‘Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship—and engaging in violence—is never acceptable,’ he said.
President Joe Biden on June 24 condemned an anti-Semitic incident at a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend.
Videos on social media showed fighting between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters on June 23 outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood. Police were called in to break it up.
“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” President Biden
posted on social media platform X, on June 24.
“Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship—and engaging in violence—is never acceptable.”
Other politicians also condemned the violence.
“The violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling. There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom
posted on X.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called what transpired “abhorrent” and “unacceptable.” She said she told the Los Angeles Police Department to increase its presence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood and outside places of worship citywide.
“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,” Ms. Bass
posted on X.
She noted that she will be “joining Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, the Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation Los Angeles Rabbi Noah Farkas, and other law enforcement and faith leaders in a community meeting this week as we talk about steps forward, together.”
“There is no place for antisemitism or violence in Los Angeles—or anywhere. I strongly condemn the protestors that targeted the Adas Torah temple and its members this weekend,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
posted on X, noting that “there is no justification for targeting a house of worship or its community.”
“Targeting a synagogue, or targeting the members of a synagogue, is anti-Semitic. I strongly condemn the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who engaged in anti-Semitism by targeting Adas Torah Synagogue and/or its congregants,” House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)
posted on X, calling for those involved to be prosecuted.
There has been a spike in anti-Semitism since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in what was the deadliest single-day assault on Jews since the Holocaust, according to the
Anti-Defamation League.
In November 2023, a Jewish protester, Paul Kessler, 69, died at a hospital following a confrontation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator over the Israel–Hamas war, in Thousand Oaks, California, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles.
Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji personally inflicted “great bodily injury” on Mr. Kessler, according to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, and was charged with involuntary manslaughter and battery. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
