Pro-Hamas mob attacks Jews outside LA shul
A Pro-Hamas mob on Sunday attacked pro-Israel Jews outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area in western Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Police officer Tony Im said that the riot was initiated by pro-Palestinian protesters, who were met with opposition from demonstrators waving Israeli flags.
Videos shared on social media captured several instances of violence, with some pro-Palestinian rioters wielding protest sign handles and sticks as weapons. Police in riot gear were deployed to the scene, where they witnessed heated verbal exchanges and physical altercations.
During the incident, authorities made a single arrest, charging the individual with a misdemeanour for allegedly possessing a “spiked flag,” which is considered a prohibited item at protests, the Los Angeles Times reported. Police did not provide further information about the person arrested.
Footage recorded by onlookers seemed to show law enforcement officers detaining at least two pro-Palestinian rioters from an SUV.
In an interview with KCAL News, Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, the founder of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills, said, “Such protests don’t belong in front of a synagogue. I don’t believe Jewish or Christian people would stage similar demonstrations outside a mosque.”
The Jewish Federation Los Angeles said, “We are aware of an anti-Israel protest outside a local synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area. Our Community Security Initiative (CSI) is monitoring the situation and working with our local law enforcement partners to make sure our community is safe.”
Sacha Roytman Dratwa, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, told JNS on Monday that the incident in Los Angeles “marked a further increase in the already unprecedented levels of antisemitism Jewish communities worldwide are coping with.
“This is an important reminder of the reason why we must come together and fight on a daily basis against all who perpetrate, support or justify acts of terrorism and violence against Jews,” he said.
Roytman Dratwa called on U.S. authorities to “protect their Jewish constituents and not leave them to face these antisemitic threats alone.”
In November, Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man, died when a young pro-Palestinian protester threw a megaphone at him during duelling demonstrations in Westlake Village in Ventura Country, in the greater Los Angeles area.
Report by Miri Weissman (Israel Hayom via JNS)
