Violent demonstration outside L.A. synagogue sparks second lawsuit

The organizers of a demonstration outside a Los Angeles synagogue last month that ended in violence and sparked national condemnation have been sued for a second time.

StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, a nonprofit that fights antisemitism, filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of seven Jewish people who planned to attend a real estate and religious event on June 23 at the Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood.

It is the second lawsuit to be filed against Code Pink and the Palestinian Youth Movement, the nonprofits that led the demonstration. The first suit was filed by a Jewish man who accused the groups of causing violence and blocking him from entering the synagogue

Attorneys for Stand with Us Center for Legal Justice echoed similar allegations as the first lawsuit, saying demonstrators “terrorized Jewish congregants outside of their house of worship, blocking access to those seeking religious services and trapping others inside.”

Jewish worshipers, the lawsuit said, were injured by bear spray, assaulted and threatened by demonstrators. The protest also halted multiple daily prayer services and Torah study sessions.

“Targeting Jewish families on their way to exercise their religious freedom at a house of worship is abhorrent and has no place in modern society,” said Carly Gammill, Director of the SCLJ. “The organizers of this antisemitic riot need to learn they cannot use violence and intimidation to deprive Jews of their 1st Amendment rights — and that we are here to help the Jewish community ensures that our laws are enforced to their fullest extent.”

President Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined Jewish community groups to condemn the protest as an act of antisemitism.

“I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence,” Bass said at the time. “Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable.”

The violence prompted U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland to call for a federal inquiry into the demonstration.

The recent lawsuit also named the WESPAC Foundation, short for Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in New York, as the “fiscal sponsor” of the Palestinian Youth Movement and therefore supported the demonstration outside of the synagogue.

A spokesperson for Code Pink declined to comment about the ongoing litigation. Representatives of the Palestinian Youth Movement and WESPAC Foundation could not immediately be reached for comment.

But the groups have said that the protest last month was spurred not by antisemitism but by a real estate event at the synagogue that aimed to provide information about housing opportunities in Israel that would fulfill the religious commandment to make Aliyah, which means migrating to Israel.

The lawsuit said the Aliyah event was organized by My Home in Israel, a real estate company, whose events have sparked demonstrations elsewhere in the country.

Much of the international community — including the Biden administration and the United Nations — considers settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law, although the Israeli government disagrees.

Plaintiffs for the lawsuit are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees. They’re also asking that the nonprofits and their members stay at least 100 feet from the synagogue.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .