Things “turned unlawful,” and two people were arrested—one for battery and the other for vandalism—after a group protested outside and within Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jeff Lee, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, told JNS.
Private citizens held the suspects, who were then transported to the police department and booked, Lee said.
Rabbi Joel Nickerson, senior rabbi of the Reform congregation, told JNS that “these individuals targeted the Jewish community and chose to disrupt a community event on synagogue property that was focused on advancing public safety in Koreatown.”
The temple, the oldest synagogue in Los Angeles, is located in the city’s Koreatown neighborhood. Video footage that circulated on social media appeared to show protesters shouting, including cursing, at people entering the synagogue and at people who were already inside during the event. Some footage showed a broken vase with an Israeli flag on the ground.
The footage also appeared to capture someone yelling “get out of our synagogue” at the protesters, and “there’s a nursery downstairs.” Someone responded, “and there are children in Palestine,” per the footage.
Anti-Israel protesters, who gathered outside the synagogue, yelled “baby killers,” “Zionist pigs” and “Zionist scum,” according to videos on social media.
Aram Goldberg, senior vice president of public relations and media strategy at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, stated that the Federation was part of the event, which focused on “bridge building, learning and dialogue” between Jews, Israelis and Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
“An antisemitic protest occurred that disrupted this peaceful gathering,” Goldberg stated. “Several arrests were made following the incident.” He added that the Federation is “outraged” and decried “this antisemitic behavior in the strongest of terms.”
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, stated that she heard “reports” of protesters at the synagogue “calling attendees antisemitic names and damaging property inside the temple.”
“This behavior is abhorrent and has no place in Los Angeles,” she stated. She added that “additional LAPD officers have been deployed to patrol near areas of worship.”
