Los Angeles deputy district attorneys are growing concerned about anti-Semitism in the workplace after months of silence from their superiors about the case and clashes between anti-Israel agitators and counter-protesters outside a synagogue in a largely Jewish part of the city.
Last week, violence broke out outside the Adas Torah synagogue on Pico Boulevard, drawing condemnation from many prominent Democrats, including President Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
But several Los Angeles prosecutors said District Attorney George Gascón, the man tasked with prosecuting criminal cases related to the crash, has been notably silent.
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Los Angeles Police Department officers clash with anti-Israel protesters outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles on June 23, 2024. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
“I wouldn’t want to go into a workplace or a building where my boss is giving me special treatment just because I’m Jewish. I feel that way, I know a lot of people feel that way,” said Brian Schirn, a veteran prosecutor who heads the district attorney’s office’s narcotics division.
The main issues raised by Schirn and other deputy district attorneys were Gascón’s slow response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, his support for a local political group that has been accused of being anti-Semitic (“Blatantly anti-Semitic“by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Jewish Committee,” and the fact that of the approximately 20 whistleblower retaliation lawsuits filed by his fellow deputy district attorneys, between a third and a half were filed by Jewish plaintiffs.
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They say Mr. Gascón took an aggressive stance after pro-Israel opponents joined the Adas Torah clashes but not against the anti-Semitic mob that sparked them. Jewish prosecutors were passed over for promotion to the key deputy chief position more than 10 times. And they say Mr. Gascón only mentioned Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 riots in Israel after more than 130 employees urged him to do so in a letter.
On June 23, 2024, pro-Israel and anti-Israel protesters clashed to block entry to the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
In his response to the petition, Gascón did not mention Hamas or use the word “anti-Semitism,” but in a statement to Fox News Digital, his office called out anti-Semitism by name and condemned “hatred in all its forms.”
“The District Attorney’s Office condemns all forms of hatred, including anti-Semitism, and takes allegations of discrimination seriously,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Any suggestion that the District Attorney’s Office is sympathetic to organizations that promote hatred, discrimination, violence or terrorism is unfounded. Our prosecution approach to demonstrations and counter-protests is based solely on the principles of law and justice and is without bias against any group.”
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According to one of the retaliation lawsuits, Deputy District Attorney Amy Pentz, who is Jewish, was invited to join the office’s “Equity Conduct Team.” After just one meeting, Pentz thanked the team for including her and said she was concerned about anti-Semitism, but was then kicked off the team on the pretense that there were “too many lawyers,” according to court documents.
The other deputy district attorney suing over alleged retaliation is John Lewin, a veteran cold-case prosecutor who recently returned home early from vacation to help with a murder trial.
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Pro- and anti-Israel protesters voice their opposing views near the Adas Torah Synagogue in Los Angeles on June 23, 2024. (Zoe Cranfill/Los Angeles Times via The Associated Press)
“I don’t know what Georges Gascon personally believes, but from what I can see, he doesn’t personally believe in anything except furthering his political ambitions,” said Lewin, who is Jewish. “I don’t know if he is anti-Semitic at heart, but the people around him and the organizations that support him certainly are.”
He said he disputes Governor Gascón’s denial of the charges against anti-Israel protesters camped out at UCLA and then allegedly saying he would pursue counter-protesters to the “full extent of the law.”
Footage of the standoff at the synagogue showed a scuffle between anti-Israel protesters and counter-protesters, with one scene showing a woman falling to the ground and curled up in the fetal position as rioters kick her as she falls.
George Gascon stands next to Tiffiny Bracknell. (Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office)
“To publicly proclaim that he will use the force of the law to deal with cases involving Jewish suspects while at the same time saying he will do nothing about protesters is shameful and a clear sign of anti-Semitism,” Schirn said. “Everything he has done, including garnering support from those who vocally advocate hatred for Jewish people, and his actions as district attorney, is terrible. When people vote, they need to know what this district attorney will and will not do.”
Nathan Hochman, Gascón’s challenger in the upcoming election, argued that the sitting president’s silence on anti-Semitic protests on college campuses and outside the Adas Torah synagogue sends the wrong message to those who support them.
He said “vile and reprehensible” speech is protected by the First Amendment, but rioting, violence and hate crimes are not.
He added that if language turns into illegal activity, it is up to district attorneys to address it.
“President Biden made comments on Sunday about Adas Torah synagogue, Governor Newsom called it awful, Mayor Bass called it abhorrent,” Hochman told Fox News Digital. “But what was missing was the district attorney who is in charge of all the prosecutions, all the felony prosecutions, and not just in this case, but his silence behind the scenes emboldens criminals,” Hochman said.
Joseph Iniguez, George Gascón, Richard Ceballos, and Rachel Rossi attend the Los Angeles Prison Reform Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Issues on November 9, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images, courtesy of Patrice Cullors)
Gascón’s office denied the allegations of anti-Semitism and said it was again working to expand its Equality Action Team.
“When it comes to promotion and representation within our offices, we are committed to a fair and transparent process that values the qualifications and contributions of all employees,” the statement continued. “We actively work to ensure that our board is equal and diverse, reflecting the full breadth of our community, including Jewish representation.”
Hochman countered that the highest levels of the district attorney’s office are stocked with unqualified staff.
Police in riot gear are seen trying to restore order at the scene of a violent altercation between supporters and opponents of Israel outside the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
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Gascón’s No. 2 is Chief District Attorney Joseph Iniguez, who can be seen in recently released video arguing with police who tried to administer field sobriety tests to his then-fiancée; his former No. 3, Diana Teran, faces 11 felony charges; and his chief of staff, Tiffiny Bracknell, a former public defender who has been criticized for calling for prison abolition, calling police “barbarians,” claiming they were looters during the 1992 Rodney King riots and blaming “white liberals on the West Side.”
“The fact that these three people who led the District Attorney’s Office under Mr. Gascón were either unqualified, underqualified, or are now accused of criminal conduct demonstrates the catastrophic incompetence with which Mr. Gascón has run the office,” Hochman told Fox News Digital. “Add to that the more than 20 lawsuits against him that Mr. Gascón has retaliated against, and this only reinforces the truth that Mr. Gascón is unfit to be District Attorney and cannot actually function as an effective District Attorney.”
Fox News’ Bradford Betts contributed to this report.
