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(A7) Anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson section of Los Angeles on Sunday where an Israel real-estate fair was taking place.
According to reports from the scene, the protesters surrounded the synagogue and prevented Jews from entering.
In one video, protesters, their faces covered by “Palestinian” keffiyehs, are seen linking arms by the entrance of the house of worship.
Pro-Israel counterprotesters are also at the scene. A page on X named “Jews Fight Back” called on the community to protect the synagogue, stating: “We need to gather in overwhelming numbers to ensure our community is not left defenseless.”
It added: “Bring your friends, your family, and your passion. Fly your Israel and American flags proudly. Let’s unite and show our strength and solidarity. Don’t let our house of worship stand alone—be there!”
Reports from the scene stated clashes broke out between the anti-Israel protesters and individuals who came to protect the synagogue. Members of the two groups pushed, shoved, and threw punches at each other, and one anti-Israel protester even sprayed bear mace at members of the other group, as well as at an independent journalist who was at the scene.
Police responded in riot gear. According to the LA Times law enforcement arrested one individual who is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly carrying “a spiked flag” which is illegal to carry at a protest.
Local rabbi Rabbi Hertzel Illulian told KCAL News that such a protest “doesn’t belong here. 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, but here, when it comes to Jews and Israel everything is kosher, everything is okay.”
