President Joe Biden on Monday joined a chorus of prominent Democrats in condemning a pro-Palestinian protest that devolved into chaos outside a synagogue in Los Angeles over the weekend, decrying the demonstrators as “antisemitic” and “un-American.”
Tensions on the street escalated and gave way to violence after the protesters—who took issue with a “My Home in Israel Real Estate” event hosted at the Adas Torah synagogue which promised to provide information on how Americans can invest in “Anglo” areas of Israel and the West Bank—clashed with Israel supporters who’d assembled in counter-protest.
Video circulated on social media showed the scene, which included people shoving one another, throwing punches, and wrestling on the ground.
The Los Angeles Police Department, which responded to reports of the brawls, said one person was arrested at the protest for carrying a spiked post.
In a social media statement, Biden said he was “appalled” by the incident.
“Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” he added. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship—and engaging in violence—is never acceptable.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued similar statements, with Bass saying she’d ordered the police department to ramp up patrols in Pico-Robertson, the heavily-Jewish neighborhood where the protest was staged.
Read it at Los Angeles Times
