Kosher Shops and Synagogues, Vandalized and Looted during the Protests in Los Angeles

More than 400 protesters were arrested in Los Angeles as street protests continued following the murder of George Floyd.

Several kosher stores and synagogues were vandalized and looted in Los Angeles’ upscale Fairfax neighborhood between Saturday night and Sunday morning by people protesting police brutality after the murder of George Floyd, an African-American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last week.

A number of synagogues were damaged by vandalism, graffiti and looting by protesters including Congregation Kehilas Yaakov, also known as Rabbi Gershon Bess Shul, and Tiferes Tzvi (Rabbi Ganzweig Shul) on Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles.

It was also reported that the Beth Israel Congregation, one of the oldest synagogues in Los Angeles and also on Beverley Boulevard, was also vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti indicating “F ** k Israel” and “Free Palestine” written along its walls. 

Elan S. Carr, Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, condemned the graffiti on the Beth Israel Congregation building, saying on Twitter: “I just visited the Beth Israel Congregation, the scene of last night’s terrible vandalism. This graffiti is further proof that anti-Zionism is # anti-Semitism. Thank you to the many volunteers in the community who in the face of this hatred have decided to restore the synagogue. “

Apart from the destruction and graffiti inflicted on synagogues, a number of restaurants, bakeries and kosher shops were also looted by protesters, which resulted in the loss of a large part of the merchandise and considerable material damage.