Israel Condemns ‘Absolutely Shocking’ Violence Against Jews in L.A.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Monday that Israel condemned the “absolutely shocking” violent protest against Jews by pro-Palestinian activists outside a synagogue in Los Angeles, California on Sunday.

As Breitbart News reported, a pro-Palestinian mob blocked the entrance of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, Adas Torah, in the heart of the predominantly Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood, preventing members of the community from attending a meeting about real estate investment in Israel.

There were violent clashes between pro-Palestinian activists and pro-Israel counter-demonstrators who arrived to defend the synagogue. Security officers and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) also clashed with the pro-Palestinian activists.

Mencer, in a briefing with journalists, condemned the “absolutely shocking images of Jews being attacked, [and] violence on the streets of Los Angeles.”
He added: “And where do they attack? Outside a synagogue. … This is Jew-hatred. … Even if you are on the Palestinian side, Why do you go outside a synagogue where Jews go to pray?”

He said Israel had confidence in U.S. authorities to take “strong and decisive action to protect jewish communities,” and that Israel would provide any support necessary.

Mencer added a message to Jews in Los Angeles and around the world:

The way to face down this Jew-hatred is not to hide behind ever higher and higher walls, but it is for Jewish people to wear their identity with pride.

…

We have faced many, many difficult times; we will overcome this one, as we have overcome others in the past.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, waited hours to respond, condemning the antisemitic violence only after Breitbart News had published an article pointing out their failure to do so.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.