Organizers have been indicted for a second time after last month’s demonstration outside a Los Angeles synagogue ended violently and sparked national condemnation.
The StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, a nonprofit that fights anti-Semitism, filed the lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of seven Jews who planned to attend a June 23 real estate and religious event at the Adastola Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Code Pink and the Palestinian Youth Movement, a non-profit organization leading the demonstrations. this The first set A Jewish man files a lawsuit accusing the groups of causing violence and preventing him from entering a synagogue
Attorneys with the Stand With Us Legal Justice Center responded to similar accusations as in the first lawsuit, saying demonstrators “terrorized Jewish congregants outside houses of worship, prevented those seeking religious services from entering, and trapped others inside.”
Jewish worshipers were injured with bear spray and were attacked and threatened by demonstrators, the lawsuit said. The protests also halted several daily prayer services and Torah study sessions.
“Targeting Jewish families for exercising religious freedom in houses of worship is abhorrent and has no place in modern society,” said SCLJ Director Carly Gammill. “The organizers of this anti-Semitic riot need to know they cannot use violence. and intimidation to deny Jews their First Amendment rights—we are here to help the Jewish community ensure that our laws are enforced to the fullest extent.”
President Biden, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Join Jewish community groups in condemning the protest as an act of anti-Semitism.
“I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not become a harbor for anti-Semitism and violence,” Bass said at the time. “Those responsible for any of this will be found and held accountable.”
The violence prompted U.S. attorneys. Gen. Merrick Garland called for a federal investigation into the demonstrations.
The latest lawsuit also names the New York-based nonprofit WESPAC Foundation, short for the Westchester People’s Action League Foundation, as a “fiscal sponsor” of the Palestinian youth movement and therefore supports demonstrations outside synagogues.
A spokesperson for Code Pink declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. Representatives of the Palestinian Youth Movement and WESPAC Foundation could not immediately be reached for comment.
But the groups say last month’s protests were sparked not by anti-Semitism but by a real estate event at the synagogue that aimed to provide information about Israeli housing opportunities in fulfillment of religious observances Aliyah, This means immigrating to Israel.
the lawsuit states return The event was hosted by Israeli real estate company My Home, whose activities attracted widespread attention Demonstrations elsewhere domestic.
Much of the international community — including the Biden administration and the United Nations — considers settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, although the Israeli government disagrees.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as attorney fees. They also asked nonprofits and their members to stay at least 100 feet away from synagogues.
