Pro-Palestine protesters sparked outrage after vandalizing Los Angeles National Cemetery, the final resting place of some 90,000 veterans from World War I to Vietnam.
Protesters spray-painted the entrance to the cemetery and illustrated phrases such as “Free Gaza” and “Intifada” on Sunday.
The original Intifada is the name given to a Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that began in 1987.
Protesters also chanted the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which was seen by many as anti-Semitic.
Others held signs declaring President Joe Biden an enabler of genocide and accusing Zionists of being Nazis.
Pro-Palestine protesters sparked outrage after vandalizing and defacing Los Angeles National Cemetery, the final resting place of some 90,000 veterans from World War I to Vietnam
The demonstration cordoned off an area near Interstate 405 at Wilshire Boulevard this afternoon.
The cemetery is in an area where there were several protests during Israel's response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7. At a protest shortly after Christmas, demonstrators blocked the entrance to LAX.
Terrence Hayes, a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, condemned the action in a statement.
“The VA national cemeteries are where our nation’s heroes are buried, and any act of vandalism is unacceptable,” he said.
“We are taking immediate steps to restore the wall at Los Angeles National Cemetery to its original condition.”
Shortly after the vandalism, cleaners were seen removing the graffiti at the entrance.
The cemetery posted its own statement on its Facebook page.
Protesters spray-painted the entrance to the cemetery and illustrated phrases such as “Free Gaza” and “Intifada” on Sunday.
Shortly after the vandalism, cleaners were seen removing the graffiti at the entrance
The cemetery later thanked the LA County Graffiti Unit for cleaning up the mess
“The Los Angeles National Cemetery is the place where our nation’s heroes are laid to rest, and any act of vandalism is unacceptable,” they wrote.
“We are taking immediate steps to restore the Los Angeles National Cemetery sign to its original condition, and we are working with law enforcement on their investigation. “As this investigation is ongoing, we have no further comment at this time.”
They later thanked the LA County Graffiti Unit for cleaning up the mess.
Congressman Brad Sherman, a Democrat who represents the district, called the protesters anti-American.
“More proof that the people who hate #Israel also hate America,” he wrote.
“Here, at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in my district, they are defacing a cemetery for those who gave their lives to end slavery and protect the world from fascism.”
“The Los Angeles National Cemetery is where our nation’s heroes are laid to rest, and any act of vandalism is unacceptable,” the memorial wrote on Facebook
Trial attorney and City Council candidate Sam Yebri was outraged by the vandalism.
“Today, pro-Hamas extremists in LA reached a new low, destroying the venerable grounds of Los Angeles National Cemetery, where 85,000 American heroes who sacrificed their lives for our freedom are interned,” he wrote on X.
“They even used the symbol of a Nazi concentration camp, an upward-pointing red triangle.”
Almost immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, pro-Palestinian protests erupted in cities around the world.
Israel's war on Gaza continued in the months that followed, except for a brief ceasefire. According to some sources, over 23,000 people were killed.