Paul Kessler was the Jewish man who died after sustaining an injury at the weekend during a pro-Israel rally in Ventura County. But, to Mary Woods….he was a friend.
She told KCLU in an exclusive interview that they were "neighborhood friends," who spoke regularly "about politics, values, morals, raising children....life."
She says Kessler was a man of peace. Of intelligence. A man who thought that problems could be solved through civil conversations.
"Paul is...was...such a believer in the power of word, the power of law, the power of the ability to hold civil conversation. And I believe he thought he could command a conversation with someone and things would not escalate to...what unfortunately happened," said Woods.
Woods had been planning meeting up with Kessler for a coffee – a coffee break that was never to be after the 69-year old fell and hit his head after reportedly getting into an altercation with a pro-Palestinian protestor at the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Westlake Boulevard.
He later died in hospital. Woods scrolls through their most recent text message conversations…she says he was concerned that tensions at a rally the previous week would continue…or escalate, and told her that he had reported the threats of violence to the Sheriff.
"I think Paul expected it to be contentious," she told KCLU. "I wanted to tell him not to go because I knew he was concerned or expected this violence, but I didn't because I knew he wanted to go. He wanted to express himself and wasn't fearful. I don't think he ever believed that this happened. Yeah. So I think he would be just as shocked and was as shocked as I am as others are. And his family, for my understanding, is," she said.
Woods says the one person she would like to talk to about the shock and sadness of what happened, is her friend Paul.
"I wanted to pick up the phone and talk to him about the rally and say, 'Can you believe that this happened here? You were telling me this could happen. You were saying it!' You know?"
Woods says losing her friend isn't just a personal loss, but a loss for the whole community.
"I don't have my friend every other day to talk to about these things that are happening in our world now, in our community.
"To me, it's a tremendous loss, not just to me. I think a voice for peace anywhere is a loss to the world. And that's gone now. That voice is gone. We have too many people talking about violence. And and this was a person who was so against all of that and spoke out against it and was not fearful, was not fearful to speak out against it. And it's gone. It's gone. I'm so sad."
