LA Mayor Floats Mask Bans at Protests in Response to Anti-Semitic Synagogue Violence

In response to Sunday’s violent clash between anti-Semitic protesters and Israel supporters at a local synagogue, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass (D.) announced she is considering a mask ban during protests within the city.

Speaking to the public on Monday, Bass said the city was examining several issues related to public protests, including "the idea of people wearing masks at protests." Many of the anti-Semitic protesters on Sunday were wearing headdresses and masks, obscuring their identity from police. Pro-Palestine protesters blocked the entrance to the Adas Torah synagogue and beat, wrestled, kicked, and bear-sprayed those trying to defend the house of worship.

Los Angeles is not the only city pushing anti-mask laws as violent anti-Semitic protests continue to spread across American towns and college campuses. Last month, Ohio attorney general Dave Yost sent a letter alerting the state’s 14 public universities that protesters could be charged under a state anti-mask law. Similarly, students arrested during a protest at the University of Florida were charged with wearing masks in public.

Protest organizers encourage participants to wear masks during demonstrations to hide their identity against video surveillance and facial recognition technology, making it difficult for police to identify suspects. They also said masks help "prevent the spread of infectious diseases."

Earlier this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D.) proposed a mask ban to reduce the rampant crime in her state.

"We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior," Hochul told reporters at a news conference. "My team is working on a solution. … People should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes."

The push against masks at protests is an about-face for these Democrat-run cities, whose leaders mandated masks during the George Floyd riots of 2020 in the name of COVID-19 prevention.

As police dispersed the protesters Sunday, they arrested one participant for carrying a spiked post.

"Blocking access to a place of worship is absolutely unacceptable," Bass said in response to Sunday’s events. "What we witnessed was anti-Semitism in the heart of one of our Jewish communities."

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