WATCH: Lyft driver assaults rabbi moments after picking him up in Dupont Circle

DC rabbi assaulted by Lyft driver

A D.C. rabbi tells FOX 5 he was attacked by a Lyft driver in Dupont Circle Sunday and part of the assault was caught on camera.

WASHINGTON - D.C. police are searching for a Lyft driver who was caught on camera assaulting a rabbi in Dupont Circle in broad daylight.

Rabbi Menachem Shemtov says it was just after morning prayers around 10 a.m. Sunday when the rideshare driver pulled up to him on Leroy Place, Northwest, just north of Dupont Circle.

Shemtov got in the car and the driver made a right turn before suddenly pulling off the road just a block away and telling Shemtov to get out because he didn't like his "energy." Then it turned violent.

Shemtov is the rabbi at Chabad Georgetown where he teaches students to be proud of their Judaism.

Rabbi assaulted by rideshare driver in Dupont Circle

D.C. police are searching for this Lyft driver, who was caught on camera assaulting a rabbi in Dupont Circle in broad daylight.

He says when he got out of the car, the driver called him "weird" and started hitting him. He tried to get a picture of the license plate when the driver knocked the car door into him and started hitting him with his keys – cutting Shemtov's face above and below his right eye.

"I did not think it would happen in our nation's capital and through an authorized rideshare of all places," Shemtov said. "I hope that it won't happen again. This is a time when we have to be careful and look at our surroundings and make sure that no one's out to get us. Just continue being who we are and not let this intimidate us in any way and I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Lyft says they unequivocally condemn the behavior. They have deactivated the driver and encouraged riders and drivers to report safety concerns.

Police say the case is still open and the driver remains at large. Anyone with information is asked to contact MPD.