Two city workers say they were regularly abused at work for being Jewish, enduring for years antisemitic slurs from colleagues that were delivered verbally and in the form of handwritten notes and drawings.
Samuel Raphaelsohn, 72, and Alexander Lukovsky, 67, are suing the city, alleging harassment and retaliation at their jobs with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
“It’s like the mafia over there,” Lukovsky said in an interview Thursday. “It’s terrible.”
Four Muni employees, three of whom were Raphaelsohn and Lukovsky’s supervisors, are said to be responsible for the alleged abuse. Lukovsky has repaired electric motors for the transit agency since 1996, and Raphaelsohn joined as a repair technician in the electrical department in 2020. The abuse began in 2017 and escalated over seven years, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in December.
According to the suit, the plaintiffs were referred to as “dirty Russian Jew” and other slurs.
On Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, the abuse escalated beyond name-calling, Lukovsky said. A man who worked on his team, Vincent Yong Tim, praised Hamas, telling the boss that the terrorist organization was making “very good progress … there will be less Jews in the world,” the lawsuit states.
The city attorney’s office said Monday in a statement that it is “reviewing the complaint and will respond in court.” The SFMTA did not respond to a request for comment.
Both plaintiffs allege they were subjected to repeated abuse as they worked in Muni’s motor shops and electrical departments. Among the incidents outlined in the suit:
- In 2017, Lukovsky was allegedly called a “fat fuck Russian” and a “kike” by his coworker Yong Tim.
- Lukovsky was given a poster, allegedly made by Yong Tim, calling him a “Russian Jew Faget” and a crude drawing that said “get your Rushan foots out of my ass.”
- On Feb. 16, 2024, after Lukovsky was placed on administrative leave, his boss Steve Lin allegedly told him, “We will fuck you good and throw you from Muni forever. Don’t fuck with the Asian Muni mafia, you dirty Russian Jew, go back to Israel. I made sure I will never see you again.”
- On July 11, 2024, Raphaelsohn was allegedly threatened by his boss Lin, who told him, “You are done here, you’re the last Jew here, and I finally have all I need to end you.”
- Yong Tim allegedly told Raphaelsohn, “All you fucking Jews are genocidal maniacs and it is a pity that Hitler didn’t finish you off. But we will.”
- The pair say they were told by two supervisors to stop praying at work and to use a “meditation” room with a “toxic odor.” Lin allegedly yelled, “This is not a synagogue!” as the two engaged in a Jewish prayer ritual.
- Raphaelsohn was allegedly forced to work on the Sabbath, a violation of his Orthodox Jewish faith.
Yong Tim, on Jan. 16, 2024, claimed Lukovsky threatened to cut him into pieces and throw him in an oven. Lukovsky, who denies the claim, was placed on administrative leave a month later.
Lukovsky and Raphaelsohn said whenever they reported the harassment to the SFMTA, they got no response, including after a Sept. 7, 2022, visit by Julie Kirschbaum, now director of the SFMTA, at which Lukovsky told her about the harassment he faced, he said.
“Many times, every time, nothing happened,” Lukovsky said of his attempts to complain. “Nobody helped, nothing.”
“This is why I went through the lawyers,” Raphaelsohn said.
Lukovsky said his administrative leave was supposed to last 30 days, but the SFMTA has extended it 12 times, and he is still on leave a year later.
“I think they’re hoping I’ll quit,” Lukovsky said. “But I don’t want to quit. I don’t want to leave like that. I want to clear my name.”