Speak, as they say, is affordable. No conversation costs less than politicians ‘ pointless declarations that come after each new illustration of antisemitism on the streets of American cities.
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The most recent example ( as of this writing, there may be more ) occurred on Sunday in Los Angeles, where a keffiyeh-wearing crowd blocked people from entering a temple in the town’s most religious community and blocked them from entering.  ,
The protest” started Sunday evening at the Adas Torah church in the heavily Israeli Pico-Robertson community but eventually spread over several hours,” according to the Los Angeles Times and the .
Some time? Where were the officers, one may question.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it took the L.A. Police Department occasion to dispatch sufficient officers to the scene. Times. According to the options, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were never permitted to speak officially,” The LAPD later deployed 60 soldiers and arranged for the protesters and counterprotesters to leave the area.”
Two questions come to mind. Initially, why did it take hours to build 60 officials to the picture, and next, why were those officers so impotent once they arrived? Videos accessible online ( these, for instance ) show a chaotic scene in which Pico Boulevard, a big east- east street, was shut down as the parties battled in the street.
According to John Podhoretz, Noah Pollack and his buddy Noah Pollack showed up at the temple to attend the event being held, but the LAPD made it seem as though Pollack was allowing the Jew-haters a lot of latitude, which is not in line with the many videos that have been posted online. It’s anyone’s imagine how many people hoping to attend the event were unable to make their way to the corner and rather left in anger or, worse, were subjected to the attack and negativity from the L. A. section of the Hamas Admiration Society.
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Some in the keffiyeh crowd were unmolested by the police as they ranged into the nearby residential neighborhood to harass anyone they perceived as Jewish even after the crowd was dispersed from Pico Boulevard. It was a  , shameful display.
The incident at the Los Angeles Times, which is continuing its descent into journalistic disgrace, was not covered in Monday’s print edition and received scant attention online, only a brief article from a local news outlet. Although the article has so many contributors, or perhaps because of it, the reporting is typical of the paper’s coverage of such incidents, with the transgressions of pro-Palestine demonstrators being downplayed while those of Israel supporters being emphasised, the story has since been updated with six Times , staff writers sharing the byline.
Look no further than a photo currently accompanying the story online for an example of a young woman, presumably a supporter of Israel, engaging with pro-Palestinians whose faces are not shown. It’s a compelling image, but does it accurately reflect the tenor of the events that day, including Jews being chased through the streets by club-wielding, keffiyeh-clad goons?
At the nearby Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance on Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a master of empty rhetoric, condemned the antisemitic violence. ” Yesterday was abhorrent”, she said,” and blocking access to a place of worship is absolutely unacceptable. This disorder was intended to stoke fear. It was designed to divide. But hear me loud and clear: It will fail”.
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But will it? The Times reported that there was only one arrest on Sunday, this one of a pro-Israel demonstrator who was alleged to have possessed a” sharp pole” in violation of a local ordinance that forbids the carrying of potentially dangerous objects during protests. Although the story does not specify who is alleged to have battered whom, police are also said to be looking into” two reports of battery.”
As long as those who applaud the horrors of October 7 are permitted to run amok and intimidate Jews without fear of punishment, there is ample reason to doubt the mayor’s assertion. Mayor Bass must make it clear to the city’s police that it is their responsibility to defend everyone’s rights and, if necessary, to use lawful force in doing so. Until then, expect more of the same.
