Pro-Palestinian protesters sparked outrage after vandalizing and damaging the Los Angeles National Cemetery, the final resting place of some 90,000 veterans from World War I to Vietnam.
Protesters used spray paint on the entrance to the cemetery, illustrating phrases such as “Liberate Gaza” and “intifada” on Sunday.
The original Intifada is the name given to the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which began in 1987.
The demonstrators also chanted the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which many consider anti-Semitic.
Others held signs declaring that President Joe Biden was enabling genocide and accusing Zionists of being Nazis.
Pro-Palestinian protesters sparked outrage after vandalizing and damaging the Los Angeles National Cemetery, the final resting place of some 90,000 veterans from World War I to Vietnam.
The demonstration closed an area near Interstate 405 at Wilshire Boulevard that afternoon.
The cemetery is located in an area where several protests took place during the Israeli response to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.
Los Angeles has seen its share of pro-Palestinian action, with protesters blocking the entrance to LAX just after Christmas.
Terrence Hayes, spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs, condemned the action in a statement.
“VA National Cemeteries are where our nation’s heroes are laid to rest, and any act of vandalism is unacceptable,” he said.
“We are taking immediate steps to restore the wall at the Los Angeles National Cemetery to its original condition.”
Soon after the vandalism, cleaning crews were seen cleaning up the graffiti on the entrance.
The cemetery posted its own statement on its Facebook page earlier Tuesday.
The demonstrators used spray paint on the entrance to the cemetery, illustrating phrases such as “Liberate Gaza” and “intifada” on Sunday
Soon after the vandalism, cleaning crews were seen cleaning up the graffiti on the entrance
The cemetery later thanked the LA County Graffiti Unit for cleaning up the mess
“Los Angeles National Cemetery is 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 in 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, labeled the protesters as anti-American.
“Further proof that the people who hate #Israel also hate America,” he wrote.
“Here, at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in my district, they deface a cemetery for those who gave their lives to end slavery and protect the world from fascism.”
Trial attorney and city council candidate Sam Yebri was outraged by the vandalism.
“Today, pro-Hamas extremists in LA have sunk to a new low by destroying the venerable grounds of the Los Angeles National Cemetery, where 85,000 American heroes who sacrificed their lives for our freedom are interned,” he wrote on X.
“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.
“They even used a Nazi concentration camp symbol: an inverted red triangle.”
Pro-Palestinian protests littered cities around the world almost immediately in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel that left 1,200 people dead.
Israel’s war on Gaza has continued in the months since, apart from a brief ceasefire some sources suggest more than 23,000 have been killed.