(CNN) — A Pro-Palestinian protest outside a Los Angeles synagogue turned violent Sunday after counter protesters arrived and several altercations broke out between the two groups, video shows.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it responded to two protests Sunday in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Pico Robertson, just south of Beverly Hills. Video taken at the scene shows police pushing pro-Palestinian protesters away from the entrance of the Adas Torah temple.
Chants of “Free, free Palestine – from the river to the sea,” and “long live intifada,” could be heard from among the pro-Palestinian protesters. Participants blocked traffic and video from the scene shows multiple altercations broke out in the middle of the street and on sidewalks.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the violence “abhorrent” and said in a press release that she has requested additional police patrols in the Pico-Robertson community as well as outside of other houses of worship in the city.
It is unclear how the chaos escalated, but videos shared on social media shows both groups taunting, shoving and grabbing each other outside the synagogue.
Eventually, the groups of demonstrators began flowing down nearby streets, where more scuffles broke out, the videos show.
In one video, two men appear to be wrestling on the ground as others kick at them. Later, one of the men – holding an Israeli flag – appears to have a bloodied face and mouth.
Additional video showed an egg thrown at a pro-Palestinian activist and a man wearing a traditional Palestinian scarf chased and punched on the ground by a man wearing a Jewish yarmulke or kippah.
During many of the altercations, bystanders worked to pull and hold people apart.
Protests over the Israel-Hamas war have rocked communities across the US since the conflict began in October, and both Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups say the war has led to skyrocketing hate crimes and bias incidents. The Anti-Defamation League reports that antisemitic incidents were up 140% in 2023 compared to the prior year. And the Council on American-Islamic Relations said last year marked the highest number of anti-Muslim bias reports it has received in nearly three decades.
Los Angeles police began monitoring the situation around 10:30 a.m., officer Tony Im told CNN. The crowd was ordered to disperse at some point, Im said, though no exact time was provided.
Officers arrested a person with a spiked flag, the police department told CNN. They were issued a citation for possessing a prohibited item during a protest and released from custody.
He added that the situation appeared “pretty calm” hours later, but that police were closely monitoring the area.
In a statement to CNN, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles said they are working to ensure their community is safe.
“Our Community Security Initiative (CSI) are monitoring the situation and working with our local law enforcement partners to make sure our community are kept safe. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide further updates as needed,” the statement read.
When asked about the violence in the area, Rabbi Hertzel Illulian of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills said it, “doesn’t belong here,” according to CNN affiliate KCAL.
Hertzel lamented what he sees as a double standard, adding, “But here, when it comes to Jews and Israel everything is kosher, everything is okay.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the actions of protesters in a post on X, calling the clashes “appalling.”
“Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California,” Newsom said.
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