With pro-Palestinian protest scheduled across the street, major LA congregation decides to pray elsewhere
Temple Beth Am is one of the oldest Conservative synagogues in Los Angeles. Photo by Glenn Francis via Wikimedia Commons
By Louis Keene December 21, 2023
Congregants of Temple Beth Am headed to Saturday afternoon prayer services won’t be going to the synagogue that’s anchored their Jewish neighborhood in mid-city Los Angeles since the 1950s.
They will instead convene at a private home, the Conservative synagogue’s senior rabbi announced Thursday, due to safety concerns related to a pro-Palestinian protest organizers plan to hold at a park across the street.
The Dec. 23 protest at La Cienega Park is billed as “Black and Palestinian Solidarity for a Ceasefire this Christmas” with several organizations involved, including Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.
Rabbi Adam Kligfeld wrote in a letter to congregants that the decision to move the services was made out of an abundance of caution in light of the rally’s seeming resemblance to other protests, “many of which have resulted in violence and loss-of-life, and none of which seem particularly safe for Jews and Zionists.”
The synagogue’s decision reflects heightened anxiety about antisemitism in the Los Angeles area since Oct. 7. A Jewish man died Nov. 5 following a confrontation at a pro-Palestinian protest in Thousand Oaks, about 40 miles northwest of Beth Am, and authorities have charged a pro-Palestinian protester with involuntary manslaughter in his death. And a brawl erupted Nov. 9 outside the Museum of Tolerance following a screening of a film depicting Hamas atrocities.
Kligfeld, who has led the synagogue since 2009, said in an interview that not everyone in the Beth Am community agreed with the decision. Some, he said, thought the group should try to get an even bigger crowd than usual — typically no more than a few dozen — to defy intimidation.
‘I don’t think it’s an accident’
But ultimately the synagogue decided to limit potential conflict between people walking past the park on their way to services and the protesters.
“We decided that this was not Kol Nidrei. This was not a Bar Mitzvah,” Kligfeld said. “This is the Shabbat afternoon crowd — a lovely, committed, small, niche crowd that could be moved to someone’s house without incident.”
Still, the rabbi wrote in the letter that the decision to move the service off-site was “nearly unprecedented.”
Some Jewish Angelenos pointed to Beth Am’s retreat as indication that elected officials are not doing enough to protect the Jewish community.
Others wondered whether the protest was being held in a Jewish area deliberately.
Kligfeld said he didn’t think the rally was being held at nearby La Cienega Park with Temple Beth Am in mind, but added, “I don’t think it’s an accident that the rally is taking place in a very Jewy part of the city.”
Black Lives Matter Los Angeles did not reply to a request for comment.
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