Synagogue Protests Are Not Lit

Hear me out: some protests are a really really bad idea

Gabe Zichermann

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Defend Peaceful Protests…not Hateful Ones. Photo cc Flickr Alisdare Hickson

This past weekend, the shocking story of a violent protest at a synagogue in L.A. came to light. Sunday, anti-Israel protesters took to the street in front of Adas Israel synagogue in the largely orthodox neighborhood of Pico-Robertson and were met by community response. The protesters claim they were merely objecting to an Israeli land auction happening in the temple. What they did was harass and block people from entering and exiting the synagogue for several hours. There were skirmishes, attacks, police action — and the not-so-swift response by LA’s mayor, various other state and local politicians, and the governor himself.

Shortly after the atrocities of October 7th, as Israel began responding militarily to the Palestinian-led rape, murder, beheadings and kidnappings at the Nova festival, protesters had announced a march through Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Friends were discussing this on Facebook, and one (Jewish) objected to the choice of route. He pointed out that a Saturday protest in a highly orthodox neighborhood would be exceptionally problematic. Both because it is a religious day for the residents and that it’s not an Israeli neighborhood, but rather just a Jewish one. Our non-Jewish friend responded with an old, Marxist canard:

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Gabe Zichermann

Author and Public Speaker on Gamification, The 4th Industrial Revolution, the Future of Work and Failure. More about me: https://gabezichermann.com