RSS
Anti-Israel Activists Swarm Los Angeles Synagogue, Assault and Batter Jews
Anti-Israel demonstrators outside the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles, June 23, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
A violent anti-Israel demonstration outside of a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend sparked outrage by public officials and a forceful pushback by the local Jewish community.
The demonstrators descended upon the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily-Jewish Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles on Sunday. The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Code Pink LA, organizations with an extensive history of anti-Israel activism, said the protest was an attempt to prevent a real estate auction event at the synagogue.
“OUR LAND IS NOT FOR SALE! This Sunday, a real estate event will be marketing homes in ‘anglo neighborhoods’ in effort to further occupy Palestine,” PYM said on Instagram.
“Racist settler expansionists are not welcome in Los Angeles! This blatant example of land theft is operating in our own backyard. The Nakba is ongoing and must be confronted!” the group continued. Many Palestinians and anti-Israel activists use the term “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” to refer to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948.
On Sunday, the demonstrators waved Palestine flags and donned keffiyehs while blocking entry into the synagogue. Many of the protesters also covered their faces in an apparent attempt to avoid identification. They chanted “intifada revolution” and “free Palestine” in front of the building while intimidating bystanders. After catching wind of the protest, a crowd of pro-Israel counter-protesters subsequently flooded the scene in an attempt to defend the synagogue.
Videos that circulated on social media showed the demonstrations descending into complete chaos and violence. Anti-Israel activists were recorded shoving, punching, and screaming at those attempting to defend the synagogue. In one instance, according to the videos, a Jewish woman was shoved to the ground and stomped on by pro-Palestinian activists as pro-Israel counterprotesters struggled to ward the swarm off her. Another video showed two anti-Israel activists cornering a woman carrying an Israeli flag, ignoring demands to “get off” her.
It’s 2024. Not the 1930s.
This is Los Angeles. Not Nazi Germany.
This past Shabbat, a violent mob blockaded Jews from attending synagogue, and attacked them while calling for a global intifada.
The rise in violence against Jews is a stark reminder of the dangers of… pic.twitter.com/rUS7jbc2rp
— World Jewish Congress (@WorldJewishCong) June 24, 2024
Police struggled to contain the raucous and violent clashes, resorting to striking some protesters with batons to assert control over the demonstrations. Some participants in the protests alleged that officers indiscriminately hit individuals in both camps out of frustration.
The skirmishes spilled out into the greater community as anti-Israel protesters targeted and in some cases vandalized Jewish-owned businesses. Surveillance video captured a man throwing a rock through the window of a Jewish-owned store.
Protesters also reportedly broke through a Jewish-owned storefront with a mezuzah — a small parchment scroll containing Hebrew verses from the Torah that members of the Jewish community fix to their doorposts. Pro-Israel supporters attempted to defend the stores, leading to further clashes. Los Angeles police subsequently started a hate crime investigation into the incidents.
“Apparently, only me and my neighbor who have a mezuzah outside got broken into,” a Jewish shop owner told KTLA. “So, we know it’s a hate crime, and oddly enough, when we came in, there was a rock that said ‘payback’ and ‘glory,’ and I don’t know what that means.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass denounced the protests in a statement, saying she would dispatch additional law enforcement to ensure the safety of religious worshippers.
“Today’s violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood today was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable,” Bass said. “I’ve called on LAPD to provide additional patrols in the Pico-Robertson community as well as outside of houses of worship throughout the city. I’ll be meeting with [interim] Chief [Dominic] Choi tomorrow to further discuss the safety of Angelenos.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a statement saying the “violent clashes outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles are appalling. There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”
US President Joe Biden also addressed the demonstrations.
“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” he said in a statement. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship — and engaging in violence — is never acceptable.”
The post Anti-Israel Activists Swarm Los Angeles Synagogue, Assault and Batter Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
The post Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
The post Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
The post Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.