description that had been circulated, investigators said.
"This despicable act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated," Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said in a statement.
Saturday's alleged assault was the latest in a string of incidents since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the succeeding war.
A 69-year-old Jewish man died last month from blunt-force head trauma following a confrontation with a counterprotester as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
