SAN DIEGO — Sephardic Rabbi Yonatan Halevy of Kehillat Shaar Hashamayin (Community of the Gates of Heaven) has told police that he was attacked by teenagers during the Sukkot holiday last Saturday as he walked with his father Shalom Halevy, a stroke victim, near his congregation at 3232 Governor Drive, Suite K, in the University City neighborhood.
Halevy, 31, said a group of teenagers had been harassing him and his small congregation since Rosh Hashanah when the congregation moved into a 3,300-square-foot space in the shopping center that includes a Sprouts Farmers Market.
He said he and his father, who is in his late 60s, saw a group of teenagers in the parking lot behind the shopping center, but didn’t notice that one of them broke away from the group and “passed us by on his bicycle, and then did a very fast turn right in front of us. He brought up his right fist — a clenched right fist — and brought it down right on top of me, a punch to the top of my head.”
“I fell to the ground, my hat fell off my head, and then he ran away laughing but not before calling me the N-word for Black people, and said something about White Power.”
Halevy was dressed in Moroccan holiday garb for Sukkot, as pictured above, and while of dark complexion, he is not an African-American. He said the odd thing about it was that his assailant “doesn’t look white either.”
Frightened by what occurred, Halevy said he took photos and wrote down a description of the young men, which normally he would not do on a Sabbath. Likewise, he said he telephoned 9-1-1, to tell what happened. He said the dispatcher said he would send a patrol car right out, but that the car did not arrive until more than 40 minutes later. The youths had been circling his synagogue after the attack, but left about 20 minutes before the officers arrived, Halevy said.
The rabbi said the police officers who answered the call did not appear to take the situation seriously. He said that because the assailant and his friends were youths, the officers told him that there was nothing that they could do. He said the officers told him they would not look for the youths, nor try to talk to their parents (bystanders had told the rabbi their names), nor would they go to the school to inquire further.
On Monday morning, Halevy sent a message to news media describing his ordeal. San Diego Jewish World was among the media receiving the message. We contacted former Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who in turn contacted the current Police Chief David Nisleit. We also notified Anti-Defamation League Regional Director Tammy Gillies, and the office of San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, whose district includes the University City area.
Halevy said he subsequently talked by telephone with Police Captain Matt Novak in the Northern Division of the San Diego Police Department, who arranged to send out a team of officers to investigate on Monday afternoon. The rabbi said they included Detective Emily Clark, Police Community Relations Officer Melanie Bognuda, and a sergeant and a patrol officer, whose names he did not know. They spoke for about 2 1/2 hours, during which time Halevy said he told them the trouble with the youths had begun on Rosh Hashanah when teenagers rushed into the congregation to grab food from the reception area, and continued through Yom Kippur when a back window was broken.
He estimated that the youths range in age from 12 to 17 “but that doesn’t mean they can’t be dangerous. They are looking for trouble and they found a very easy target.”
Halevy said the foursome of police officers with whom he met on Monday said they wouldn”t speculate on why the officers who took the report on Saturday seemed to be so dismissive. He said they said it would be part of an internal investigation.
San Diego Jewish World contacted the public affairs office about the incident, but received no immediate comment about what had occurred. Similarly, there was no immediate response from the Anti-Defamation League, nor from Councilwoman Bry’s office.
*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Pingback: Police increase patrols following attack on rabbi - San Diego Jewish World
Interesting and sad story and another example of the the strange and uneasy times we are living in. Thanks, Don.