Jewish couple attacked on the way to synagogue speaks out: Not going to 'cave in to evil'
Raphael and Rebecca Nissel, a Jewish couple attacked on the way to their synagogue in Beverly Hills, discuss the rise in antisemitism across the U.S. and why they will continue to stand strong in their identities.
An elderly Jewish couple attacked while on the way to a synagogue in Beverly Hills spoke out about the terrifying assault, warning they've never seen this level of antisemitism before in their lives.
Rebecca and Raphael Nissel joined "FOX & Friends First," Tuesday, to discuss the bloody attack and their take on surging antisemitism amid the war in Gaza.
"No, never," Rebecca told co-host Todd Piro, when asked if she had ever seen anti-Jewish hate as bad as it is now. "It started a couple of years ago, maybe during COVID, and it slowly deteriorated… I started to stash away my jewelry into safes, and it was very awful to understand at this point that it went up since the Israel-Hamas war 300%."
The suspect, now in police custody, allegedly lashed Raphael in the head with a belt buckle Saturday morning and yelled at Rebecca, "Give me your earrings, Jew!" before leaving the scene. Raphael's shirt was covered with blood following the attack. He was wearing a yarmulke at the time.
A Jewish couple was attacked while on the way to a synagogue in Beverly Hills, Calif., Saturday. ('FOX & Friends First' screengrab)
The pair said they are okay now, but Raphael noted "much more could be done" to combat anti-Jewish hate as it plagues colleges and communities alike.
He argued the solution lies within education, warning that higher institutions are "sending the wrong message" to students as hate-filled rhetoric continues to fill university classrooms.
"Much more could be done," Raphael said. "I think that our problem is basically in education… The long term, I think that our institutions with the high schools, especially the universities... are giving the wrong message to the people, and it's very easy if the top of the pyramid is not protecting all the rest of the Jews, but let people slur and openly curse and arrest Jewish people, then I think it's a big problem."
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According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitism has spiked 388% since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Some Jewish Americans are even turning to firearms as first-time gun owners, in order to protect themselves in wake of the surge.
One California firearm shop, Burbank Ammo and Guns, reported a more than 450% rise in firearms safety tests compared to last October. The shop processed 203 firearms safety certificate tests in October 2023 compared to 45 last year.
In the Golden State, safety tests are required for individuals purchasing a firearm for the first time.
"We see many, many individuals from the Jewish community who are first-time buyers, and not just the men, but women as well, mothers especially. They want to know what they can do and what they are allowed to do to defend themselves," Burbank Ammo and Guns' manager Eric Fletcher previously told FOX News.
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Piro asked Raphael if he would stop wearing his yarmulke following the assault.
"No, absolutely no," Raphael responded. "I think once you cave in to... evil, it's not going to stop."
Rebecca said the attack left her "shocked" that the antisemitic assault could happen in her own backyard.
"I think that was really the biggest shock that… all these years we've lived so beautifully here in Beverly Hills since 1974, and all of a sudden it changed, and it has to do with race," she said.
FOX News' Maddie Coggins contributed to this report.