Jewish man dies during anti-Israel protest after he was hit on the head by a pro-Palestine protester.

 

Screencap showing the man before he died. FoxLA/social media.

A 65 year old Jewish man has died after being hit in the head with a megaphone at an anti-Israel protest. FoxLA. The man, identified on social media as Paul Kessler, was carrying an Israeli flag during the protests. He was confronted by another man who then hit him with a megaphone, causing him to fall down and hit his head on concreate. Video showed two people, including a anti-Israel protester, trying to help him. He was still alive at that point but died in the hospital shortly later. The incident happened in Westlake Village, a suburb of Los Angeles. 

My Comment:

This is a breaking news story, so as always, information could change as the story develops. As of right now we have very little information to go on how this incident started or why it happened. Things could change rapidly as this incident unfolds.

What I do know is that I have been predicting something like this happening since the war started. Tensions are way too high right now and people are very upset. Sooner or later someone would lose their cool and attack someone and this time it was a 65 year old man. 

I'm not a lawyer and am not super familiar with the laws in California but under Wisconsin laws this would have been manslaughter. The intent was likely not to murder, but it's the same as someone throwing a punch in anger and the victim dying. Even if this was mutual combat, it would still be manslaughter. And I doubt there is any case for self defense here since no reasonable person would think an unarmed 65 year old man was a threat to life or limb. Without seeing the video we can't know for sure, but I haven't seen anything that indicates otherwise. 

I do think it was unwise to try and counter-protest an anti-Israeli rally. I don't want to blame the victim but the chances of getting attacked were far higher than I would accept. I do support free speech and the right to protest but one does have to wonder how wise it was to do so. Then again, it does take a bit of bravery to take on these protesters. 

It will be interesting to see how the reaction to this will play out. When Heather Heyer died at the Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville it was international news for weeks. This incident though? I am guessing it won't have the same impact, but the Jewish community will do what they can to amply it. It will likely turn into a story only seen in right wing outlets and relatively uncensored social media sites like X.