A 69-year-old Jewish man died from a “blunt force head injury” following a confrontation during competing pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian rallies in suburban Los Angeles.
Paul Kessler succumbed to his injuries on Monday, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department said, adding that authorities were investigating his death as a homicide and hadn't ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.
Both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian rallies were taken out at the same time on Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards amid Israel’s month-long war against Hamas in Gaza.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s devastating bombardment of the Strip in retaliation against the surprise October attack by Hamas that killed 1,400 Israelis.
Kessler suffered injuries before 3.30pm on Sunday in Thousand Oaks when he reportedly got involved in an altercation with pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Deputies deployed to the scene over reports of battery found Kessler suffering from a head wound.
Kessler was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Monday.
"Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s)," the sheriff's department said in a statement.
"During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground."
The autopsy report revealed that Kessler died from a blunt force head injury, the department said, calling it a homicide.
Rabbi Michael Barclay of Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village near Thousand Oaks urged people to avoid jumping to conclusions about what happened.
"I just got off the phone with the Chief of Police," he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "They have conflicting reports of what happened, and they did interview the suspect that is identified in social media at the event. They have no video."
He said police were being cautious before making accusations. "We need to do the same, and not let this become a spark that starts an inferno," he wrote.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles alleged Kessler was struck in the head by a megaphone held by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator. These allegations have not been confirmed by the sheriff’s department.
Hundreds of rallies have been taken out across the world by people either protesting Israel’s war in Gaza or supporting Israel’s “right to self-defence”.
