Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced Sunday’s violence outside a Pico-Robertson neighborhood synagogue as “abhorrent” and vowed such behavior would not be tolerated.
“Today’s violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood today was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable,” Bass posted on social media after a clash Sunday between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists.
Bass said she called on the LAPD to increase patrols near the synagogue impacted by violence over the weekend as well as other religious institutions. The mayor planned to discuss the matter with LAPD Chief Dominic Choi Monday.
“I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence,” Bass posted on social media.
DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images
LAPD officers clash with anti-Israel protesters outside the Adas Torah Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles on Sunday. (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
One arrest was made Sunday amid pushing and punching at the Adas Torah synagogue around 11 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Times. The unidentified suspect was reportedly carrying some sort of flag on a spike.
Demonstrators clashed in response to the ongoing war in Gaza that began when Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel, kidnapping 250 people and killing 1,200 others, including many civilians.
While spirited protests have been commonplace throughout the conflict, blocking entrance to a house of worship crossed a line for some, including Beverly Hills’ JEM Community Center founder Rabbi Hertzel Illulian.
“I don’t think the Jewish would go in front of a mosque or the Christian people would go in front of a mosque to do such a thing, nobody would accept this,” he told news station KCAL. “But here, when it comes to Jews and Israel, everything is kosher.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also took issue with Sunday’s violence.
“The violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling,” he posted on X. “There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”
Video posted online showed numerous skirmishes near the synagogue throughout the afternoon. Los Angeles outlet KTLA reported unspecified minor injuries resulting from Sunday’s melee.
An NYPD police source said New York City law enforcement has diligently watched for protests — particularly those likely to draw big numbers on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian issue — since Oct. 7. They plan to continue doing so, which literally means putting officers in the middle of dueling demonstrations.
