Israel-Hamas War leads to clashes in El Cerrito, on the street and before City Council
Tensions over the Israel-Hamas War have surfaced in many communities across the country, including El Cerrito, which has made two arrests for hate crimes against Jewish people since the violence began on Oct. 7.
In the latest arrest, a Hayward man was charged in Contra Costa County with three hate-crime-related felonies stemming from a January attack on Jewish demonstrators that included allegedly shoving a woman and taking the Israeli flag that was draped around her neck, and grabbing an Israeli flag from another woman and burning it.
The incident heightened emotions that have spilled into monthly El Cerrito City Council meetings. The council has been under pressure for months to follow Richmond, Oakland and the United Nations Security Council in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
So far, council members have resisted, though dozens of public speakers have implored them to act. Many other residents, however, have taken the opposite stance, thanking council members for not getting involved.
“In public comment, both written and in person, we do not have a community consensus,” Mayor Tessa Rudnick said in an interview this week. “And we don’t need to agendize something to see that we don’t have community consensus.”
Gaza has been under Israeli bombardment since Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 people hostage. Over 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed, including more than 13,000 children, and some 70,000 have been injured, according to the United Nations.
Calls for a ceasefire have sparked countless demonstrations across the Bay Area, including on Jan. 6 when about 100 protesters — some taking up the plight of Palestinians, others in support of Israel — made their way up San Pablo Avenue in Albany to Carlson Boulevard in El Cerrito.
While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, protesters sometimes have clashed. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office said that happened in El Cerrito, when a man confronted two women who were holding Israeli flags.
Christopher Khamis Victor Husary, 36, was arrested in connection with the incident, on Feb. 28 at his home in Hayward and charged with second-degree robbery, grand theft, and arson, all with special hate crime allegations attached. According to jail records, he was released from the Martinez Detention Facility on March 5 under $50,000 bail.
In an El Cerrito incident report, one 911 caller said that her Jewish husband was at the protest and was becoming “upset” and that it was “dangerous.” Another 911 caller reported that she and her friends were surrounded by protestors and that they were unable to leave.
“While the First Amendment is fundamental to our democracy, it doesn’t protect threats, injury, intimidation, or property damage,” District Attorney Diana Becton said in a January news release.
With the incident captured on video, the El Cerrito Police Department was able to release photos of a suspect to the public, who then helped identify him. Nathan Peterson, who is listed on court documents as Husary’s attorney, did not return emails for comment.
Both groups targeted
El Cerrito Police Chief Paul Keith said this was the second hate crime in the city since October. The first was a swastika etched into a playground slide, but no one has been charged with that crime. Since 2019, El Cerrito police have investigated 21 hate crimes.
Across the country, antisemitism has “skyrocketed” since Oct. 7 according to a report released by the Anti-Defamation League. A total of 3,291 incidents took place between Oct. 7 and Jan. 7, a 361% increase compared to reports in that same period the previous year.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also have been targeted, including one who was stabbed during a demonstration in Texas. And the ADL documented about 30 cases of assaults, harassment and vandalism against Muslims and mosques in the first two months of the conflict.
In San Francisco, the District Attorney’s Office filed charges of felony vandalism with the special allegation of a hate crime this month against Robert Peter Gray, 35. The DA’s office said Gray used his skateboard to break several windows at Masjid Al-Tawheed mosque in Nob Hill. Records show Gray was being held at San Francisco County Jail without bond.
Keith said it’s unusual for demonstrations in El Cerrito to turn violent or destructive.
“I think for both us and Albany, we had a lot of expectations that the outcome of January 6 would be that people would follow the game plan of having their voices heard and having their message out there, without there being violence and obstruction on the side of it,” Keith said.
Police are concerned about maintaining safety at City Council meetings, given that council members have been under pressure to approve a ceasefire resolution.
Last October, the City Council decided to no longer allow public comments by Zoom participants, after speakers, presumably from an outside group, made antisemitic and racist remarks.
“We definitely have an increased awareness around City Council meetings,” said Keith. “We want them to remain a place where people can civilly engage in discourse and provide feedback to the government without them impeding on the operations of city government and trampling on other people’s rights.”