Violent clash in front of synagogue in LA; police report person arrested with “pointed flag”

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters and supporters of Israel clashed violently outside a synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday.

The incident, which involved scuffles and punches, led to one arrest, according to a police spokesman. No further details were given about the person, but he faces misdemeanor charges for allegedly carrying a prohibited item – “a spiked flag” – at a demonstration.

Shortly before 11 a.m., pro-Palestinian activists gathered outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in the 9000 block of West Pico Boulevard, LA Police Officer Tony Im said. They quickly encountered counterprotesters, many of whom carried Israeli flags.

Video posted on social media showed fistfights between protesters, some brandishing sticks and the handles of protest signs, while police in riot gear stood nearby. Numerous scuffles broke out along the street, with some protesters shouting obscenities as they wrestled each other to the ground.

I said there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Pro-Palestinian protesters chant near the Adas Torah Synagogue on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles on June 23, 2024.

(Zoe Cranfill / Los Angeles Times)

Video appeared to show at least two pro-Palestinian protesters being dragged from an SUV and arrested near Pico Boulevard and Wetherly Drive, with an LAPD officer removing a small child from the back seat of the vehicle.

Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, founder of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills, told KCAL News that the protest outside a synagogue had “no place.” “I don’t think Jews or Christians would go outside a mosque to do something like that.”

The ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the October 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel, has sparked numerous protests across the United States between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israel supporters.

While the United States strongly supports Israel’s goals of freeing hostages kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and defeating the militant group Hamas, it is increasingly concerned about the rising Palestinian death toll and the humanitarian crisis caused by the war.

This is a developing story. City News Service contributed to this report.