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The Pogrom in Los Angeles

(Free Press) Noah Pollak - On Sunday, a synagogue in the largest Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles hosted a small, privately advertised event for those interested in purchasing homes or second homes in Israel. As violence across America has grown without much pushback - especially in cities where Jews live - many Jews are thinking about alternative plans, or at least exploring their options, and so are open to learning a bit about real estate in Israel. The event at Adas Torah synagogue wasn't political and it had nothing to do with the Gaza war. But within moments it became the backdrop to antisemitic violence. Over the course of several hours, with dozens of LAPD officers decked out in riot gear largely staying out of the fray, around 100 pro-Hamas activists attacked, bear-sprayed, harassed, and brawled with Jews up and down Pico Boulevard. The police occasionally stepped in, but their main activity seemed to ensure that the activists were able to successfully shut down the front entrance to the synagogue, ruin the event, and harass Jews more or less with impunity. While dozens of video clips have been posted online, there is scant footage of the police forcefully intervening in the numerous fistfights, brawls, and beatings. The same groups that promoted Sunday's violence had shown up at similar real estate events earlier this year in Toronto, Montreal, and Teaneck, New Jersey. The activists make no distinction between Israel proper and the disputed territories. To them, all of Israel is Palestine, all of Israel should be destroyed, and every home inhabited by a Jew on any part of this land is a crime. Police were unwilling to confront, arrest, and prosecute bad actors. It's important to note that this approach applies only to certain kinds of people. If a hundred masked Christians, say, had gathered in front of a Los Angeles mosque and assaulted Muslims, there would be joint LAPD-FBI task forces kicking down doors, and a national news cycle about Islamophobia and injustice in America. Anti-Israel activists understand that they enjoy something like immunity. Criminality, including vandalism, graffiti, trespassing, and harassment, will go unpunished. The groups organizing and carrying out these regular campaigns of violence routinely break numerous state and federal civil rights and hate crime laws. They could be prosecuted under a half-dozen different statutes. But it never seems to happen.
2024-06-27 00:00:00
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