As Bad News Keeps Coming, So Can Anger And Stress — And It’s Okay To Talk About It 

L.A.’s Jewish, Muslim and Arab American communities have been processing anger, fear, and anxiety since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month, beginning with the Hamas attack on Israel last Oct. 7 and continuing with Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Now, an arrest in the death of a Jewish man at a protest earlier this month in Thousand Oaks is adding to local tension.

Moorpark college professor Loay Alnaji was charged with involuntary manslaughter and battery causing serious bodily injury in the death of 69-year-old Paul Kessler, who suffered a fatal fall during a protest in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 5. Both charges have special allegations that Alnaji personally inflicted great bodily injury. His bail was set at $1 million.

As distressing news continues to shake Jewish, Muslim and Arab American Angelenos, local faith and community groups and mental health providers that serve these communities say it’s important to keep perspective — and to find ways to process difficult emotions.

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“We are really saying, OK, yes, there’s emotions, there is anger, there is upsetness, but express it in a way that is productive,” Omar Ricci with the Islamic Center of Southern California said. “Express it in a way that is within our constitutional rights.”

That said, “the reality is people are angry,” Ricci added, especially as the reported death toll has climbed to 11,000 in Gaza as bombings continue.

Israel’s military response in Gaza began after a Hamas attack left around 1,200 people in Israel dead, and about 240 people taken hostage.

The challenge is how to process the accompanying anger and stress, said Jennifer Glazer, who directs several community projects within Jewish Family Service Los Angeles, including one that provides counseling services.

Glazer said it’s better to process intense feelings with people you trust, versus in a crowd.

“I think people have to choose for themselves,” Glazer said, “but if you're feeling really riled up, you'd have to decide, should I be in a big crowd today? Where should I be?”

It’s best to “process those emotions, maybe not in a larger setting, but smaller,” she said. And that if one’s anger or fear over what’s happening becomes overwhelming, that it’s OK to get professional help.