On Wednesday October 7, 2026, community members gathered in front of San Jose City Hall to commemorate and memorialize the many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were murdered by Israel with US weapons during the ongoing genocide. When community members arrived, they were met by a group of counter-protestors waving Israeli flags.They spewed hatred and insults against our community members and derided the religion of Islam.
At around 9:30 PM, one of the counter-protesters drove their vehicle at the crowd, which included children, rallying in front of City Hall. They almost ran over one of the community members when he bravely jumped in front to stop the car, putting his body on the line. When the car came to a halt, the driver came out brandishing a metal flag pole. Members of the San Jose Police Department, who were on site during the rally, stepped in to stop the driver from advancing on the crowd. Instead of detaining and citing or arresting the driver, the San Jose police allowed the driver return to his car, leaving without consequence. They were basically protecting his anonymity and safeguarding his passage. This included directing community members to move out of the way so the car could reverse and leave the area.
The San Jose Peace and Justice Center condemns not only the attempted attack by Iranian monarchists but also the San Jose Police Department for failing to detain the attacker and protecting their anonymity.
We demand that the District Attorney launch an investigation into the behavior of San Jose Police on that night and indict the driver on the charge of assault with a deadly instrument. Furthermore, San Jose must finally divest from companies that profit from the ongoing genocide.
We ask San Jose residents to call your city council member and mayor to demand justice. We also ask that residents sign the San Jose Against War petition demanding that San Jose fully divest from companies profiting from the occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people.