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<\/a><\/p>\nMarcus, who declined to share his last name, places flowers that he bought at the site where Paul Kessler was killed during an altercation at a rally about Israel, Nov. 7, 2023. (Jacob Gurvis)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Loay Abdel Fattah Alnaji, 54, of Moorpark, California, pleaded guilty in May to felony involuntary manslaughter and felony battery causing serious bodily injury for the death of Kessler, as part of a plea deal that was sharply criticized by local Jewish leaders.<\/p>\n
Alnaji admitted to striking Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish pro-Israel activist, in the head with a megaphone during dueling pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrations in a Los Angeles suburb in November 2023. Kessler later died of his injuries. His death became the first tied to U.S. demonstrations surrounding the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no words to describe the pain of losing a husband in such a sudden and violent way,\u201d Kessler\u2019s wife wrote in an impact statement prior to the sentencing. \u201cThe grief is relentless. The silence in our house, the absence of his voice, his companionship, his love and the future we had planned together are losses I carry with me every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan said during the June 30 sentencing that he had received 132 emails from community members regarding the case, many of which advocated for a harsher sentence for Alnaji and called the case a murder or hate crime.<\/p>\n
Malan said that while he understood that the Jewish community could see his sentence as a devaluing of human life, the case was not \u201ca Jewish life versus a Muslim life,\u201d according to the VC Star.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we try to equate a life with a number, we fail,\u201d Malan said during the June 30 sentencing, according to the VC Star. \u201cThe rules do support a grant of probation in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Anti-Defamation League of California decried the ruling in a post on Instagram, writing that it was \u201clittle more than a slap on the wrist and not in proportion with the enormity of this crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s especially concerning that the Court spent much of the sentencing hearing expressing dismay with the letters received from the Jewish community and asking the DA\u2019s Office to correct the perceptions of those who expressed how this woefully inadequate sentence would impact the Jewish community,\u201d the post continued.<\/p>\n
Alnaji\u2019s defense attorney, Ron Bamieh, told Malan that his client was a \u201cgood person,\u201d and that the November 2023 incident was \u201cisolated,\u201d according to the VC Star. He also read aloud a letter Alnaji wrote to Malan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wanted to harm anyone,\u201d Bamieh said, reading Alnaji\u2019s letter. \u201cThe grief I carry from that day is something I will live with always.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko objected to the sentencing of Alnaji in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Kessler lost his life in a violent attack that took him from his family and his wife of 43 years,\u201d Nasarenko said. \u201cGiven the circumstances of this case and the death that resulted, we believe a state prison commitment was the appropriate and just sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bamieh addressed the ruling in a post on Instagram Tuesday, writing that \u201cKessler\u2019s death is a tragedy. Nothing about this case changes that, and Dr. Alnaji has never pretended otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court was clear today: this was never a murder case \u2014no intent to kill could be proven. It was never a hate crime \u2014 no evidence of hate,\u201d Bamieh wrote. \u201cIt was a battery that led to an accidental, tragic death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rabbi Noah Farkas, the president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, told JTA in a statement that the case was a \u201cstark reminder that hateful rhetoric has tragic, real-world consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we had hoped for a sentence that more fully reflected the seriousness of the crime, we hope the outcome offers some comfort to Kessler\u2019s family, friends, and the Jewish community,\u201d Farkas said.<\/p>\n