A prominent young Washington rabbi says he was in a cab home from morning prayers Sunday when he was kicked out of the car and violently attacked by the driver.
Washington, D.C
D.C. rabbi attacked by Lyft driver who didn’t like his ‘energy’
Shemtov said the Lyft driver demanded he leave the car. Videos of the incident, taken by both Shemtov and witnesses, show the driver punching and hitting the rabbi with a set of keys. The attacker fled the scene, according to a police report, which described his vehicle as a red Toyota sedan bearing the Maryland license plate 3FR1602.
The car was the one Shemtov ordered, but he said he believes the man who assaulted him was not the person who was supposed to pick him up. After the incident, he looked at the Lyft app again and saw that the driver who agreed to take him home looked significantly older than his attacker.
Shemtov said he called the Lyft from a Chabad center in Adams Morgan to his home in Georgetown about 10:15 a.m. He asked whether the music in the car could be a little less loud, and the driver turned it off.
“He made a passive-aggressive comment about how I should book a quiet car next time,” Shemtov said. “Then 20 seconds later, he said, ‘Get out of my car.’” When Shemtov asked why, he said the driver replied, “I don’t like your energy, your energy is kind of offending me.”
After Shemtov got out, video shows the driver following him on foot and yelling at him for slamming the car door. He then punched Shemtov in the face. When the rabbi moved to take pictures of the car, the driver followed him and slapped him repeatedly with his keys, leaving cuts across Shemtov’s face.
“I didn’t engage back with him; I didn’t fight,” Shemtov said. “This is the most aggressive thing to happen to me.”
Lyft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shemtov’s family has played a major role in Washington Jewish life for three generations. His grandfather organized the first lighting of a National Menorah on the Ellipse in 1979. His father convinced the House of Representatives to stop holding votes during the High Holidays in 1998, and former president Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law attended his home shul. Shemtov leads prayers at the Pentagon.
They are part of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, which stands apart from other deeply observant sects in its outreach to more secular Jews. Shemtov said he didn’t know whether the “energy” the driver referred to included his religious garb; a police report said the incident was not being investigated as a hate crime.
“I don’t know what other energy he could be referring to,” Shemtov said. “I don’t know what to attribute to me other than who I am.”
Sunday, March 1, 2026 6:36AM
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco Ballet board has voted to cancel its upcoming performances at the Kennedy Center.
The company is scheduled for a four-day run in Washington D.C. in May.
Petition urges SF Ballet to cancel Kennedy Center tour stop as company opens 2026 season
Last year, Pres. Donald Trump overhauled the Kennedy Center’s board, including naming himself the chairman.
That led several artists to cancel scheduled performances.
A statement from SF Ballet says the group “looks forward to performing for Washington, D.C. audiences in the future.”
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At 97, Veteran Harley Wero wasn’t up for a trip to the nation’s capital, so volunteers from the Western North Dakota honor flight brought the trip to him. Wero, his wife Muriel and their daughter Jennifer got to experience Washington, DC, without ever leaving their home.
Web Editor : Sydney Ross
Posted
WASHINGTON – Beginning on Monday, the D.C. Department of Health will be conducting daily tests for E. coli in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.
It comes more than five weeks after the Potomac interceptor collapse sent millions of gallons of sewage into the river.
The testing will also coincide with an important safety advisory being lifted.
Why it matters:
Director of the D.C. Department of Health, Dr. Ayanna Bennett, says they will begin daily testing for E. coli in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers on Monday, along with help from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Currently, D.C. is only testing weekly.
“We feel really secure that the initial sewage is not a threat to people, it’s passed through some time ago, but we do want to get more information about what the long term condition of the river is gonna be and how we should look at it going forward.”
Big picture view:
Monday is also an important day because it’s when the District is expected to lift its advisory that recommends against recreational activities on the Potomac — we’re talking boating, fishing, walking pets by the water.
It’s important to note, however, that D.C.’s advisory pertains to its portion of the Potomac, and it has no bearing on advisories issued by officials in Maryland or Virginia.
Still, this is being treated by many as a hopeful sign.
What they’re saying:
But significant concerns absolutely remain for residents.
“I’ve had tons of messages from people saying they’re not going to let their kids row crew, they’re not going to go to sailing schools. We catch three million tons of blue cats out of the Potomac River. That season starts next week, and they’re not gonna be able to bring those blue cats to market,” said Dean Naujoks with the Potomac Riverkeepers.
“You knew years ago that parts of this Potomac Interceptor were corroded and vulnerable, especially where it broke, in Cabin John, our neighborhood,” one resident said, speaking at a public meeting in Bethesda on Thursday.
“I know there are small business owners here. Who’s accounting for all of our losses that we’re getting due to your sewer blowing up?” another resident asked.
Officials with D.C. Water, which is a public utility, have been running daily tests and will continue to do so as well.
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