LA police investigating attack on Jewish teacher outside synagogue as hate crime

No arrests made yet in assault outside Adas Israel, where violence erupted during an anti-Israel protest in 2024; ‘I thought it was the end of my life,’ says 32-year-old victim

JTA — A Jewish man was assaulted on Monday evening behind a Los Angeles synagogue in what police say is being investigated as a hate crime.

The assault, which took place behind Adas Torah, an Orthodox synagogue, in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Pico-Robertson, occurred after the victim said he was followed for a short distance by a man in a car.

“All of a sudden, he just opens the door,” the victim, a 32-year-old Judaic studies teacher, told the Jewish News Syndicate. “I don’t know what he was saying. He pounced me, immediately put his hands over my neck, shaking me back and forth, trying to choke me.”

During the assault, the victim said that the man used a “window breaker” as a weapon while he was choked. As the assailant left, the victim claimed he said “free Palestine.”

“I thought it was the end of my life,” the unnamed victim told JNS.

In a separate interview with local news outlet KTLA, the victim said: “Any religion, any race, no one should be afraid, worried or intimidated to walk outside with pride for what values they hold or what religion they practice.”

No arrests have been made for the assault as of Thursday morning, according to a Los Angeles Police spokesperson.

The attack was not the first to hit the Pico-Robertson neighborhood in recent years. In 2023, a man shot two Jewish men outside their synagogues on consecutive days. The assailant, Jaime Tran, 30, who had a history of making violent antisemitic remarks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2024.

“We are outraged by the violent assault at Adas Torah synagogue last night,” David Englin, the senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League of Los Angeles, wrote in a post on X. “Jewish Angelenos should not have to think twice about walking home from synagogue.”

Israel Bachar, the Israeli consul general to the Pacific Southwest, decried the attack in a post on X, writing that it was the same synagogue that came “under attack” by pro-Palestinian protesters during a June 2024 protest.

The demonstration, which erupted into violent clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters at the time, has since been cited by proponents of a new bill introduced in California that would create a buffer zone around houses of worship.

“This morning, I specifically attended prayers at Adas Torah to make clear: We will never allow hate to win,” Bachar wrote on X. “We must ensure that good triumphs over antisemitism’s evils.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.