2 Men Avoid Prison Terms After Hate Crime Attack on Jewish Men in Beverly Grove Restaurant

Two men who pleaded no contest in a hate crime attack on two Jewish men outside a Beverly Grove-area restaurant have avoided jail time.

Samer Jayylusi, 37, and Xavier Pabon, 32, were ordered on Wednesday to complete 80 hours of counseling focusing on bias and cultural sensitivity along with an eight-hour program at the Museum of Tolerance.

Superior Court Judge Laura Priver also sentenced them to two years of probation.

The court does not condone or approve of this type of behavior," Priver said. ``The court would like to dissuade them from this type of behavior."

The judge reasoned that the counseling and Museum of Tolerance program was a better solution than sending the two to state prison as the prosecution had requested.

Jayylusi and Pabon pleaded no contest May 22 to two counts each of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and admitted a hate crime allegation involving each of the counts, according to Deputy District Attorney Paul Kim.

The two were accused of approaching two men outside a restaurant on May 18, 2021, and attacking them because of their religion, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Cell phone video showed a group of men exit a car and begin to attack the diners while yelling racial slurs.

One minor injury was reported after the attack, according to police.

The two men were allegedly part of a caravan waving Palestinian flags in the 300 block of North La Cienega Boulevard on May 18, hours after a large protest in support of Palestinian rights amid violence between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said the attack "appeared to spring from a roving band of vehicles that were seen flying flags within the Jewish-populated areas of Hollywood, West L.A., Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.''