Anti-Israel activists protested a Los Angeles synagogue public safety event on Wednesday, causing property destruction leading to arrests, according to the Wilshire Boulevard Temple and LA Mayor Karen Bass.
The Innovating Safety, Empowering Communities event at the synagogue’s Audrey Irmas Pavilion was disrupted by Koreatown for Palestine and Nodutdol for Korean Community Development.
The groups took issue with a lecture from a representative of Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems and the Israeli Los Angeles Consulate’s involvement in its organization.
Attendees were harassed with antisemitic slurs, according to Bass’s statement on X (formerly Twitter), and the congregation said on Instagram that property was damaged.
The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and the synagogue said that arrests were made for the property destruction and battery. Bass said that additional Los Angeles Police Department officers were deployed to patrol near houses of worship.
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“Elbit out of LA,” said the anti-Israel organization on Instagram. “No Zionists in our streets.”
The symposium was organized by the Israeli consulate in cooperation with the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, Faith and Community Development Los Angeles (FACE), and the Jewish Federation’s Community Security Initiative.
It featured speeches by Viacry CEO Zeev Wexler and Elbit Systems representative Dr. Goni Saar.
The discussions on public safety touched on the role of AI in the field and, according to a November 17 Instagram post by FACE LA, were “designed to accelerate learning, build cross-sector alignment, and elevate community-driven innovation.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that the speakers had also discussed community safety challenges amid pro-Palestinian protests.
Nodutdol for Korean Community Development rejected the idea that the symposium was about public safety and alleged that the security systems discussed would be used to target and kill “vulnerable communities” in the city’s Korean town.
“We call on everyone to reject this surveillance of our people and show that LA rejects Zionism and genociders in our community,” read a protest promotional image posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
The anti-US Korean reunification group organized supporters to call on the synagogue venue and demand that they cancel the event. “Elbit out of Los Angeles, Zionists out of Palestine, US out of everywhere,” read the advertisement.
Wilshire Temple said the protesters had targeted the Jewish community to disrupt a “community event on synagogue property that was focused on advancing public safety in Koreatown.”
The Jewish Federation said the event had been intended to build bridges between communities, but the “antisemitic protest” had disrupted the gathering.
“We are outraged by this antisemitic behavior and condemn it in the strongest terms possible,” said the federation. “There is no place in our community – or anywhere – for antisemitism and hate disguised as dissent.”
Bass condemned the behavior of protesters as “abhorrent” and assured that it had “no place in Los Angeles.”