Lawyer Among Three Arrested in Violent Restaurant Attack on Hebrew-Speaking Diners
The victims were waiting for a table and speaking to each other in Hebrew when three young men approached and began punching them repeatedly, knocking one of them unconscious.
Two Israeli American men were brutally attacked outside a San Jose, California, restaurant on March 8. The victims were waiting for a table and speaking to each other in Hebrew when three young men approached and began punching them repeatedly, knocking one of them unconscious. During the assault, the assailants were reportedly heard shouting, “Don’t mess with Iran” and “f*** the Jews,” according to the Times of Israel.
On Monday, the San Jose Police Department announced that three suspects “believed to be responsible for the attack” were arrested.
As part of the ongoing investigation into the assault that occurred at Santana Row, arrest warrants were obtained for three suspects believed to be responsible for the attack. All three individuals surrendered to law enforcement today without incident.
This remains an active… pic.twitter.com/pzO5Rd6mpr
— San José Police Media Relations (@SJPD_PIO) March 16, 2026
A redacted copy of the March 11 SJPD report released to the district attorney and the court can be viewed here. The report states that all three suspects appeared to be Middle Eastern males.
According to a Monday news release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, the suspects have been charged with felony and misdemeanor assault.
The statement quotes District Attorney Jeff Rosen: “We won’t tolerate pummeling a victim on the ground in front of a restaurant or anywhere, and we will hold the perpetrators fully accountable. Our public spaces have to be safe for all to enjoy without fear.”
Given the clearly antisemitic language directed at the victims, the ethnicities of those involved, and the brutal nature of the attack, many of us were expecting to see the suspects charged with hate crimes.
The news release addresses this issue: “These charges do not reflect allegations of a hate crime at this time. However, this remains an active investigation. The DA’s Office is working closely with SJPD to review all new information.”
The DA’s Office identified the suspects as Bruneil Henry Chamaki, 32, of Morgan Hill, and brothers Roma Akoyans, 20, and Ramon Akoyans, 18, both of San Jose. They will be arraigned on May 12.
KTVU News reported that Chamaki is an attorney. According to the California Bar Association website, his license is active and he is affiliated with Sacramento law firm Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld LLP.
Asked by KTVU for a comment on Chamaki’s arrest, a spokesperson for Murphy Austin said in a statement that he “has not been affiliated with the firm since the end of January.”
The statement continued, “Murphy Austin was shocked and disturbed to learn of the violent incident reported in San Jose. The conduct described in the reports is deeply troubling. Murphy Austin condemns antisemitism, violence, and acts of hatred in any form.”
BREAKING: San Jose Police announce the arrests of the three alleged attackers against two Israeli men at a Santana Row restaurant: Bruneil Chamaki, Roma Akoyans and Ramon Akoyans. Previous reporting said that this brutal assault was being investigated as a hate crime. pic.twitter.com/T9KJjKxvzH
— Travis Hawley (@talk2trav) March 16, 2026
I reported on this story last week:
The victims, who wish to remain anonymous, spoke to ABC 7 News. One said, “Every punch connected directly to where they wanted, to the head directly. It was on purpose to hit and make maximum damage.”
The other man told ABC, “One of the witnesses said that they heard them saying, ‘don’t mess with Iran’, which we don’t know why. We don’t have any problem with them. But, I heard at the beginning of the fight, something with, ‘F the Jews’.”
“This kind of violence [is] not supposed to happen in the middle of the day on a Sunday – with kids and elderly people, and everybody’s walking around,” he added.
According to ABC, one of the victims “was knocked out cold and required stitches. The other was badly cut and bruised.”
ABC noted this was not the first time they had encountered one of the victims. It turns out that last August, his business was vandalized with graffiti of swastikas and hateful language.
A witness told the San Francisco Chronicle that he “was a short distance away when he noticed the attack, and that nobody stepped in to stop it.” [This article is behind a paywall.]
Several social media users made similar observations.
An additional video from @jewishsf shows a closer vantage point of the assault.
According to one of the victims, one of the suspects uttered “f***ing Jew” while repeatedly beating him to the ground. pic.twitter.com/GClqx6lkRi
— JCRC Bay Area (@SFJCRC) March 10, 2026
This violent attack is one of a growing number of related crimes that have occurred since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28.
It remains to be seen whether hate crime charges will be added to the existing counts.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
The California Bar should seek involuntary inactive enrollment ASAP.
The atty/perp poses an immediate threat to the public and his outrageous conduct is fundamentally incompatible with the practice of law.
Should have been shot dead in the act. Funny how you don’t see this sort of thing happening in jurisdictions that respect 2A rights.
Agreed, and more to the point, this needs to be upgraded to a hate crime, no doubt. This was clearly targeted.
Hopefully the Feds will step in with hate charges. The jury pool in San Jose is unlikely to convict as a bunch likely support their politics of the thugs.
For a federal case the jury would have to be drawn from the Northern District of California,, so you won’t have gained much.
The Northern District is mostly concerned with Silicon Valley and white collar crime. That’s what US Attorney Robbins appears to be focused since he cut his teeth on Enron. I agree not much will be gained there.
Bruneil Henry Chamaki #352131 got his law degree from UC Berkeley and has been an attorney since December 4, 2023. So, he would have taken and passed the July 2023 bar exam.
According to the State Bar, he does business and real property law. He has not updated his address with the state bar. Attorneys must keep that address current. That is another violation.
b/c his home in hezzbanon has been wiped out
The attorney is a U.C. Berkeley Law school alumnus.
Total shocker that he was indoctrinated into the Israel-vilifying, Jew-hating, Islamofascist/Muslim supremacist death cult, at that vile school.
https://apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/Licensee/Detail/352131
Who says he didn’t bring it with him to the school? They are described as “middle eastern males.”
That’s a fair point. I should have clarified my comment to state that he was either indoctrinated, at school (still a possibility), or, had has pre-existing Jew-hate and Israel-hate exacerbated, there.
The myth of “radicalization” had to be invented in order to explain how “peace loving Muslims” could do bad things.
When others do bad things, it is assumed they are bad people or crazy, but Muslims are super peaceful. The only way they would ever do anything bad is they must’ve been radicalized, brainwashed and indoctrinated so that they become completely changed people.
exactly!
no news reports say they fired him
This is California. Expect Chamaki to be nominated for and confirmed to the first open judgeship there.
Subotai Bahadur.
All he has to do now is marry his sister and he’d be eligible to run for congress.
if the blmplo do not get at least 30 years in prison
arm yourselves and prepare for the further onslaught from lefty
Would you please explain to me who or what is this “blmplo” that you seem to stick into every comment you make because for the life of me I don’t know what the feck you’re talking about. Thanks in advance for your explanation.
eot
blacklivesmatterpalestinianliberationorganization
many of us were expecting to see the suspects charged with hate crimes
Really? How long have you been around here? I expect nothing of the sort, since the victims weren’t a privileged minority.
Every punch connected directly to where they wanted, to the head directly. It was on purpose to hit and make maximum damage.
Well, yes. When you’re punching someone you want to actually hit them. And you want to make the punches count. That’s sort of WHY you’re punching them. ????
This kind of violence [is] not supposed to happen in the middle of the day on a Sunday
There are days it is supposed to happen? These guys sound like they’re from Stockholm. Criminy.
You’re not EVER supposed to walk up on someone you don’t know and start punching them in the head. (And you probably shouldn’t do it to someone you know, either, unless you have an exceptionally good reason.)
Nothing will happen to them. The level of anti-Israel and yet anti-Jew sentiments in the US is approaching 50%, This is because of deliberate indoctrination of the past several generations with incorrect information by schools and social media. Jews and Israel bear a small amount of responsibility as well because they responded poorly (i.e.- mostly ignored it) and allowed the lies to take hold. Call it Goebel’s revenge. We are at the
tipping point as far as I’m concerned.
“We won’t tolerate pummeling a victim on the ground in front of a restaurant or anywhere”
I thought as long as they did under $950 worth of injuries each, it was OK?
Obviously you haven’t seen a hospital bill lately.
We are reaching the point where there are enough Muslims in many cities where they can basically nullify a jury on cases like this. To think we have allowed this evil to spread throughout our country is disgusting!
Wow that’s a lawyer that will literally fight you and kill you. Gives new meaning to ambulance chaser I guess. I’m so tired of the line “hate has no place in our …” city, town, country whatever. Hate absolutely has a place here, and it’s serving an evil purpose. Muslim Jew hatred has been met with the open arms of American Jew hatred, and the two have merged into one another. It’s a great way to find common ground I guess, we all can agree to hate the Jews. How nice it must be to have a common enemy and scapegoat for everything.
I have plenty of hate stimulated by a number of unrepentant groups but I don’t plan on pummeling anyone or driving a vehicle into their house of worship or unloading one or more guns into their protesting/rioting mobs. I’m sure I’m not alone in my feelings. I’m also sure those that constantly value signal by saying hate has no place are those which probably have more hate than I do but are just less honest about it,
Bruneil Henry Chamaki, explained to the judge:
I am in the criminal law division of my law firm and I thought if I can just get some hands on experience I could relate better to my cliental
judge: you are free to go but please next time cover your face for id purposes
Let’s see how seriously the State of California takes this: the State Bar needs to disbar the lawyer, i.e., to apply the same standards as if someone assaulted a black individual. And if the State does not act, the federal government needs to sue the State Bar in federal court for an injunction ordering the State to disbar him,
Elizabeth, thanks for reporting this story. If it was ever on MSM, I missed it.
“District Attorney Jeff Rosen: “We won’t tolerate pummeling a victim on the ground in front of a restaurant or anywhere, and we will hold the perpetrators fully accountable.”
Only pummel the Jew until he falls TO the ground, then apply kicks? Is that it?
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