LOS ANGELES, California — Pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized buildings near synagogues, as well as a nearby church, with anti-Israel graffiti on Friday night after demonstrating against President Joe Biden at a nearby fundraiser on Friday night.
Devastating to wake up to find my Westwood neighborhood filled w/swastikas & antisemitic vandalism left by a pro-Hamas mob after a night of genocidal antisemitic chants. On the 2nd Night of Hanukkah, Jews in LA were terrorized. Hate speech and vandalism are crimes, not protest. pic.twitter.com/oqH7jUWFhE
— Sam Yebri (@samyebri) December 9, 2023
As Breitbart News reported, the protesters gathered outside a fundraiser near Beverly Hills, waving signs that included “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a call for Israel to be destroyed.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 8: Protesters denounce the Biden administration’s support of Israel, which has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians so far in its war against Hamas in Gaza, on December 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to attend six fundraising events and meetings between them in the Los Angeles area over the weekend. More than 17,487 Palestinians, including more than 6,600 children, are reported to have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 on October 7. After a several day cease fire to exchange hostages and prisoners, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have resumed its bombing and ground fighting, now intensifying in southern Gaza after weeks of warning people to flee there to escape Israeli bombing in the north. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Some demonstrators also conducted Islamic prayers.
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER, 8 2023: on December 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
From there, some of the protesters went to Westwood, near the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and marched down Wilshire Boulevard toward an area where there are several synagogues, notably Sinai Temple. Some of them attacked police. The Los Angeles Times reported:
Police declared an “unlawful assembly” at about 5:45 p.m, but [Holmby Park] wasn’t abandoned for another hour, when protesters spilled onto adjacent streets — marching near entrances to the Los Angeles Country Club on Comstock Avenue near Wilshire Boulevard.
While some officers said they were hit with eggs and water by demonstrators, there were no reported injuries or arrests as of 7:45 p.m. Some walls along Wilshire were tagged with graffiti, and protesters blocked and delayed traffic at various points along the thoroughfare.
The Times did not report that the “walls” that were vandalized were opposite synagogues.
Protests led to the defacing of several Westwood businesses. Graffiti messages such as "Free Gaza" and “From the River to the Sea" were sprayed on an apartment building on Wilshire Boulevard opposite Sinai Temple. https://t.co/XT9VSjQpnY pic.twitter.com/WyIZDVGiwg
— Valley Current (@valley_current) December 9, 2023
Walls opposite Sinai Temple and Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel were vandalized with anti-Israel slogans. A public bus shelter opposite Sinai Temple was also vandalized with the slogan “Free Gaza”; it had not been cleaned up as of Saturday afternoon.
In addition, nearby Westwood United Methodist Church was vandalized.
Westwood United Methodist Church, the day after being vandalized by a pro-Palestinian mob on December 8, 2023. Volunteers cleaned up the slogans “IDF OUT” and “CEASEFIRE NOW.” Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2023 (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
A local attorney, Sam Yebri, led a volunteer cleanup crew on Saturday morning. He also noted other antisemitic graffiti.
Pro-Hamas extremists vandalized the historic United Methodist Church in Westwood last night. This morning, Jews and Muslims painted over it. They spew hate; we spread love. Dismantle Hamas now. pic.twitter.com/kfhq188DYu
— Sam Yebri (@samyebri) December 9, 2023
Last night, pro-Hamas extremists vandalized Holmby Park in Westwood, spray painting genocidal antisemitic slogans like “Intifada” (violent uprising against Jews) & “Honor All Our Martyrs” (of Hamas). This morning, a group of us Jews, Muslims, and Christians cleaned it up. pic.twitter.com/QUJab9jYMj
— Sam Yebri (@samyebri) December 9, 2023
Some local residents had taped American and Israeli flags to one of the formerly defaced walls, in a statement of defiance.
American and Israeli flags taped to a wall previously vandalized with extremist anti-Israel graffiti opposite a synagogue, Los Angeles, California, December 9, 2023 (Joel Pollak / Breitbart News)
Two congregants at Sinai Temple, Shantal M. and Joseph C., spoke to Breitbart News.
“I felt this wasn’t a political movement based on knowledge or supporting Palestinians, but just based on hate,” said Shantal, who told Breitbart News that she is Israeli and has family in Israel.
“These people are not only not condemning Hamas, they’re supporting them.”
Joseph added that the demonstration had blocked relatives who had been en route to his home for the Sabbath dinner and the second night of Hanukkah.
He said he had sympathy for the Palestinians, but that the protest had gone too far.
“They are crying for their brothers and sisters, as they should — but there’s a line.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass had not reacted to the antisemitic protest and vandalism as of 3:00 Saturday afternoon.
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 new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent 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.
