President Biden condemns threats to Jewish members of a Los Angeles synagogue after viral videos showed pro-Palestinian activists clashing with Israel supporters over the weekend.
“I am shocked by the scenes outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish worshipers is dangerous, unconscionable, anti-Semitic and un-American,” Biden wrote in X.
“Americans have the right to peacefully protest. But blocking access to a place of worship – and engaging in violence – is never acceptable.”
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President Biden said he was “shocked” by the incident outside a Los Angeles synagogue on Sunday. (Getty Images)
His Department of Justice (DOJ), however, has remained silent. Fox News Digital sent two inquiries to the Justice Department early Monday asking whether the department would investigate or seek to prosecute the matter, both of which went unanswered.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., suggested that Biden lead an investigation into the incident himself.
“If only you were in charge of the FBI and the Department of Justice and could order them to conduct a manhunt for every one of these pro-Hamas lunatics. Like you did for every grandma in a MAGA hat within a rural mile of the Capitol on January 6,” Cotton wrote in X.
Violence breaks out after anti-Israel agitators surround synagogue, clash with Israel supporters
Attorney General Merrick Garland's Justice Department did not respond to questions about whether it would prosecute the matter. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)
Biden's left-wing supporters, however, applauded his statement. The pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel thanked Biden in X “for condemning the reprehensible attack on Jewish worshipers in an Adas Torah.”
“We are grateful for your unwavering commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and for your leadership in the face of such hatred,” the group wrote.
Videos of the incident showed police in riot gear as pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists got into physical altercations.
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Israel supporters clash with pro-Palestinian protesters blocking access to the Adas Torah Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles on June 23, 2024. (DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to Biden, it drew criticism from progressive Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass over protesters blocking Jewish residents from accessing her synagogue.
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“Today's violence in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood was abhorrent and blocking access to a place of worship is unacceptable. I have asked the LAPD to provide additional patrols in the Pico-Robertson community as well as outside places of worship throughout the city,” Bass wrote in “.
It is the latest sign of rising tensions across the country following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel and Israel's invasion of Gaza to eradicate the Palestinian militant group.
