An elderly Jewish man was killed in a violent altercation at a pro-Israel protest in Los Angeles over the weekend, police announced Monday.
The incident, which is being investigated as a homicide, occurred Sunday afternoon during a pair of dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Thousand Oaks.
Paul Kessler, 69, “was in a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s),” the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground.”
“The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force head injury and the manner of death homicide,” the statement continued.
A 65-year-old Jewish man named Paul Kessler has died in Los Angeles.
A Pro-Palestinian protester hit him over the head with a megaphone at yesterday’s pro-Israel rally. pic.twitter.com/APItbgtPyx
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 7, 2023
The unidentified suspect was detained while police searched his home and was then released. Ventura County sheriff Jim Fryhoff told reporters at a Tuesday news conference that the suspect responsible for Kessler’s death was cooperative. Local authorities did not disclose the suspect’s name at this time, given the pending investigation.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles issued a statement in response to the news which said that Kessler was beaten with a megaphone by a pro-Palestinian protester.
“We are devastated to learn of the tragic death of an elderly Jewish man who was struck in the head by a megaphone wielded by a pro-Palestinian protestor in Westlake Village. Our hearts are with the family of the victim,” the organization said, noting the incident is Los Angeles’s fourth major antisemitic crime this year.
“Violence against our people has no place in civilized society,” the statement reads. “We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it.”
While the homicide investigation is ongoing, police said they have not ruled out the possibility of charging the murder as a hate crime.