Edhat Staff
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a Jewish man following an altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator over the Israel-Hamas war.
The Sheriff’s Office has not determined whether a crime occurred and during a press conference on Tuesday asked for the public’s help to clarify what happened.
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said deputies determined that Paul Kessler, 69, who died early Monday at a hospital, had fallen backward and struck his head on the ground at a pro-Palestinian demonstration Sunday afternoon in Thousands Oaks.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrator stayed at the scene and told deputies he had called 911, Fryhoff said.
Fryhoff has not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime but stated detectives were getting conflicting information from witnesses on both sides about what took place before the fall. No arrests have been made.
“What exactly transpired prior to Mr. Kessler falling backward isn’t crystal clear right now,” Fryoff said.
Officials are asking for people who were there to provide video footage if they have any.
Kessler was part of a pro-Israel group protesting at a Free Palestine rally Sunday at Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard, near the Los Angeles County border.
About 75 people in total were there and authorities patrolling the area saw no indication of violence 15 minutes before the confrontation, Fryhoff said.
When emergency personnel responded to Kessler they found him bleeding from the head and mouth. He was conscious as he was transported to the hospital, Fryhoff said.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrator, a 50-year-old male from Moorpark, stayed to tell deputies he had been involved in the fight with Kessler and had called 911 after he fell, Fryhoff said. He was detained briefly for questioning and authorities have searched his home, although his name has not been released.
Ventura County Medical Examiner Dr. Chris Young said during the news conference that an autopsy found Kessler died from a blunt force head trauma, and that the injuries were consistent with a fall. He also had injuries that “could be consistent” with a strike to the face, but it’s unclear what caused the fall, Young said.
Kessler was injured on the left side of his face and back of his head. He had skull fractures and swelling and bruising of the brain. His death has been listed as a homicide, a medical determination that does not indicate a crime was committed, Young said.
When asked if a megaphone was used to strike Kessler the Sheriff stated the medical examiner said injuries could have been caused by a megaphone but there isn’t information yet on what the protestor had on him at the time.
The sheriff said surveillance footage from a gas station adjacent to where the altercation occurred did not capture a clear view.
Authorities are asking for the public to submit any video or images from that day. The Sheriff asked anyone with information to contact Det. Corey Stump at (805) 384-4745 or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 to remain anonymous.
Demonstrations have been taking place throughout the United States with tensions escalating as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. Last month a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy was stabbed 26 times by his landlord in what authorities have said was in response to escalating right-wing rhetoric on the conflict.
Two weeks ago in Santa Barbara, police issued a citation to a pro-Palestine protestor after stealing an American flag from a pro-Israel protestor.
Southern California’s Jewish community have expressed outrage and concern.
“We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said in a statement.
The Anti-Defamation League is asking law enforcement “to launch a thorough investigation to determine who is responsible.”
Sheriff Fryhoff confirmed additional patrols have been assigned to synagogues and mosques in the area.
Rabbi Michael Barclay, who leads Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village near the scene of the protests, said Kessler attended High Holiday services at his synagogue. The Rabbi urged people to wait for investigators to determine what happened, writing on X (formerly Twitter) to “not let this become a spark that starts an inferno.”
The full press conference from Tuesday is available below:
So sad to hear this. This issue is highly charged and people on both sides are furious. Earlier reports of this on social media made it sound like an intentional homicide. I truly hope it’s not.
Very sad – Republicans promoting street violence and now this.
SBTONER – “It seems it’s the liberal who was violent here.” – Please do not add unfounded assumptions to this tragedy. You do not know the politics of anyone involved. It’s still under investigation as to what happened prior to him falling and hitting his head.
Thank you for pointing this out.
It appears to me, Rashida Tlaib is an instigator to these events. What I have learned so far is that a Pro-Palestinian protester hit this man over the head, which caused him to fall. I personally do not believe the protestor intended to kill, but it is still a homicide.
I also cannot believe the medical examiner, who does not decide what charges are brought, says homicide does not indicate a crime. Homicide is murder and unless they can prove it was self-defense, I do not see how they would determine this homicide was not a crime.
ERIKA – not sure that’s been confirmed, that he was hit. Many different accounts so far.
As for Rep. Tlaib, no. She has not instigated violence. Calling for a free Palestine is not antisemitism. I do think she could have been more sensitive about using “from the river to the sea” given its historical context, but she clearly wasn’t calling for the destruction of Israel.
She said it best here:
“It is important to separate people and governments. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s been used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation,” she said. (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/11/07/politics/rashida-tlaib-censure-vote/index.html)
VOICE – what, exactly, do you think Tlaib “did?” Any actual substantive comment or just more general crying about how “unfair” it is for cons?
Just pointing out that hateful, violence inciting rhetoric is treated very (D)ifferently depending on the political affiliation of the person saying it. Sad state of affairs…
Yeah, figured, nothing but crying. Very cute with the whole (D) thing. Did Tucker teach you that?
What is “hateful, violence inciting” about calling for Palestinians to be free from oppression and violence, such as they are now facing on a catastrophic scale?
VOR, your gimmick of including the parenthetic D is really (D)umb.
accurate though.
LOL, nope.
You are correct VOR – nobody supports the regime led by Adolph Hitler. Your party certainly follows those values. You exemplify that fact by supporting racists and bigots in any post on this site that has anything to do with race. At some point – the vermin will be swept out the back door.
“From the River to the Sea” is a call for genocide and mass murder.
She knows it.
She also said “All Palestinians want peace.” That’s a lie. She knows that as well.
Not a real good start from her.
Yeah, ALEX, no way at all we’re going to agree on this one either. If your take is that she was honestly calling for genocide, nope, not at all.
It’s interesting how complicated this issue is, that we can be in such disagreement over things, yet still want the same goal for both groups. Definitely not as simple as some would make it.
Yep, and I think that 98% of people want peace and stability and a future for other people.
In this particular case, unfortunately, the reality is that the controlling factions of both sides in this conflict don’t want peace. Not the Israeli right wing. Not the Palestinian extremists. So we get this shit. And possibly beyond.
If I’m Israeli leadership, frankly, I also start going after Hamas top brass wherever they are currently hiding outside of Gaza along the lines of the post-Munich extra judicial killings. I hit Hamas in Qatar. Kill their top leadership everywhere around the world where they hide in luxury spending billions of the Palestinians’ stolen wealth. Leave the civilians alone. Go after the leaders wherever and whenever.
But that’s just me 😉
ALEX – absolutely great idea for getting the top Hamas leaders. THAT is what they should be doing, not bombing civilians any further and definitely not sending armed settlers after Palestinians in the West Bank. Not even starting on that…..
Hamas needs to go, 100%.
Yeah, and I also am 100% against the settlers and their attempts at expansion and violence.
ALEX – that slogan, unlike some others, has multiple meanings and has changed over history. It was not a great choice, but it was not meant in the genocidal way you and others come to think of it.
For some great historical context on the phrase:
““If it’s coming from an armed Hamas member, then yes, I would feel threatened,” said Professor Beinart, who is Jewish. “If it is coming from someone who I know has a vision of equality and mutual liberation, then no, I would not feel threatened.”” (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/us/politics/river-to-the-sea-israel-gaza-palestinians.html)
No, she should not have said it, given the intense scrutiny in our country of anyone who even says “Free Palestine,” but I truly don’t think she meant it as many seem to think.
Getting some “defund” the police flashbacks from this comment.
Dude, VOICE. Maybe you should just stop. You’ve done nothing, absolutely nothing, but troll each and every comment here with itrelevant and offtopic comments. Every single one is a “whatabout” something. You’ve failed to articulate any meaningful response to a single claim here. Just stop. You’ve humiliated yourself enough.
“Defund the Police” – a slogan made up by the far right fascists. VOR – you continue to parrot the echo chamber of hate.
I don’t buy that for a single second. She is Palestinian. She, more than anyone, knows what that means and it s a call for genocide. It comes from Hamas’ founding documents which call for the total destruction of Israel and the murder of every Jewish person wherever they can be found.
She knows that one hundred percent. She’s not a stupid or uninformed person, she made a choice to use that phrase.
When you say “come to think of it”, you have it backwards. It was a clear and unmistakeable call for genocide first. Now some people are trying to whitewash but we know what it means.
She wants people to be sympathetic to the plight of *her* people and *her* family and she uses language that calls for the mass murder of *other* people and *other* families.
No.
“It comes from Hamas’ founding documents ” – that’s just not true.
“The phrase “from the river to the sea” — or in Arabic, “min al-nahr ila al-bahr” — dates to the dawn of the Palestinian nationalist movement in the early 1960s, about a quarter century before Hamas came into existence. ” – https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/09/us/politics/river-to-the-sea-israel-gaza-palestinians.html
Maybe you just read this paragraph and not completely:
“The slogan does not appear in Hamas’s founding covenant from 1988, which pledges “to confront the Zionist invasion and defeat it,” not just in historic Palestinian territory, but worldwide. It is featured, however, in a section of the group’s revised platform from 2017. In the same paragraph, Hamas indicates it could accept a Palestinian state along the borders that were in place before the 1967 war — the same borders considered under the Oslo Accords.”
The distortion of the meanings of slogan to different people is part of the problem in this largely info-centric conflict.
You’re right though, she should not have used it, knowing the complex history behind it. You’re not right though, that it was her intent to call for the destruction of Israel.
Again, we won’t be agreeing here, but I wanted to point this out. Not trying to be condescending at all, but some retort is needed if you’re taking the Fox News standpoint that she was simply and blatantly calling for genocide. Respectfully, I think that’s wrong.
Yeah, that’s fair. My statement that it was in their founding charter is not correct, only that it appeared later.
When you say “You’re not right that it was her intent to call for the destruction of Israel”, I did not say that. Citing Fox News is irrelevant, I don’t consume that media in any event.
I said that:
a.) She knows perfectly well the meaning of the phrase that is most violent and incendiary.
b.) She chose to use it knowing the meaning of the phrase.
We can’t possibly know her heart so you can’t possibly know her “intent”. We can only know what she said and we can infer some things about her awareness of how that phrase is used based on her stated heritage which she grew up with and her political background as someone who is (understandably) inclined to be biased to the Palestinian perspective.
It is not the same as some college student who never heard of Gaza until three weeks ago using the phrase out of ignorance.
People are happy to call out “Dog Whistle” speech but…not in this case and this is far more than a dog whistle.
This is a really dangerous time. People can choose to try and reduce tensions or they can increase tensions and the probability of wider conflict. She has failed that test and she should be censured for that failure because people in her community look to her for guidance.
Beyond that, also, you didn’t respond to my noting that she is being dishonest when she said that “All Palestinians want peace.”
The is patently, absolutely false. Just as false as saying “All Israelis want peace.”
So she starts with a lie and ends with a dog whistle. Nope.
ALEX – Yeah, I might have misinterpreted what you meant when you said “She, more than anyone, knows what that means and it s a call for genocide.” She should have known better, I agree. As for my Fox News comment, my bad. That was based off me erroneously thinking you were saying she was calling for the destruction of Israel.
And yes, not all Palestinians want peace, just as clearly not all Israelis want it either. That’s also really part of the problem now. I can imagine many of the Palestinians who did want peace are now fighting for their lives and many more will join terrorist groups because of the massive slaughter of civilians.
She should have been more honest about the feelings of “all Palestinians,” but what was she to say in a rally? “Some or most, but not all Palestinians want peace!” I don’t know, but I can’t fault her too much for some hyperbole at a rally. What would be safe for her to say? “Free Palestine?” Or does that imply that Israel is an oppressor? They are in my opinion, but is that too far?
Still though, a censure is historically used for a member who has committed a flagrant and egregious violation of law. Using it now to condemn someone for supporting the Palestinians, even with a misguided choice of words, weakens it and I think also risks eroding the First Amendment. Words have consequences, always, but to chastise someone to this degree for calling for freedom for the Palestinians is dangerous. As we’ve seen, even in comments here, people who support the Palestinian cause and criticize Israel are labeled as anti-Semites. We can’t silence the calls for freedom.
Netanyahu is a war criminal. Speaking out against him and his actions/policies is incumbent on us as international citizens. Silencing (by threat of censure or worse) those who criticize him only emboldens him and those who support him.
Whoa Sac, can you provide a comment without a link to some leftist news site and their biased take on an issue?
SBTONER – nice troll, but the NYT is hardly far left and the article is written with historical facts by a reporter with a religious and political background in the Middle East. Not everything is an Op-Ed written by a an unemployed janitor come survivalist in Newsmax.
Erika, it’s (D)ifferent when Tlaib does it.
You misspelled liberals GT, the real proponents of street violence.
Good ol Voice. If liberals take to the street to protest human rights abuses, such as slavery, war crimes, etc, then it’s “street violence,” but when it’s armed protesters attacking police officers and breaking into the Capitol and trying to overthrow an election, while chanting “hang Mike Pence,” then it’s just a protest, or better yet…… liberal instigators pretending to be MAGA. Right, VOICE?
Hey, VOICE, did you also oppose the ones chanting “Jews will not replace us” while carrying torches at the white pride rally? Oh wait, those weren’t liberals…….
ah yess… ““Fiery, but mostly peaceful protests” I remember them being very “peaceful”. Humor me and google “riots after trump inauguration”, watch the videos.
VOICE – howabout you stop with the whatabouts and respond to the topic on hand?
“Make claim, lie/refuse to back it, dodge/deflect/whatabout, run away.” – The Voice MO
Meant “racism,” not slavery, but that too
This is really awful. Whatever happened, it should not have happened.