Another day, another protest in which a Jewish man holding an Israeli flag gets accosted, and antisemitic messages abound.

RedState has covered the horrific incident in Ventura County, California, on Sunday, which tragically ended in the death of a Jewish man, Paul Kessler, who'd been standing on the corner of a busy intersection with an Israeli flag when he reportedly was struck with a megaphone by a pro-Hamas protester and fell to the ground, striking his head. Kessler's death has been ruled a homicide, but no arrest has been made as of this writing. 

I previously wrote about a contrast between two events in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, also on Sunday. The pro-Israel rally I attended in Clayton (St. Louis County) was sober, resolute, and peaceful. The anti-Israel rally just a few miles east (in the Delmar Loop) was loud and rowdy, and a Jewish woman had an Israeli flag ripped out of her hands and stomped on. 

A similar scene played out on Thursday afternoon in west St. Louis County (Manchester) — and this one hits even closer to home for me, as it's just two to three miles from my parents' home and from the home I owned from 2007 to 2018. My eye doctor's office was in the next shopping center east of this, my vet, just across Manchester Road. I literally drove past this location almost daily. 

A large crowd stood beside a busy five-lane road, partially blocking traffic in the middle of the afternoon. Police were on the scene and attempting to keep things under control. 

#DEVELOPING: Protest underway in west St. Louis County in the area of Weidman Rd & Manchester Rd. Couple hundred people on the ground. Traffic slow in that area. @FOX2now pic.twitter.com/AvjRY7ELBL

— Mitchell McCoy (@MitchellMcCoy) November 9, 2023

However, before too long, things got physical, with one protester suddenly lunging at a Jewish man who was holding an Israeli flag and filming the protest, yanking the flag out of his hands. Fortunately, the police were right there and immediately apprehended the protester. But that didn't sit well with his compatriots, who began advancing, and shouting at the police to "Let him go!" 

You can watch two different angles of the incident in the tweets below. (Warning: language.)

More violence in St. Louis. Pro Hamas protesters push Jewish man to the ground and steal his Israel flag. One arrest has been made, the Jewish counter protesters are shaken but so far report they are uninjured. This is Manchester, MO @StopAntisemites @visegrad24 pic.twitter.com/7vf7LcIqPq

— A.J. Moll𝕏 (@moll_aj) November 9, 2023

Another video surfaces from today’s Hamas rally in Manchester, Mo
Warning foul language.

Man is arrested for pushing a Jewish man to the ground and stealing his Israeli flag.

Crowd chants “let him go”@ksdk @kmov @NewstalkSTL @visegrad24 @StopAntisemites @yovic7 pic.twitter.com/nWWpRPHkjs

— A.J. Moll𝕏 (@moll_aj) November 9, 2023

A longer video taken from overhead shows the layout of the area, with protestors clearly walking out into the outside westbound lane of Manchester Road — some with baby strollers — while the police attempt to form a buffer between them and the snarled traffic creeping by in the inside lane. 

As noted, one protestor was taken into custody for assault (presumably, the flag-stealer shown being apprehended and led away by the police in the tweets above). 

A.J. Moll, whose tweets are included above, joined the "Mike Ferguson in the Morning Show" on NewsTalkSTL Friday morning to discuss the incident and the rising tide of antisemitism. (Audio below is cued up to the beginning of Moll's interview.)

Moll shared some very poignant observations, including the fear expressed to him by friends about speaking out against the rampant antisemitism, noting: 

"For the most part, these are Israelis, citizens — dual citizens — that have come to America, lived here for many years, and they say, 'We're not going to stand for this. If people are going to go out and rally for antisemitism and Hamas, we're going to go stand with an Israeli flag.' And they're on the other side of the street, being peaceful, just holding a flag — that's all they're doing. And now they're being attacked, pushed to the ground, their flags ripped out of their hands, the police had to intervene. And so a few different reporters contacted me and said, 'Hey, tell me about this. Can you put me in contact with these people?' And I said, 'Sure, I'll try.' And, for the most part, every single one of them said, 'I'm afraid, I'm scared...to even give a statement.'"

Asked why he feels it's important to speak up in the face of these protests, Moll noted what happened in 1930s Germany when people failed to speak up against what was happening, adding: 

"We have to speak up. And I'm like you — I'm a First Amendment guy. I'll protect your right to say it, even though I disagree with it. Happy Veterans Day, I also served in the military, and so that's kind of ingrained in me that you can say what you want to say, but I also...am allowed to say what I want to say, without fear of...any physical altercation, and that's not what we're seeing in St. Louis." 

Moll also pointed to the differences in approach by the opposing "sides," noting: 

"Yesterday, when they were in the streets blocking traffic, our side was at the American Red Cross saying 'Hey, Red Cross, please go visit these hostages and give them medical care.' So, it's kind of...it's a different way and approach. It's about peace and love on our side."

As Moll mentioned, there is a "March for Israel" rally planned for Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, noting that even though Jews make up only a small percentage of the population, "We're going to have to get out there and make our own noise." 

Asked if he's concerned about the vitriolic rhetoric being spouted at some of the rallies, Moll stated:

"Slightly concerned, but listen, I've been Jewish all my life. The Holocaust wasn't even everything — in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but they also kicked out all the Jews out of Spain. I mean, this has been going on for thousands of years. So, in the back of my head, there's a little bit of anxiety, but I'm not scared. I'm going to use my voice. But I know a lot of my friends are scared."

Reiterating the point that antisemitism is nothing new, Moll observed: 

"I do think that this is not new, and the voices you're hearing today are echoing the voices of the past. I don't think it's amped up any more than it was 100 years ago. It's just you're getting to see it firsthand instead of...reading it in a history book."  

While the blocking of traffic and altercation over the flag was disturbing, one of the most haunting images of the protest is shown below: 

St Louis Missouri
Is it about a ceasefire or annihilating the Jews?#CeasefireForNOW @StopAntisemites @visegrad24 @adl #MoLeg pic.twitter.com/BNN20MlCPm

— A.J. Moll𝕏 (@moll_aj) November 10, 2023

How is one to interpret a sign that reads, "Please keep the world clean," with a Star of David/Israeli Flag in a trash can?