Current events have uncovered a deep rot within our cities and suburbs—an ancient hate rooted too deeply to ever eradicate

The Protest on Pico

As told to Rivki Silver by Rachel M.

ON

Shabbos, the rav warned us there would be a protest. His shul, Adas Israel, would be hosting  a real estate fair featuring a group of real estate agents and developers who’d flown in from Israel to promote their new properties. The protest would be held across from the building on Pico Boulevard, the rav informed us, and he encouraged us not to engage with them. In this new normal that we’re all adjusting to, this advice came as no surprise.

Early Sunday morning, our block chat pinged:

Everyone take your car out of the driveway and put it on the street. Block as many parking spots as possible so protestors can’t use them.

One of my neighbors knocked on my door to let me know that I should move my car. Other than that, the day started off like any other summer Sunday.

Around noon, I brought my son to a friend’s house and drove past the shul on my way home. There was nothing doing, not a single protestor in sight. Another one of those situations where there was a lot of hype but ultimately a non-event, I thought.

Shortly before one, my husband and I and our seven-year-old son decided to walk over and check out the fair. Two of my older sons were already there.

As soon as we stepped outside (I live very close to the shul — only about 150 feet away), I could tell that it was not the non-event I had thought it would be. We could hear from the alley that there was trouble nearby, and as we came onto Pico Boulevard, all I could see was chaos. It was clear that the protestors were not being confined to the other side of the street as we’d been told; they were everywhere.

They had blocked off the entrance to the shul and were in the middle of the street as well. They were mostly all in black, some with green or red, most with kaffiyehs and masks on, holding signs and waving Palestinian flags. We saw a child holding a sign that said, “Intifada Now.”  Car alarms were going off. A woman on a megaphone was leading a chant, screaming, “From the River to the Sea,” while a frum man was yelling, “All the hostages will be free!” into a microphone to counteract the pro-Palestinian chants. Jews were walking around with Israeli flags draped around their shoulders. I heard intermittent screams and a constant low thrum of yelling, fighting, and women screaming, “Stop! Stop it!” People all over were filming the melee on their phones.