Local Jews Rally After Santa Monica Pier Attack

by Mendel Scheiner – chabad.org

The Santa Monica Pier is the city’s center of gravity. Its golden sand, Pacific surf and neon amusement park rides pull visitors towards the sea. Yet on Aug. 31, a hateful mob chanting antisemitic slogans converged on the packed boardwalk, expressing their right to freely spew hatred.

When news of the planned demonstration reached the Jewish community, Rabbi Zev Levitansky of Chabad-Lubavitch in S. Monica decided to respond differently. Carrying his tefillin in one hand and a shofar in the other, he counteracted the boiling anger and hate on the pier with holiness, offering Jewish observers and counter protesters the opportunity to perform a mitzvah.

As the mob gathered and their numbers grew, their hostility rose.

Amid shouts of “Hitler should have finished the job,” Israeli tourist Ariel Marciano paused to wrap tefillin with Rabbi Levitansky before continuing down the shore. As Marciano neared the crowd, its energy turned violent.

Spotting his Star of David necklace and overhearing him speaking Hebrew, the “protesters” attacked him. One punched him in the back of the head while others pounced, tearing at his necklace. During the assault, he was pepper-sprayed and one assailant even brandished a knife, warning, “You’re lucky I don’t stab you.”

Santa Monica police intervened and spirited Marciano away. They are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Marciano, meanwhile, is recovering, undeterred and in high spirits.

Rosh Hashanah at the Pier

Since its inception in 1973, the Chabad of S. Monica has held its annual Tashlich service at the pier every Rosh Hashanah. Each year, the Jewish community comes together to cast their sins off the jetty. Over time, the event has become iconic, bringing the holiness of Rosh Hashanah to the heart of Santa Monica. The ceremony has evolved into a beloved annual tradition, reaching and touching Jews who may not even realize that it’s the Day of Judgement.

And that’s precisely where the antisemitic attack on Marciano took place.

“When this happened, it became clear to us that this Rosh Hashanah, just a few weeks away from the time of the attack, we need to place an even greater emphasis on bringing the community together, and at the very site that it happened,” says Rabbi Eli Levitansky, director of Chabad at S. Monica College. “That’s what we do: We unite when we are attacked. Rosh Hashanah is a time to bring new energy into the world.”

This year, the Jewish community of Santa Monica will answer with unity. Chabad of S. Monica is calling on the entire community to gather at the same site of the attack for Tashlich, responding to hatred with holiness.

As Rabbi Eli Levitansky put it: “In a place where others tried to bring darkness, we are going to fill it with light.”