Driver Rages Against Jewish Mother Biking With Child: 'You Are the Devil'

An angry driver attempting to block a Jewish mother and her child from using a bike lane was captured on video unleashing an antisemitic rant in Washington, D.C.

A post sharing the video to the @DCTrikeMom account on X, formerly Twitter, had been viewed over 600,000 times within hours of being uploaded on Wednesday morning. The incident happened as the U.S. experienced a sharp rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia since the start of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a phone interview with Newsweek on Wednesday afternoon, @DCTrikeMom said that being accosted by angry drivers who are blocking the bike lane was nothing new for her, although the added antisemitism was a first. While the video shared on X lasted for just 41 seconds, she said that the man had harassed her for more than 10 minutes in total.

@DCTrikeMom says that the man was parked in the bike lane and was blocking her path, forcing her to move "directly into oncoming traffic" if she had continued. After refusing to move when she honked her horn, the man erupted into anger, cursing and moving his car to confront her.

"He drove up towards me and stopped and started yelling at me," @DCTrikeMom said. "And when he started cussing at me, that was when I pulled out my phone and started videotaping."

The man's rage continued while he attempted to get bystanders on the sidewalk to join him in cursing at @DCTrikeMom. The situation escalated as the video began when she told him that she had only wanted him to follow the law by moving his car from the bike lane.

"I don't care what you're asking, I don't got to comply to you!" the man shouts in the video. "I don't give a f*** for your safety. Your life is not my concern."

The man then demanded to know whether the mother and her child were Jewish. He accused Jewish people of being "the devil" when @DCTrikeMom confirmed that they were.

"Are you a Jew?" the man asks in the video, with @DCTrikeMom answering in the affirmative.

"I knew it!" the man responds, laughing. "I knew it! I knew you was a Jew! You people are the devil! Now we go, I knew it! ... She is trash! ... This is why you're doing this, because you think you're entitled."

@DCTrikeMom told Newsweek that the confrontation resulted in her being late to pick up her two oldest children from school. Her youngest child was seated in the bike's passenger box throughout the incident

She said that the incident was primarily a dispute over the bike lane, due to the man blocking her from accessing a legally protected right of way. The man's antisemitism did not show itself until it was unlocked by his anger.

When asked about the incident happening in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she said that the divisiveness caused by the situation was "horrifying."

"I think that the way that it's often discussed, and the way that it comes out on social media, you know, is extremely polarizing," she said. "I would like Israeli babies to be safe, I would like Palestinian babies to be safe. I would like to see an end to this conflict that is not genocide for our people or theirs."

The identity of the man in the video is unclear. @DCTrikeMom said that she had "no desire for him to somehow get in trouble" over over the incident but, in an ideal world, she would wish to have "a follow up conversation with him in a less toxic and stressful context."

There has been a massive spike in antisemitism in the U.S. since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The organization reported on Wednesday that there had been a 388 percent increase in antisemitic incidents when compared to the same time period last year.

"When conflict erupts in Israel, antisemitic incidents soon follow in the U.S. and globally," ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. "We are witnessing a disturbing rise in antisemitic activity here while the war rages overseas."

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) also reported on Wednesday that there had been a sharp increase in Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian incidents since the Islamist militant group Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel on October 7.

CAIR says that it has received 774 complaints in the 18 days since the current conflict began. In comparison, the group received a total of 63 complaints during the entire month of August.

"Public officials should do everything in their power to keep the wave of hate sweeping the nation right now from spiraling out of control," CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor said in a statement. "That includes bringing the horrific violence overseas to an end before it endangers more innocent people there and here at home."