SAN JOSE — A Muslim civil rights organization is calling for an investigation into a hostile interaction caught on video between two unidentified men in San Jose, where one man was seen slashing down two banners that called for an end to Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip.
The video taken on Sunday and posted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, begins in the middle of an-already heated argument between two people. One man stands in front of the camera, next to a large banner hung on a freeway overpass. The exact location was not immediately clear, though a CAIR news release said the incident happened in San Jose.
In the 3 minute and 19 second video, a man is seen on video engaging in political argument with the man holding the recording device. The discussion centers on the two banners, which both appear to say “End Israeli Occupation. Save Gaza.”
About 30 seconds into the video, the other man pulls out a knife and begins to cut and tear down the first banner. He audibly calls the man with the camera a “terrorist” at one point.
No physical contact is recorded on the video, though CAIR said in a news release Tuesday that the man who tore the banners down threatened volunteers with bear spray. At one point in the video, he calls his own actions “peaceful,” a claim that draws a derisive response from the camera operator.
The video ends with the man taking the banners into his vehicle and driving away.
The San Jose Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment.
“We are appalled by the brazen assault and vandalism targeting advocates exercising their right to express support for Palestine,” said San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Zahra Billoo. “This incident is not only an attack on individuals but also an affront to our country’s principles of free speech.”
The incident was the latest in a series of tension-filled interactions in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Last month, a strip of the Bay Bridge was shut down as protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza blocked the westward lanes heading into San Francisco during the global APEC summit. At least 80 arrests were made during the demonstration.
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