Rabbi Michael Barclay, founding rabbi of Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village, California, told Newsmax on Tuesday that pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been taking place in his area for the past three weeks and that demonstrators were "looking for violence" Sunday in a deadly confrontation with a 69-year-old pro-Israeli demonstrator.
"These demonstrations have been going on for three weeks every Sunday and they are ugly, and these people, they are looking for violence," Barclay said during "National Report." "That is why on Saturday I sent an email to our congregation saying, 'Please don't go to the center section.'
"They're chanting, 'Free Palestine, river to the sea,' which means no Israel. It means death to Israel. They're chanting, 'From Palestine to Mexico, border walls have to go.' This is what they've been doing. It is not a surprise that it led to violence. It's extremely and profoundly sad. But we also must realize that this is what they've been looking for."
Pro-Israel demonstrator Paul Kesler, 69, died Monday from injuries suffered during a confrontation of some kind with the pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard at 3:29 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
An autopsy performed on Kessler determined that he died from a blunt force trauma to the head and the death was ruled a homicide, according to police.
Witnesses told police that Kessler and one of the counter demonstrators engaged in a physical altercation and that Kessler fell backward, striking his head on the ground.
Barclay said there is no video of the altercation and that people should "pause" and wait for the investigation to unfold.
"Let the police do what they're doing and let them work this through a little bit before we start going off the handle," Barclay said. "We need to stay a little bit calm and patient and wait for Sheriff James Fryhoff and [Thousand Oaks Police] Chief Jeremy Paris."
A press conference with more details was scheduled for Tuesday.
In a statement by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the organization claimed Kessler was hit in the face with a megaphone before falling to the ground, but that has not been confirmed by police yet.
"Violence against our people has no place in civilized society," the group's statement reads in part. "We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it."
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Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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