wearing Palestine sweater at Panera Bread store.
Alexandra Szustakiewicz attacks Waseem Zahran Illinois man for wearing sweatshirt with the word ‘Palestine’ emblazoned on it at Panera Bread restaurant as woman now faces hate crime charges.
A suburban, Illinois woman faces hate crime charges for allegedly attacking a Palestinian-American couple wearing a sweatshirt with the word, ‘Palestine’ at a Panera Bread restaurant at a suburban Chicago location.
Alexandra Szustakiewicz, 64, of Darien, IL, was charged with two counts of hate crime and one count of disorderly conduct following the episode which took place over the weekend in Downers Grove.
Police responded to the restaurant on Saturday around noon following reports of a disturbance. According to authorities, Szustakiewicz became verbally abusive and physically aggressive towards the couple because of their clothing. She left the scene before officers arrived and was arrested the next day.
Targeted victims because of perceived national origin
Waseem Zahran told Fox 32 that Szustakiewicz slapped him after trying to throw hot coffee on him and his pregnant wife as he wore a sweatshirt with the word, ‘Palestine,’ emblazoned on the back of his sweater.
‘She started saying how ‘it’s my land’ – about Palestine – ‘not your land. This is America. You can’t wear that hoodie,” Zahran told the outlet.
‘According to a criminal complaint filed against Szustakiewicz, she allegedly ‘committed a hate crime by reason of perceived national origin’ of the two victims,’ police said in a written release.
‘[She] kinda whispered to us or said quietly, ‘F Palestine,” Zahran said. ‘And at first I didn’t know what she said because of her accent, so I smiled at her and thought she was saying something nice to us. I said, ‘Oh, what was that?’ And she was far away and said it again and came closer to my face and kept repeating it.’
‘She came closer to our face, and then started like asking, ‘Are you Palestinian?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I am.’ And then she proceeded to scream in my face like, ‘[Expletive] Palestine,” Zahran told Chicago’s ABC7. ‘Yeah, out of nowhere, just out of hate.’
‘Are you Palestinian?’
While captured minute long video does not show the entire incident, Zahran is seen repeatedly holding Szustakiewicz’s arms and pushing her back. He said his pregnant wife started recording in an effort to protect him, and that he was trying to shield her from Szustakiewicz assaulting and throwing a cup of coffee at them.
The 25 year old husband maintains that the the verbal and physical attack was ‘completely unprovoked.’
Prosecutors said Szustakiewicz tried to hit the cell phone out of the hands of the woman recording the incident.
‘I did everything I could to not touch her because I knew as soon as I did anything, it would be the roles would be reversed. It would be she’s the victim and the strong, brown, handsome man attacked like a young poor lady, and I didn’t want the story to be reversed. And she gets away with what she did,’ he said.
Video showed customers declining to intervene, with some not even looking up.
‘Right after the incident happened, the Panera Bread workers went to her and comforted her and took her behind the counter and kind of like listened to her side of the story, helped clean her up,’ Zahran said.
The episode has led to Zahran receiving death threats, with messages wishing harm on his family.
‘I received death threats, saying how like, ‘I hope your baby dies’ and ‘I hope your wife gets deported when Trump is back,” Zahran said. ‘It honestly just shows how our society is right now.’
Zahran said Panera workers did eventually come to his aid.
Fallout from ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict
Panera Bread has since released the following statement:
‘We are aware of the unfortunate incident that happened in our bakery-cafe, and we are working with our team to look into this matter. Panera seeks to foster a warm and welcoming environment for all.’
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago also said in part, ‘This shameful and abusive behavior has to be understood and called out for what it is.’
Zahran said along with hateful messages he has also received supportive messages.
‘I’m really proud of being Palestinian. And I love my country, America, and I love Palestine,’ he said. ‘Just be human. Have a heart. Just because people aren’t your color or your country or your religion even, doesn’t mean you can’t feel for them.’
The episode comes in the aftermath of ongoing hostility and fervent support and opposition to both Israel and Palestine following the conflict in Gaza.
Szustakiewicz following a Monday court appearance was ordered by a judge to have no contact with the victims and may not enter the Panera Bread where the incident allegedly occurred.
Szustakiewicz is scheduled to return to court on December 16.
