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Mob Targets Synagogue in LA
(Wall Street Journal) Alexandra Orbuch - Protesters waving Palestinian flags and shouting anti-Israel slogans gathered outside Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles's Pico-Robertson neighborhood on Sunday. They tried to block the entrance and were soon met by counterprotesters waving Israeli flags. Synagogue officials said the anti-Israel demonstrators maced and bear-sprayed Jews trying to enter the synagogue. "There was nowhere to turn where you could be safe," said Naftoli Sherman, 25. He was attacked and ended up in the hospital. "There was a whole gang of protesters on top of me. They broke my nose and kicked me in the head a couple of times." Members of the Los Angeles Police Department observed the melee unfold rather than protecting those targeted by the mob. It took volunteers from nonprofit Jewish security organizations, including LA Shmira Public Safety and Magen Am, to break up the scuffles. "Without them, it would have been a lot worse," Mr. Sherman said. David Kramer, 37, said people were begging uniformed officers to intercede. Despite many pleas, he said, "they were slow to move, and it appeared to me like they had orders to stand down." As the fighting moved toward other synagogues in the Jewish neighborhood, the police remained about a quarter-block away from the action. Would the police have been as passive if those being targeted had been any minority other than Jews? Would they have stood by and let protesters block the entrance to a church or mosque?