Earlier today Ed wrote about an apparent hate crime that happened last night in Los Angeles. A pro-Palestinian caravan drove though parts of west LA and confronted some Jewish diners. Some reports indicated the pro-Palestinian group came over and asked which diners were Jews before attacking them. And that wasn’t the only attack in LA last night. An orthodox Jew was chased through a parking lot by a similar caravan waving Palestinian flags (2nd clip below).
🚨 UPDATE: Some LA Jewish community leaders are trying to get more information about this disturbing video which is being shared on WhatsApp.
It appears to show an Orthodox Jew being chased by two cars from the pro-Palestinian caravan above.
— Sia Kordestani 🦁 (@SiaKordestani) May 19, 2021
Just in the past hour an Israeli journalist tweeted video of an incident in Manhattan which also seems to involve a handful of Jews being attacked by a larger pro-Palestinian group on the street. Note that no news outlet has confirmed the location or date of the video yet and it’s not clear from the clip itself how this started. That said, the brawl itself looks very similar to the one that happened in LA last night.
Jews being attacked on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Can’t say I didn’t see this coming 😞 @jews_of_ny pic.twitter.com/s3mqaqR7Fj
— Michal Divon מיכל דיבון ميخال ديفون (@michaldivon) May 19, 2021
But it’s not just hear that this sort of thing is happening. Today the NY Times published a story about anti-Semitic attacks taking place in Europe.
Rocks thrown at doors of a synagogue in Bonn, Germany. Israeli flags burned outside a synagogue in Münster. A convoy of cars in North London from which a man chanted anti-Jewish slurs.
As the conflict in Israel and Gaza extended into a 10th day on Wednesday, recent episodes like these are fanning concerns among Jewish groups and European leaders that the latest strife in the Middle East is spilling over into anti-Semitic words and actions in Europe.
Last week a group of protesters gathered in Gelsenkirchen, Germany in front of a synagogue and began changing “S**t Jews!” This obviously isn’t a rejection of a Zionism or criticism of the state of Israel it’s just anti-Semitism.
Judenhass mitten in #Gelsenkirchen vor der #Synagoge. Zeiten, in denen Juden auf offener Straße beschimpft werden, sollten längst überwunden sein. Das ist purer #Antisemitismus, sonst nichts! pic.twitter.com/S98Puxl07N
— Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland (@ZentralratJuden) May 12, 2021
Germans are understandably sensitive about anti-Semitism and leading officials were quick to condemn it:
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier underscored that commitment on Thursday: “Nothing can justify threats against Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues in German cities.
“Whoever burns Star of David flags or shouts antisemitic slogans on our streets is not only abusing the right to demonstrate but committing a crime,” he told Germany’s Bild newspaper.
“We neither want to, nor will we, tolerate the hatred of Jews,” Steinmeier added.
Violence and harassment of Jews is happening in Britain as well. Today, two men were charged for an assault on a rabbi outside a synagogue in Chigwell, north of London. The two men hit him with a brick, putting him in the hospital.
Rabbi Rafi Goodwin needed hospital treatment after he was attacked outside his synagogue, in Chigwell, Essex, on Sunday, police said.
Abderrahman Brahimi, 25, and Souraka Djabouri, 18, of Tudor Crescent, Ilford in east London, are accused of causing grievous bodily harm.
This happened at another synagogue in Norwich last week:
The synagogue in Norwich, England this morning. Police are appealing for witnesses https://t.co/AlfQ4vCD1k pic.twitter.com/t48OJRtt5t
— Arieh Kovler (@ariehkovler) May 14, 2021
And last weekend, four men were arrested in London after a pro-Palestinian caravan of cars shouted anti-Semitic slogans from a bullhorn. Sky News has video.
It looks pretty similar to what happened in LA last night in the lead up to that brawl.
🚨🚨 Tonight pro-Palestinian individuals were driving with megaphones around La Cienega & Beverly (a heavily Jewish area) in Los Angeles and threw objects at Jews at a restaurant table. Some threw things back.
The pro-Palestinian group came to the sidewalk to fight.
— Sia Kordestani 🦁 (@SiaKordestani) May 19, 2021
In Europe and in LA there have been peaceful protests against Israel’s actions. But there are clearly some people who are looking for an excuse to start a fight with the nearest Jewish person they can find.
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