Late Sunday morning, a large group of violent Hamas supporters, armed with bear spray and at least one spiked flag, showed up at the Adas Torah synagogue in west Los Angeles to call for intifada and to harass worshippers. These antisemitic extremists physically attacked Jews attempting to protect the synagogue, at least one independent journalist, and clashed with the LAPD, yet according to an LAPD spokesperson only one person was arrested.
What happened to “Never Again?” It was “Never Again” until October 7, when Hamas (aided by the Iranian government at a minimum), massacred civilians in an ambush attack, and then suddenly antisemites around the world felt safe letting their true feelings be known.
Since then, there’s been a massive surge in antisemitic violence and a heartbreaking lack of pushback, arrests, or any type of accountability, particularly in California. During Sunday’s ongoing violence, which lasted for hours and which was documented extensively on social media, elected leaders in Los Angeles and California were silent. There were reports that the LAPD was not engaging because they’d been told to stand down, but finally hundreds of officers in riot gear were dispatched to the scene to shut it down.
In a particularly disgusting scene on Sunday, after a couple who were part of the calls for Intifada were pulled over at a nearby gas station (in their matte black Range Rover with a full-sized “Free Palestine” flag on the back), LAPD officers removed a keffiyeh-wearing toddler from a car seat in the second row. Yes, this couple brought their child with them so he could watch as they called for the murder of Jews. The obvious child endangerment is the least objectionable part of this situation.
After the couple were cited and released, the vehicle drove off with mama proudly hanging out the sunroof, flying her Palestinian flag, north on Doheny (meaning, toward Beverly Hills).
Finally, after 11 hours, the coordinated social media posts from LA Mayor Karen Bass, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Ted Lieu (who represents the area), Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, and LA City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky trickled in. Lieu, to his credit, called for the prosecution of those involved, and Bass called for “accountability.” However, Newsom didn’t mention prosecution or accountability; he simply virtually wagged his finger at the antisemites.
And finally, on Monday morning (almost noon), Joe Biden issued a mealy-mouthed statement, and he also didn’t call for any type of prosecution.
It’s notable that none of these alleged leaders have a plan to address this ongoing threat to their Jewish constituents. Bass wants to essentially have a beer summit with both sides and try to come up with some kind of plan to move forward together. There will be no moving forward together with antisemitic extremists who want to kill Jews; that’s what intifada means, Karen. That’s a delusional plan and a waste of time.
What SHOULD happen?
What happened on Sunday goes beyond protesting. This, and not moms going to school board meetings to demand that they be included in decisions about their children’s education, is domestic terrorism, as defined by the FBI:
“Domestic Terrorism for the FBI’s purposes is referenced in U.S. Code at 18 U.S.C. 2331(5), and is defined as activities: Involving acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; Appearing to be intended to: Intimidate or coerce a civilian population; Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion; or Affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping; and Occurring primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
What occurred Sunday is also not an isolated incident; since the November 2023 murder of a Jewish man, Paul Kessler, in nearby Thousand Oaks by pro-Hamas agitator Loay Alnaji during a so-called protest there have been violent demonstrations throughout Southern California by a coordinated group of terroristic, antisemitic thugs. Alnaji’s Muslim Student Association group at Moorpark College proudly attends some of these intimidation rallies around Los Angeles, and we know that there is coordination going on nationwide. That makes this a federal issue that should be vigorously investigated by the US Department of Justice, but they’re instead worrying about prosecuting pro-life grandmas who protest outside abortion clinics and doubling down on political intimidation by continuing to work to identify and indict Americans who were exercising their First Amendment rights on January 6.
Speaking of the DOJ and January 6, the abundant video evidence of Sunday’s attack and all of the violent intimidation rallies held across the country since October 7 should be compiled and reviewed so as many participants as possible can be identified and prosecuted. Those who were arrested should be questioned in an attempt to determine who the ringleaders are, and the financial records of all involved and their connected entities should be subpoenaed so we can learn precisely who’s funding this domestic terrorism. We all have our suspicions, but we need hard evidence.
For Los Angeles specifically, where we know that the UCLA campus police were told to ignore the violent antisemites (many of whom were not students) setting up encampments and there have been rumors that the LAPD has similarly been told to ignore pro-Hamas rallies, transparency is required. The public must know who has been calling the shots and who’s been telling law enforcement officers to stand down and allow domestic terrorism to flourish. If it’s been politicians calling the shots, that practice must end. Police chiefs need to know that they have the authority to do their jobs without political interference, and the Jewish community needs the reassurance that they will be protected.
We, as voters, need to be sure we turn out in droves in November and make sure that elected officials who’ve turned a blind eye or made excuses for this violence are relieved of duty. And as human beings, we must loudly stand against this violence. That might include participating with organizations that sponsor firearms training for the Jewish community, or even just making sure our neighbors know where we stand. As Leviticus 19:16 (NEV) states, “You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake.”
