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Tag: jewish protester

  • Jewish protesters demanding Gaza cease-fire shut down 110 Freeway in downtown L.A.

    Jewish protesters demanding Gaza cease-fire shut down 110 Freeway in downtown L.A.

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    Dozens of protesters organized by a progressive Jewish activist group calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip blocked the southbound 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles for over an hour on Wednesday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill.

    Police were notified about the protest just after 9 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Roberto Gomez. All six southbound lanes were blocked, Gomez said.

    Shortly after 10 a.m., CHP officers were detaining the protesters, leading them to over two dozen police cruisers on the freeway. Behind them, a miles-long traffic jam snarled the morning commute through downtown, south of the interchange with the 101 Freeway.

    A protester with his arms bound behind his back said “Free Palestine” when asked for comment as officers led him away.

    A tow truck was called to remove vehicles left by protesters and blocking traffic on the 110. By around 10:30 a.m., the last protester had been led away and two lanes of traffic had been reopened.

    Authorities arrested 75 protesters for failure to comply with a dispersal order, and the freeway was expected to be fully reopened by noon, according to the CHP.

    In videos posted by organizers IfNotNow, the protesters stretched across the freeway wearing black shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Not In Our Name” on the front and “Jews Say Cease Fire now” on the back.

    American Jews and allies calling for a cease-fire in Gaza block the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles with a seven-foot menorah.

    (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

    They sang “cease-fire now” and lighted a seven-foot menorah as cars waited helplessly behind them.

    In a statement to the media, the group wrote that its members “demand an end to the financial support of Israel’s occupation and documented war crimes.”

    In helicopter video from KCAL News, several angry drivers were seen skirmishing with protesters before law enforcement arrived. A man pinned a protester up against the hood of a car while others yelled. They grabbed and pushed protesters, throwing some of their signs across the freeway.

    The protest is one in a string of actions in favor of ending Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in the two months since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

    Another protest organized by the group shut down a Hollywood intersection in mid-November, and during President Biden’s visit to Los Angeles last week, over 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at Holmby Park, across from the site of a fundraiser.

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    Nathan Solis, Terry Castleman

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  • 60 statements, 600 pieces of evidence: Manslaughter charges in death of Jewish protester

    60 statements, 600 pieces of evidence: Manslaughter charges in death of Jewish protester

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    Prosecutors on Friday laid out the voluminous evidence they used to back charges of involuntary manslaughter and battery against a Moorpark professor in the death of a Jewish protester.

    Despite the clearest description yet of how felony charges came to be filed against Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, Ventura County Dist. Atty Erik Nasarenko and Sheriff Jim Fryhoff did not make public a specific timeline of what happened that led to the death of 69-year-old Paul Kessler.

    “Our prosecutors have reviewed over 600 pieces of evidence and the statements of over 60 witnesses,” Nasarenko said, noting that the evidence provides a “clear sequence of events leading up to the confrontation.”

    Key pieces of evidence that made the case for prosecutors were new findings “regarding the injuries to the left side of Paul Kessler’s face,” Nasarenko said, although he did not specify whether those injuries were caused by a blow from Alnaji.

    Nasarenko declined to answer a question as to whether Alnaji struck Kessler with a megaphone.

    Video and digital images were also instrumental in bringing the charges, Nasarenko said.

    Nasarenko’s office is not currently pursuing hate crime charges, though it is still investigating and executing search warrants that could lead to those charges in the future, the prosecutor said.

    “We cannot at this time meet the elements of a hate crime,” he said.

    Alnaji and Kessler clashed at a protest related to the Israel-Hamas war, during which demonstrators on both sides clashed at an intersection in Thousand Oaks.

    Alnaji was protesting with others at a Free Palestine rally, and Kessler was counter-protesting in support of Israel.

    Nasarenko specified that there was no evidence to suggest that Alnaji attended the protest with the intent to kill anyone.

    “We received no evidence, no statements, no information whatsoever that the defendant arrived at that intersection … with the intent to kill, harm or injure anyone,” the D.A. said.

    Conflicting statements from witnesses on both sides delayed the arrest of Alnaji, who was immediately a suspect in Kessler’s death.

    While details of their encounter remain scarce and neither the Ventura County district attorney’s office nor the sheriff’s office have provided a full description of what they believe occurred, the charges allege that Alnaji “did unlawfully kill a human being.”

    The charges also specify that the death was caused “without malice,” according to the felony complaint filed Friday.

    Alnaji will go before a judge Friday afternoon in Ventura County Superior Court. He is currently being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

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    Richard Winton, Noah Goldberg

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