Suspect charged in death of Paul Kessler, Jewish man killed during pro-Palestinian protest

A college professor has been arrested in connection with the death of a Jewish man in California who died from injuries sustained while counter-protesting a pro-Palestinian demonstration — but will not face hate crime charges, authorities said.

Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, was taken into custody Thursday in Moorpark in the death of Paul Kessler, who was involved in a scuffle with pro-Palestinian protesters on Nov. 5, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced.

Alnaji, who has posted pro-Palestine messages on his personal social media pages, has been charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury, according to court records viewed by The Post.

Both felony charges also have special allegations that Alnaji allegedly inflicted great bodily injury, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

The Moorpark College professor was booked at the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility. 

Bail for Alnaji has been set at $1 million. His next scheduled court appearance has not been set.

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Kessler — who was spotted waving an Israeli flag moments before the incident — suffered a head injury in the altercation.

He was later seen lying on the pavement while two people, including a woman wearing a “Free Palestine” jacket, came to his aid, footage of the incident showed.

An autopsy determined his manner of death was a homicide, and the cause of death was a blunt force head injury, according to the sheriff’s office.

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The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case.  

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a rabbi who spoke to witnesses claimed Kessler was struck with a megaphone just before his fall.

“I am disappointed that the defendant was not charged with the hate crime,” Rabbi Mark Blazer told The Post. “As I understand the facts, the defendant struck Mr. Kessler with a bull horn because Mr. Kessler was expressing his support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel.  

“In my opinion, such an assault under those circumstances should be sufficient to qualify for a hate crime charge.  When you also consider that the defendant allegedly has a history of propagating antisemitic rhetoric, the charge of involuntary manslaughter seems inadequate.”

Last week, Sheriff Jim Fryoff said the suspect was cooperative at the scene of the incident and had even been part of the group that called 911 for Kessler’s injuries. 

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Moshe Bryski, a rabbi from Chabad of Agoura Hills, told The Post Tuesday that Kessler’s death was “a tragedy.”

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

Kessler’s wife was “in a state of total shock” when he called, the rabbi added.

“He was not a closet Zionist — he wore it like a badge of honor. He was a proud Jew and proud Israel supporter,” family friend Justin Cohen told The Post of the victim.