By Jerald Jimenez
07 Nov 2023, 09:19 AM EST
A 69-year-old Jewish man lost his life after receiving a blow to the head in the middle of an altercation during a crossroads of protests about the war between Israel and Hamas, according to Ventura County authorities and local media.
The death of the man identified as Paul Kessler occurred on Sunday afternoon in the city of Thousand Oaks, where simultaneous protests in favor of Israel and Palestine were taking place at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard. After the altercation, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office received a report from several people who called the communication center to report an assault at the location.
Officers arriving at the scene found Kessler with a head injury and he was transported to a local hospital for advanced medical treatment. But the man could not survive the injury and died on Monday, confirmed the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office, which determined that Kessler’s death was a homicide.
According to witnesses, Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with a protester or protesters, who pushed him and caused him to fall backwards, hitting his head on the ground.
Authorities have not revealed the identity, number of suspects, or motive for the attack. They have also not ruled out the possibility that the incident was a hate crime, given that Kessler was Jewish, as confirmed by two religious organizations in Los Angeles.
In light of the tragic death, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles issued a statement on Monday in which it expressed its “devastation” at the death of the Jewish man and demanded safety and respect for his people.
“Violence against our people has no place in civilized society. We demand security. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to avoid it,” the federation noted.
For his part, executive director Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in the Los Angeles metropolitan area also expressed his sadness at the loss of Kessler and asked all individuals to refrain from jumping to conclusions or use tragedy for political purposes.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic and shocking loss. “We join local Jewish leaders in asking all individuals to refrain from jumping to conclusions, sensationalizing such a tragedy for political gain, or spreading rumors that could unnecessarily escalate tensions that are already at an all-time high,” he stated. .
Likewise, Ayloush asked the public to wait for the sheriff’s office to complete its investigation before “drawing conclusions” and reiterated his support for the Jewish community in rejecting all violence, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or hate speech.
Kessler’s death occurs in a context of war between Israel and Hamas, which has left thousands dead on both sides.
With information from ABC News
Keep reading:
– Netanyahu plans for Israel to maintain control over Gaza after the conflict
– The White House affirms that it will continue to support Israel despite the number of civilian deaths in Gaza
– The United States sends a nuclear submarine to the Middle East to “deter” states and terrorists in the face of the Israel-Hamas conflict.