Anti-Israel activists disrupt Israeli consulate event at LA synagogue; two arrested |
JTA — The mayor of Los Angeles has denounced as “abhorrent” and antisemitic a protest that disrupted an event held Wednesday on the campus of the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple, one of the largest synagogues in the city.
Two people were arrested during the incident, which took place after activists who were protesting outside the synagogue entered an event featuring Jewish security professionals and disrupted it.
Video from the scene showed a handful of activists shouting inside the event, which was organized by the Consulate General of Israel to teach Koreans in the neighborhood, known as Koreatown, about security strategies, with a focus on AI innovations.
The group Koreatown 4 Palestine, an organizer of the protest, posted videos showing that they had displayed a banner reading “Elbit Out of LA,” a reference to the Israeli technology company Elbit Systems that is a prime target for Israel’s critics because of its role in developing tools used by the Israeli military. Goni Saar, an AI researcher for Elbit Systems, was speaking at the event.
Eliana Jolkovsky, a pro-Israel activist who posts under the handle @ThatKoreanJew, said she heard protesters outside shout anti-Israel epithets. She posted a video of herself asking a protester why they chose to demonstrate outside of a synagogue. The women responded, “We’re protesting in front of a site that’s........