“This is the fourth major antisemitic crime committed in Los Angeles this year alone,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles stated.
(JNS)
A 65-year-old Jewish man, who has been identified as Paul Kessler, was killed in Westlake Village, in the greater Los Angeles area, on Monday, after an anti-Israel protestor struck him in the head with a megaphone, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said in a statement.
“Our hearts are with the family of the victim,” the Federation said. “While we wait for more information from our law-enforcement partners, we remind you that this is the fourth major antisemitic crime committed in Los Angeles this year alone.”
“Violence against our people has no place in civilized society,” it added. “We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it.”
Photos and videos on social media, which blurred the face of the victim, appeared to show a man bleeding from his head lying on the ground.
Israeli media referred to the victim as “an older Jewish man” and the alleged attacker as a “young pro-Palestinian protester.”
“The injured man fell to the ground bleeding and was rushed to the hospital. His death was confirmed to have been caused due to a brain hemorrhage,” per reports. “Israelis who were present at the scene described it as ‘a terrifying sight’ and expressed shock that such an incident took place in their neighborhood.”
Fox News reported that the anti-Israel protestor threw the megaphone at the pro-Israel victim.
The LAPD referred JNS to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, which it said is handling the investigation. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a JNS query.
Late last month, Dylan Mann, a Jewish freshman at Tulane University in New Orleans, told JNS that an anti-Israel protestor hit him in the face with a megaphone, breaking his nose. “They instantly broke my nose with that,” Mann said.
“It was just unlike anything that I’ve ever experienced before,” Mann added. “I was mostly just in shock. You see the monsters and what they do on videos, and you hear on the news, but when you’re really experiencing it, it’s a new level of shock.”
This is a developing story.
