Current Events > Jewish man dies after confrontation with pro-Palestinian protester in California

(+) Yeah! (+)

someone who simply wanted to wave an Israeli flag

The nature of the altercation remains under investigation but some reports indicate that before he fell, Kessler was struck in the head with a megaphone by an individual with the pro-Palestinian event.Video from the scene showed paramedics rush to help Kessler. A witness who didn't want to be identified says it was a heated confrontation. "They were both on an even ground, and they were yelling at each other, and then the man brought his megaphone up and hit Paul, and Paul went down," the witness said.

Witnesses say members of the pro-Palestinian group came over and begin antagonizing the other group when it suddenly turned violent.

The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office has determined Kessler's death to be a homicide caused by blunt force head injury. "The Ventura County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident and has not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime," the VCSO said.

How in the fuck would it not be a hate crime?

It's like a couple years ago when cair and a few other organizations tried to rebrand jihad as a word that means "personal struggle."

That's what the word does mean.

A call to jihad has never once been "stay at home and deal with your personal issues." Don't be obtuse.

A call to jihad has never once been "stay at home and deal with your personal issues." Don't be obtuse.

Murder charges

How in the fuck would it not be a hate crime?

Was he literally waving an Israeli flag at Palestinians, or is that a figure of speech?

1. See below.
2. Even if he had been, that doesn't justify murdering him with a megaphone to the head. What the actual fuck?

So he went to the Pro-Palestine side and started to wave an Israel flag?

Witnesses say members of the pro-Palestinian group came over and begin antagonizing the other group when it suddenly turned violent.

So like I've been saying, people have been bending over backwards to try and avoid prosecuting people for hate crimes by bending how words and phrases are interpreted to the breaking point rather than acknowledge how they're being used and why.

1. See below.
2. Even if he had been, that doesn't justify murdering him with a megaphone to the head. What the actual fuck?

Some in the crowd chanted "from the river to the sea", referring to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean - a chant UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman had previously urged police chiefs to consider interpreting as an "expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world". Israel and most Jewish groups agree.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and other activists contest this, saying the slogan refers to "the right of all Palestinians to freedom, equality and justice".

Of the nine arrests made, seven were for alleged public order offences, a number of which were being treated as hate crimes, and two were for suspected assaults on officers.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman

How in the fuck would it not be a hate crime?

Braverman is a vile racist on the extreme right wing of the Conservative Party.

I would not cite her views in support of anything.

The slogan has been employed by political groups since the 1960s to advocate for Palestinian liberation, with origins in the Palestinian National Council's initial charters, which demanded a Palestinian state geographically encompassing the historic boundaries of Mandatory Palestine, and a removal of a majority of its Jewish population.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Though the official Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) demand was later effectively withdrawn as part of the Oslo accords,[11][12][13] the slogan's meaning remains contentious, with some groups insisting it remains a call for the dismantling of the Jewish state

The slogan has been used by militant groups including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that have vowed to destroy Israel. It is regarded by many to be antisemitic or hate speech, suggesting that it denies the right of Jews for self-determination, or advocates for their removal or extermination.[14][15][21][22][23] It has also come under scrutiny in Germany, Austria,[24] the Netherlands[25] and the United Kingdom, where it has been proposed to classify its usage as a criminal offense

Why would it be? It seems like two protestors got into an altercation and the death was the result of an accident. Manslaughter, certainly, but what component leads you to believe it was a hate crime?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_river_to_the_sea

It is believed Kessler was involved in an altercation with pro-Palestinian demonstrators when he was injured.

Not one mention of an altercation or mutual violence.

"An altercation"

Not one mention of an altercation or mutual violence.
Two sides verbally arguing w/ each other, then one cowardly murderous terrorist scumbag wallops an elderly man w/ a megaphone and kills him.

I'm just letting you know what kind of person you are citing.

Rabidly anti-immigrant and authoritarian is just the tip of the iceberg with her.

Yeah nothing there says hate crime to me. Good to note that protestors are terrorists now tho. *Wank*

The terrorist that murdered him is a terrorist, yes.
Thanks for providing yet another great example of reading comprehension, inserting a plural "s" at the end of my word.

Thanks for providing yet another great example of reading comprehension

So someone went to a pro Palestine rally waving an Israel flag? Why?

So someone went to a pro Palestine rally waving an Israel flag? Why?

Jonathan Oswaks, 69, said in a phone interview Monday night that he first met Mr. Kessler a week before the incident when they went to observe a similar pro-Palestinian protest. They resolved to counterprotest the next week at the intersection in Thousand Oaks.

Weve been here, weve seen what this is all about, Mr. Oswaks said of their decision. We need to show up with people and Israeli flags.

The pair met again on Sunday around 2 p.m., an hour before the pro-Palestinian rally was scheduled to begin, Mr. Oswaks said. He and Mr. Kessler then split up and stood on opposite sides of Westlake Boulevard intending to occupy space, he said, and Mr. Kessler was holding an Israeli flag.

Why would it be? It seems like two protestors got into an altercation and the death was the result of an accident. Manslaughter, certainly, but what component leads you to believe it was a hate crime?

Any negative thing happening to Jewish people is viewed as antisemitic or a hate crime by stream. Dudes fucking hysterical about this shit.

the death was the result of an accident

It's incredibly wild how people in this topic are trying to talk this out of being a hate crime, holy shit.

No, it was the result of an intentional act to harm another person. It was not an accident in any way whatsoever.

No, it was the result of an intentional act to harm another person. It was not an accident in any way whatsoever.

The act was intentional, but the result was not. And what elements of this would make it a hate crime?

And victim blame

Fuck off

Keep posting those Ls, loser.

I know that's how it looks from your perspective, but I assure you that you're not the one who looks good here.

I asked you a very simple question. You balked immediately. You aren't the one that looks good here.