Ex-rideshare driver accused in California antisemitic attack charged with federal hate crime

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a former rideshare driver in connection with an antisemitic attack on a passenger at San Francisco International Airport in 2023. The 39-year-old man was arrested Wednesday. He is charged with committing a federal hate crime. The alleged attack occurred on Oct. 26, 2023, weeks after the Hamas-led incursion into Israel that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip. Federal prosecutors say the defendant approached the victim at a pickup spot and asked if they were Jewish or Israeli, saying he would not transport a Jewish or Israeli person. Prosecutors say he then punched the victim in the face. The defendant’s public defender did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.