The death of a 69-year-old Jewish man who suffered head injuries during an altercation Sunday during a demonstration for Palestinians and Israelis in Southern California has been ruled a homicide, authorities said.
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The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that witnesses said the man, whom law enforcement identified as Paul Kessler, was at a pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian rally in Thousand Oaks with at least A counter-protester “got into a physical altercation.” Monday press release.
“During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and hit his head on the ground,” the Sheriff’s Office said.
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At a news conference on Tuesday, Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff identified the suspect as a 50-year-old man who attended the demonstration to show support for the Palestinians. He was not arrested, Freihoff said.
Citing conflicting reports from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters, Freihoff said it was unclear what happened before Kessler suffered a head injury.
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On October 22, 2023, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Edmonton residents braved the temperature of -1°C to hold an hour-long candlelight silence outside City Hall to demand peace and an end to the Middle East of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Video taken at the scene and shared online showed Kessler lying on his back on the sidewalk with blood on his face and on the ground. The video shows him with his hands on his head, like a woman carrying a Palestinian flag, as a man leans on him to try to help.
The Sheriff’s Office is “not ruling out the possibility of a hate crime” as it investigates the death.
Sunday’s demonstration in Thousand Oaks, less than 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, was one of many that have erupted in cities across the United States to protest violent Israeli retaliation for the June 7 Hamas attack. The October protest was attended by more than 1,400 people. , including civilians and soldiers killed.
