Biden ‘appalled’ by clashes outside LA synagogue

Washington, United States – AFP

President Joe Biden said Monday he was “appalled” after violent clashes between two groups outside a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend.

Protesters wearing keffiyehs and holding Palestinian flags gathered on Sunday outside the Adas Torah synagogue, where several US media outlets report a promotional event was being held by a real estate company specializing in Jewish settlements in West Bank.

People carrying Israeli flags also arrived, with jostling and sometimes blows between members of the two groups leaving some bloody, with a sizable police contingent later arriving to push back the crowds, AFP photos showed.

“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” the president posted early Monday on X.

The 81-year-old Democrat has repeatedly vowed to combat anti-Semitism, as Israel’s war on Gaza flares tensions across the United States.

“Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship — and engaging in violence — is never acceptable,” Biden added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also called the violent clashes “appalling,” while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the city “will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence.”

She said she had called on the LAPD to provide additional patrols in the area around the synagogue and “outside houses of worship throughout the city.”

Jewish settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal by the international community.