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.”
