Violence by anti-Israel demonstrators outside Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson area of West Los Angeles destroyed any vestiges of tranquility in this predominantly Jewish neighborhood on June 23. According to local reports, a mob of Keffiyeh-wearing demonstrators managed to beat a woman in the middle of the street and many pro-Israel supporters were pepper-sprayed. These heinous acts were condemned across the board nationwide by officials.
Some anti-Israel thugs wore symbols affiliated with Hamas and Hezbollah; many had their faces covered with masks and scarves.
“Today is a dark stain in the history of Los Angeles,” tweeted Sam Yebri, a former LA City Councilman. “Violent extremists who proudly praise Hamas and Hezbollah marched outside an Orthodox synagogue in America’s most heavily Jewish neighborhood – where my kids go to school, where my family worships, where my family eats and shops, and brazenly terrorized Angelinos with impunity and without any consequence.”
Karen Bass, the city’s mayor, wrote, “[Sunday’s] violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable. I’ve called on the LAPD to provide additional patrols in the Pico-Robertson community as well as outside of houses of worship throughout the city... I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for anti-Semitism and violence.”
For almost 40 years, Rabbi Elazar Muskin has led Young Israel of Century City (YICC) to great prominence. Just adjacent to Adas Torah, YICC is one of the city’s most respected and inclusive Orthodox synagogues in the city. A Cleveland native, Muskin is a third-generation rabbi, ordained by Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.
Rabbi Muskin offered these essential insights exclusively to the Queens Jewish Link:
QJL: Briefly explain what event had been taking place at Adas Torah on Sunday morning leading up to the mayhem.
Rabbi Muskin: There was a real estate fair for purchasing apartments in Israel that was picked up by the pro-Palestinian group who came to protest. The demonstrators were able to gather near the entrance, and this made it difficult for people to enter. The pro-Israel side was right next to the other group and that caused tension.
QJL: What anti-Semitic comments and gestures made by the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were aimed at Jews?
Rabbi Muskin: There were [nasty] comments like, ‘You should be back to Europe.’ A member of my shul saw one protester use his finger like he was shooting a gun. These were images that one remembers, which turned the protest into an anti-Semitic experience.
QJL: Did you get the sense that the LAPD were ill-equipped for this? Perhaps they were given explicit instructions to not act under the guise of “protecting freedom of assembly?”
Rabbi Muskin: The police arrived a bit late. If they were there at the start, they could have segregated both sides, [which would have avoided] all of this.
QJL: The word ‘pogrom’ has been tossed around describing what happened on June 23. Is that an apt term?
Rabbi Muskin: This was not a pogrom at all. We should not escalate an ugly experience into what it was not.
QJL: What and how must Jewish communities nationwide mobilize to thwart all palpable dangers aimed against us? Do you feel the American Jewish diaspora has been too reticent up until this point?
Rabbi Muskin: I think the Jewish community has abrogated its duty to be heard. We need to have constant public marches defending Israel. We have allowed the Pro-Palestinian [mob voices] dominate the streets of America, and we are silent. We need to do what we did with freeing Soviet Jewry [in the 1980s]. We were constantly in the public demonstrating and that made the difference. Now, we must do the same to support Israel, free the hostages, and denounce anti-Semitism.
By Jared Feldschreiber
