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Pro-Palestinian protest outside LA synagogue criticized as ‘antisemitic’ after street fights with pro-Israel protesters
A pro-Palestinian protest held outside a Los Angeles synagogue devolved into chaotic street violence with pro-Israel counterprotesters on Sunday in an incident that several officials, including President Joe Biden, criticized as antisemitic.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it responded to two protests Sunday in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson, just south of Beverly Hills. Videos taken at the scene show police pushing pro-Palestinian protesters away from the entrance of the Adas Torah temple, an Orthodox synagogue.
Chants of “Free, free Palestine - from the river to the sea,” and “long live intifada,” could be heard from among the pro-Palestinian protesters. Participants blocked traffic, and video from the scene shows multiple altercations broke out in the middle of the street and on sidewalks.
Officers arrested a person with a “spiked flag,” the police department told CNN. The person was issued a citation for possessing a prohibited item during a protest and released from custody.
At a Monday news conference, Los Angeles Police Department Interim Chief Dominic Choi said detectives are investigating “all acts of violence.”
He added that while residents are “OK” to protest peacefully, “violence will not be tolerated.”
At the news conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she plans on meeting with the city attorney’s office to talk about the potential for permits for protests, people wearing masks at protests and “establishing clear lines of demarcation between what is legal and what is not.”
Bass said she will also convene a meeting of leaders of houses of worship and cultural centers to discuss how to protect sacred spaces and keep congregants safe. Police will enhance their partnership with Jewish public safety organizations to review threats to the community, the mayor said.
Protests around the Israel-Gaza war have become common across the United States since October, but Democratic officials sharply criticized Sunday’s event for its violence and for taking place at a Jewish institution.
“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” Biden said on X. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship – and engaging in violence – is never acceptable.”
The violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X. “There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”
“Targeting a synagogue, or targeting the members of a synagogue, is anti-Semitic,” US Rep. Ted Lieu of California said on X. “I strongly condemn the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who engaged in anti-Semitism by targeting Adas Torah Synagogue and/or its congregants. Anyone who engaged in violence should be prosecuted.”
Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups say the war has led to skyrocketing hate crimes and bias incidents. The Anti-Defamation League reports that antisemitic incidents were up 140% in 2023 compared to the prior year. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations said last year marked the highest number of anti-Muslim bias reports it has received in nearly three decades.
On Sunday, Bass said in a statement, “I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence. Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable.”
This people care this much about the Israeli vs Palestine conflict than they should go to Israel or Palestine and fight for them. They show more concern for other countries than the one they live in.
