San Francisco Chronicle
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/south-bay-police-probe-removal-pro-palestine-18553254.php
Twice over the past two weeks, pro-Palestine banners have been torn down from a San Jose freeway overpass — incidents that police believe were hate crimes.
The Northern California Islamic Council, a nonprofit made up of several local Muslim community groups, has been hanging banners across several Bay Area freeway overpasses advocating for Palestine and against U.S. aid to Israel. On Sunday, volunteers were hanging two of those banners up in over Highway 880 in San Jose when a man got out of his truck and demanded the volunteers take the banner down, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s Bay Area office.
Video posted by CAIR shows the man grabbing a switchblade out of his pocket and splitting a banner in half before ripping it down from the fence.
“You murder and rape babies, you’re a terrorist. I am a defender of America and I am a defender of freedom,” the man can be heard shouting as he drags the banners down the street and drives off with them in his truck.
CAIR said in a statement that the man also threatened the volunteers with what appeared to be bear spray.
A week prior, on Dec. 3, a banner hung at the same location by the Northern California Islamic Council was stolen, according to the San Jose Police Department.
Police said they’ve identified the individuals responsible for both incidents, but have not yet arrested them. The department said in a statement it had sent both cases to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for review and had requested both be prosecuted as hate crimes.
“We are appalled by the brazen assault and vandalism targeting advocates exercising their right to express support for Palestine,” Zahra Billoo, executive director for CAIR’s Bay Area office, said in a statement. “This incident is not only an attack on individuals but also an affront to our country’s principles of free speech.”
In Oakland, police started a hate crime investigation after a menorah at Lake Merritt was dismantled and vandalized Wednesday morning. Both Jewish community leaders and an Arab community group have denounced the vandalism as antisemitic.
Last month, a driver hit and injured an Arab Muslim student at Stanford University, then drove away yelling “f— you people,” according to officials. The California Highway Patrol is investigating that incident as a hate crime as well.
San Jose police have asked anyone with information about the two banner incidents to contact detectives at 4793@sanjoseca.gov and 4857@sanjoseca.gov.
“There is zero tolerance for hate, and hate crimes in San Jose,” police Chief Anthony Mata said in a statement. “All hate incidents are treated with the utmost seriousness and will be given priority attention. I’m thankful for the partnership and trust our department has built with our community partners to keep our community safe!”