What happened to Paul Kessler? 69-year-old Jewish man dies in California during protest rally

Paul Kessler, 69, succumbed to head injuries during two protest marches happening simultaneously in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 5, 2023. One was pro-Israel, and the other was pro-Palestine. The victim, who was part of the former, engaged in an altercation with pro-Palestine supporters.

Trigger warning: This article contains sensitive content related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Readers' discretion is advised.

Initially, it was speculated that Paul Kessler suffered fatal wounds by falling and hitting his head on the pavement during the scuffle, as reported by the New York Post. However, an early autopsy revealed on Monday, November 6, that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, meaning it was most likely a homicide.

Meanwhile, netizens claim that the senior citizen was struck on the head with a megaphone, allegedly by a pro-Palestine supporter. Some X (formerly Twitter) accounts, such as @AntiSemites, alleged the same.

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Paul Kessler died at the age of 69 during a pro-Palestine demonstration

On Sunday, November 5, a 69-year-old Jewish man named Paul Kessler, who was a pro-Israel supporter, died in the middle of two opposition rallies in Thousand Oaks, California. As per the New York Post, Kessler was involved in an altercation with a group of pro-Palestine protesters, one of whom reportedly struck his head with a blunt object.

Following the confrontation, Paul Kessler reportedly got knocked over and hit the back of his head on the pavement at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard around 3.20 pm local time. A three-second clip of him lying on the ground, holding his head in pain, has now gone viral online.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Paul Kessler was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received advanced treatment. However, he succumbed to brain hemorrhage or internal bleeding on Monday. At present, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is investigating his demise as a “possible hate crime,” as reported by the New York Post.

On Monday, an autopsy was conducted, which revealed that the cause of death was a homicide, aka, a blunt force head trauma.

While the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles told the New York Post in a statement that Kessler was struck by a megaphone, so far, law enforcement officials have not confirmed the allegation.

A local rabbi named Moshe Bryski from Chabad of Agoura Hills told the New York Post that Paul’s untimely death was “a tragedy.” He added how the Kessler’s widow was “in a state of total shock” when he reached her over the phone the following morning. Bryski also mentioned that Kessler may have lost his life because he was a counter-protester in a pro-Palestine march.

“You don’t expect people to go to a rally and not come home,” he said.

Likewise, Kessler’s close family friend Justin Cohen told the New York Post that Paul previously took part in another demonstration in the wake of the October 7 Israel-Palestine conflict. The 38-year-old attorney also revealed how “shocked and devastated” he was at the sudden turn of events.

“I’ve never known him to have a modicum of violence in him in his entire life,” Cohen said about Kessler. "He was not a closet Zionist – he wore it like a badge of honor. He was a proud Jew and proud Israel supporter,” he added.

As of Monday, no arrests were made by the police. However, the Post revealed that the sheriff’s office was looking closely into surveillance footage and even sought help from anyone who could provide video evidence. The police allegedly interviewed a potential suspect about the incident and seized the phone in which the viral footage was filmed.