Organizers of a protest 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 anti-Semitism, 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.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Code Pink and the Palestinian Youth Movement, the nonprofit organizations that led the protest. first suit It was filed by a Jewish man who accused the groups of causing violence and preventing him from entering the synagogue.
Lawyers for the Stand with Us Legal Justice Center echoed similar allegations as those in the first lawsuit, saying the protesters “terrorized Jewish congregants outside their house of worship, blocking access to those seeking religious services and trapping others inside.”
According to the lawsuit, Jewish worshippers were injured by bear spray, assaulted and threatened by protesters. The protest also disrupted several daily prayer services and Torah study sessions.
“Attacking Jewish families on their way to exercise their religious freedom at a place of worship is abhorrent and has no place in modern society,” said Carly Gammill, director of SCLJ. “The organizers of this anti-Semitic riot must learn that they cannot use violence and intimidation to deprive Jews of their First Amendment rights, and that we are here to help the Jewish community ensure that our laws are fully enforced.”
President Biden and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined Jewish community groups in condemning the protest as an act of anti-Semitism.
“I want to make it clear that Los Angeles will not be a haven for anti-Semitism and violence,” Bass said at the time. “Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable.”
The violence prompted U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to call for a federal investigation into the protest.
The recent lawsuit also named the WESPAC Foundation, short for the Westchester People's Action Coalition Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit, as the “fiscal sponsor” of the Palestinian Youth Movement and therefore supported the demonstration in front of the synagogue.
A Code Pink spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Representatives of the Palestinian Youth Movement and the WESPAC Foundation could not immediately be reached for comment.
But the groups have said that last month's protest was not motivated by anti-Semitism but by a real estate event at the synagogue that was intended to provide information about housing opportunities in Israel that would comply with the religious commandment to do so. Aliyah, what it means to immigrate to Israel.
The lawsuit said that Aliyah The event was organized by My Home in Israel, a real estate company, whose events have caused demonstrations in other places in the country.
Much of the international community — including the Biden administration and the United Nations — considers West Bank settlements illegal under international law, although the Israeli government disagrees.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys' fees. They are also asking that nonprofits and their members stay at least 100 feet away from the synagogue.
