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Anti-Israel protesters with keffiyeh-wearing toddler arrested after blocking entrance of an LA synagogue

The incident began when anti-Israel protesters blocked the entrance of the Adas Torah synagogue in Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Anti-Israel protesters who blockaded an LA synagogue were arrested on Sunday and their toddler, who was draped in a keffiyeh and left inside the car, was carried to safety by police.

The incident began when anti-Israel protesters blocked the entrance of the Adas Torah synagogue in Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The protesters were met with pro-Israel demonstrators who attempted to prevent them from blockading the entrance.

LAPD officers arrived on the scene wearing riot gear and declared the assembly unlawful, but in spite of this, the conflict between the two groups of protesters continued for several hours.

At one point, two anti-Israel protesters were held at gunpoint by officers as police removed a keffiyeh-wearing toddler from the back seat of the vehicle and carried the child to safety.

The woman was seen leaning at the top of the car through the sunroof and flipping both middle fingers at the crowd of counter-protesters.

At that moment, the police officers shouted, “Put your hands up. Get out of the car now. Ma’am, step out of the car.”

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The male driver, who was wearing a mask and a yellow shirt, got out of the car and surrendered to police.

The woman then left the Range Rover, held up the keffiyeh and approached the police.

There were no reported injuries at the protest.

Founder of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills, Rabbi Hertzel Illulian condemned the protests and said, “I don’t think the Jewish would go in front of a mosque or the Christian people would go in front of a mosque to do such a thing, nobody would accept this, but here, when it comes to Jews and Israel everything is kosher, everything is okay,” Illulian told CBS.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also condemned the protests and wrote on X “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,” the governor added.

LA Mayor Karen Bass characterized the violence as “abhorrent” and said the blocking of the synagogue “unacceptable.”