Jewish Man’s Death Prompts Hate-Crime Investigation
An elderly Jewish man was killed in California while taking part in a pro-Israel rally.
The 69-year-old Paul Kessler is seen waving an Israeli flag on the sidewalk from photos taken at the event.
Law enforcement report that they received calls of an assault taking place at the rally when an altercation broke out between Kessler and an unnamed pro-Palestinian counter-protester.
Initial reports and eyewitnesses claimed that Kessler was bludgeoned by the counter-protester’s megaphone causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the cement sidewalk.
“Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with [pro-Palestinian] counter-protesters,” says the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department press release. “During the altercation, Kessler fell backward and struck his head on the ground.”
The incident is still under investigation, but the sheriff’s department has not ruled out the “possibility of a hate crime.”
November 2023. Interfaith Murder. 50-year-old college professor Loay Alnaji is named as the pro-Palestinian who killed Jewish protestor Paul Kessler when rival rallies clashed in Thousand Oaks, California. Alnaji, a Muslim immigrant from the U.A.E (married to a Palestinian woman)… pic.twitter.com/w6yMSBdqpx
— Southern Man (@MagicBelle1) November 9, 2023
Included in the release was the autopsy of Kessler conducted by the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. It was determined that Kessler’s cause of death was blunt force head injury and the manner of death to be homicide.
The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, released a statement following the incident:
“We mourn the death of the Jewish man who died after being injured during a protest in Thousand Oaks. As details emerge and are confirmed, we stand resolute in condemnation of violence and antisemitism. This death is a blow to our region at a time when tensions continue to rise worldwide. We must redouble our efforts to ensure violence and hate are met with accountability and consequences. Los Angeles refuses to harbor this hatred.”
This tragic event took place as antisemitism is sweeping across the globe, with Jews and Israelis being threatened with violence and death in nearly every Western country. Major cities are no longer safe for Jews, as massive protests in the hundreds of thousands take place calling for the eradication of God’s chosen people.
Yet even as evil forces continue to target Jewish worldwide, the Lord is actively protecting and strengthening His people during these trying times. {eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
