Jewish man says he was the victim of a hate crime in the east Las Vegas valley

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Israel's war with Hamas is now in its sixth month, with 30,0000 people reported killed in Gaza.

Tension from the conflict in the Middle East is trickling into our community.

A Jewish man says a Palestinian man attacked him on Saturday following a religious service in the East Valley.

"I've been living in this country for 35 years, never ever felt that kind of antisemitism," said Yoss Azaraf.

Azaraf says he was the victim of a hate crime.

"I hope and pray that this guy will be caught," he said. "And I hope he will be caught soon and justice will prevail."

Azaraf, who is visiting from Chicago for a conference, says it all happened around one in the afternoon near Topaz and Desert Inn.

That's when he and two colleagues were walking back to the home they were renting after a service at a local synagogue.

Azaraf was wearing his kippa.

"A car, I believe it's blue Lincoln SUV, basically got closer to us and shout 'Free Palestine from the river to the sea.' And I was laughing, and all of a sudden, the person came out of the car, stopped the car, came to me said, 'You're laughing,'" he said.

That's when he says things took a bad turn.

"I said, 'Yes, I'm laughing, but I want to continue to walk.' Then, out of nowhere, he punched me on my face, and he kept shouting, 'You guys took our land. I'm a Christian living in Bethlehem, Palestinian. You're killing our people.'"

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Azaraf says he and his colleagues rushed into a local store as the man got back into the SUV.

He said the man, who he believes was in his mid-30s, tried to run them over.

"Looking for a shelter, I found a department store right there," said Azaraf. "I went to the store, and I begged the people listen; my life is in danger. Please call 9-1-1."

The rabbi of the local synagogue where Azaraf attended service was shocked by the incident.

"It's crazy what happened you know," said Rabbi Yossi Schuchat. "It's unfortunately so sad to see something that could happen you know- we've been here for years are such a peaceful neighborhood."

The Anti-Defamation League of Nevada was saddened but not surprised.

"Here in Nevada, we've had a 210% increase of antisemitic incidents from this time last year," said Jolie Brislin, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League of Nevada. "Unfortunately, this is the reality that the Jewish community is facing. We were living in fear each and every day, which is why we are continuously amplifying our security at all of the synagogues."

The League and Jewish Nevada are working together with law enforcement to find answers.

"We've reached out to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as well as the FBI," she said. "And we are urging them to investigate this for what it appears to be, which is a hate crime."

"I just want to believe that with a lot of light, we can eliminate this darkness," said Azaraf. "And our job is to make sure that it's not going to repeat again."

The local FBI office says it is aware of the allegations but cannot comment on whether or not there's an investigation.

News 3 has also requested the incident report made by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.