A man who was attacked along with his pregnant wife at a suburban Panera Bread is speaking out after the alleged assailant was charged with a hate crime.
According to the DuPage County State’s Attorney, a 64-year-old woman is facing multiple charges, including a hate crime charge, after she allegedly verbally and physically assaulted a couple inside of the restaurant in Downers Grove on Saturday.
Prosecutors allege the woman attacked the couple because Wasseem Zahran was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the word “Palestine” on it, eventually trying to punch and throw hot coffee on both the man and his wife.
“She said ‘f*** Palestine,’ (but) I didn’t know what she had said,” Zahran told NBC Chicago. “So I was smiling at her and asking what she said. I thought she said something nice to me. Then she came closer to me, and went to my face and said ‘are you Palestinian?’ I said yes, and then she said ‘F*** Palestine. This is not Palestine. It’s my land. It’s not your land.”
Zahran said that his wife pulled out her phone and began recording the exchange, and the verbal confrontation escalated into a physical altercation.
“That’s when she goes for her first swing. I blocked it, which gets her even more mad,” he said. “She then proceeds to grab her hot coffee and tries to throw it at my wife. I grabbed it and tried to dump it out in case she does that again, which makes her get more mad and she hit me in the side of my face.”
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Zahran said the woman tried to hit the phone out of his wife’s hands and tried to punch her, but he was able to block the blow.
“I tell her my wife is pregnant,” he said. “’Can you stop attacking us?’ And she says ‘I don’t care,’ and proceeds to assault me and my wife.”
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After trying to move to another part of the restaurant and being followed, Zahran said he told the woman that he would punch her if she continued attacking the couple, and that ended the altercation.
The footage was posted to social media, with the Chicago Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations saying in a statement that the hate shown in the video “cannot and will not have a home here.”
Zahran said he’s experienced insults before, but called the physical attack “shocking.” He also said no one attempted to help the couple during the altercation.
“Having physical hate, and it being over a minute long and still no one coming to help us, it’s kind of shocking, honestly,” he said. “I always question why is no one doing anything to stop (the war between Israel and Hamas). And it’s the same reason why no one helped us. People are just selfish. They like to help after and talk to you after, not during. It’s the easy way out, honestly.”
He said that he hopes his story will encourage people to intervene in similar situations.
“I think that’s the only thing I want people to take away from this, is to help people be more vocal,” he said. “Even if it puts you in a tough situation, do what’s right.”
The suspect is being charged with a hate crime in the case, along with one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct, something that Zahran welcomes. He said he doesn’t intend to stop wearing his “Palestine” hoodie after the incident.
“I will always wear it and be proud of my heritage and who I am,” he said. “My sisters and mothers can’t just not wear their hijabs. They have to wear hijabs every day, and they can’t just decide ‘I’m not going to wear this.’ They will still get attacked. It’s the same reason why I am proud to wear this hoodie. I think whether people agree or not, it’s what I believe is right.”
