An elderly Jewish man, participating in a pro-Israel demonstration in California, tragically lost his life following a "physical altercation" with a pro-Palestinian protester, as confirmed by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department on Monday evening.
The department was alerted to an incident of battery at a rally taking place at the intersection of Westlake and Thousand Oaks Boulevards. The dispute involved 69-year-old Paul Kessler and an unidentified protester on Sunday afternoon, according to a press release from the department.
The release further elaborated, "Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with [pro-Palestinian] counterprotesters." It was during this confrontation that Kessler fell backwards, hitting his head on the ground.
The Sheriff's Department is actively investigating the incident, and the potential for it being classified as a hate crime is still under consideration.
An autopsy performed at the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office revealed that Kessler's death resulted from a blunt force head injury, and it was officially classified as a homicide, as stated in the release.
The department is urging anyone who witnessed the incident or has footage of it to contact Detective Stump at (805) 384-4745.
Online video footage depicts Kessler on the ground, bleeding and clutching his head. A protester, holding a "Free Palestine" sign and sporting a jacket with a Palestinian flag embroidered on it, is seen leaning over him.
A local man, who had met Kessler just minutes before the fatal incident, shared his account with Fox News Digital. He chose to remain anonymous and stated that he had left to retrieve something from his car. Upon his return, he found Kessler "lying on the ground with blood everywhere."
Several bystanders attempted to call 911, including the alleged perpetrator, but were unsuccessful, the man reported.
He described Kessler as being unconscious but having "moments where he lifted his head, touched the back of his head [and] lifted his legs up."
"He took a very hard jar to the back of his head. His brain mustve [been] swollen," the man told Fox News Digital.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, in a post on Monday evening, claimed that the pro-Palestinian protester had hurled a megaphone at Kessler.
The anonymous man characterized some of the pro-Palestinian protesters as "extremely aggressive," accusing them of shouting at police and "trying to incite a reaction or response."
The pro-Palestinian protesters were also heard chanting "Allahu Akbar" in a video shared with Fox News Digital.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles stated that "violence against [the Jewish] people has no place in civilized society," and pledged to "not tolerate violence against [the Jewish] community [and] will do everything in [their] power to prevent it."
"Our hearts are with the family of the victim," the group wrote in a Monday night post. "While we wait for more information from our law enforcement partners, we remind you that this is the fourth major antisemitic crime committed in Los Angeles this year alone."
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N-Y, shared the post, writing that "the explosion of antisemitism [had turned] deadly."
"A 65-year-old(sic) Jewish man in LA was killed by a violent anti-Israel protestor(sic)," Nadler, who is Jewish, wrote. "I strongly encourage people of goodwill, people seeking peace to separate yourselves from those glorifying & committing violence. Help calm the tide of hate."
He continued: "Violent political rhetoric has consequences. After a short while it incites and dehumanizes. And like tonight, tragically, people can be hurt or killed. Our country is at a crossroads and each of us bears responsibility to help bring calm."
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