As Election Day draws nearer, Jewish groups prepare for the worst

Earlier this year, Antifa and other far-left extremists targeted a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles, vandalizing synagogues and looting Jewish businesses.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

As Election Day draws nearer, Jewish groups around the United States are preparing for potential doomsday scenarios in which Jews are targeted, according to a report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).

“We’re not necessarily predicting that there will be a civil war, but we are very concerned that there will be some violent acts,” said Ryan Greer, the Anti-Defamation League’s director for program assessment and strategy.

“As the conspiracy theories become more urgent, many of them may be directed toward Jews.”

“We’re worried about everything from simple tactics to vehicle rammings, which we have continued to see deployed across the country in protests and basic civil gatherings, to active threat events,” Michael Masters, CEO of a security company for Jewish institutions, told JTA.

“Among domestic violent extremists, those who are racially and ethnically motivated, specifically white supremacist extremists, remain the most persistent lethal threat in the United States.”

Many officials expressed concern about President’s Trump’s alleged refusal to condemn white supremacist groups during his debate with Joe Biden. Trump later clarified his remarks.

Notably absent from the narrative is any mention of the anti-Semitic violence that took place in Los Angeles earlier this year, which was perpetrated by left-wing groups.

During the George Floyd protests in late May 2020, Antifa and other far-left extremists targeted the Fairfax district, a heavily Jewish neighborhood, vandalizing synagogues and looting Jewish businesses.

“F*** Israel, free Palestine,” was spray painted on Orthodox synagogue Beth Israel and similar graffiti was found on the nearby Baba Sale synagogue. Across the street from Beth Israel, kosher eatery Mensch Bakery and Kitchen was destroyed.

According to Aram Goldberg, vice president of the Jewish Federation Council, other Jewish institutions targeted by rioters included Shaarei Tefilah synagogue, the Shalhevet School for Girls, Congregation Tivereth Avi, and the Morasha Educational Center.

Scores of Jewish-owned businesses on Melrose Avenue were looted and vandalized.

“The attack on our community last night was vicious and criminal,” said Paul Koretz, the district’s current city councilman, in a statement. Koretz’s father was a Holocaust survivor.

“As we watched the fires and looting, what we didn’t get covered were the anti-Semitic hate crimes and incidents. Under the guise of protests, some advanced their anti-Semitic agenda.”

Dr. Irving Lebovics, chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Agudath Israel, told haredi news site Hamodia that he was confident that Jewish businesses were specifically targeted by the rioters.

“I think it is pretty obvious that there were agitators here with an agenda that goes beyond police brutality,” he said.

“Black Lives Matter and Antifa are groups with a history of anti-Semitism and virulent anti-Israel positions. Spraying ‘Free Palestine’ or obscenities about Israel on a shul doesn’t have anything to do with what happened in Minnesota.”