The FBI has opened a federal hate crime investigation following a savage assault on multiple Jewish diners at a kosher restaurant in Queens, as shocking new details emerge about the attackers’ antisemitic threats and the extent of the violence.

The incident, which took place on July 20 at Sezam, a kosher eatery in the Forest Hills section of Queens, left two Jewish victims hospitalized—one with broken ribs, the other with a concussion and facial injuries—after a group of men and women allegedly screamed “We are going to kill all of you Jews” while launching a violent, targeted attack.

Despite the explicitly antisemitic threats, the NYPD initially classified the incident as a drunken altercation.

Bita Golbari, 51, and her husband were dining with friends, all Jewish, when a group of men already in the restaurant was joined by two women. One of the women allegedly grabbed the purse of Elham Sharga, 45, unprovoked. When Sharga confronted her, she was thrown to the ground, kicked, and beaten.

“They were hitting me on my head, my belly, my back, my neck,” Sharga recounted. “Then the men came over and joined in. I thought I was going to die. I screamed for help.”

When her husband rushed to her defense, he too was beaten. His face was left covered in blood, and he later required hospitalization for a concussion and arm fracture.

Golbari, trying to flee the chaos, was chased out of the restaurant by one of the female attackers.

“She grabbed me and said, ‘What… are you trying to do? Are you calling the police? We’re going to kill all of you Jews,’” Golbari told The Algemeiner. “Then she punched me so hard I thought I was dead. I just ran for my life.”

Golbari managed to escape only after a passerby agreed to stand between her and her assailant. Her husband has since returned to the hospital twice due to worsening symptoms from his injuries.

Despite the reported antisemitic slurs and death threats, the NYPD declined to classify the assault as a hate crime, calling it a brawl. That decision drew widespread condemnation from Jewish leaders and advocates.

“How many Jews do you have to hospitalize while yelling antisemitic slurs before the police take it seriously as an antisemitic crime?” asked Israeli activist Hen Mazzig on X.

The FBI appears to be taking a different approach. This week, Golbari was contacted by federal agents to discuss the incident, a strong indication that the bureau is now treating the assault as a possible hate crime under federal law.

The assault comes amid a wave of antisemitic incidents across New York City in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre. In 2024, Jews were the targets of 55% of all hate crimes, according to NYPD data—up from 44% in 2023.

By early 2025, that figure had surged again. “Hate crimes against Jews jump off the page as the single largest category of hate, at an astounding 62% of the total,” said Deputy Inspector Gary Marcus, head of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)