A Los Angeles raisin heir was arrested on suspicion of making terror threats after allegedly harassing Chabad Rabbi Zushe Cunin and worshippers, including children, for months while shouting antisemitic and racist abuse from his multimillion-dollar home next to a Chabad house in Pacific Palisades.
The suspect, Bruce Lion, 64, was arrested by Los Angeles police shortly before midnight Friday following a series of complaints filed by Cunin, the Chabad emissary in Pacific Palisades, California.
According to the complaint, Lion repeatedly shouted insults and threats at worshippers, including children, from the balcony of his home next to the Chabad house. A California Post report said the behavior included repeated antisemitic and racist remarks, disruptions during prayers and verbal threats.
The California Post said it obtained several videos allegedly showing Lion harassing Cunin from the balcony of his $5.3 million mansion, shouting grievances about Judaism and the rabbi.
Lion allegedly verbally attacked Cunin using harsh language and at one point threatened to “pull the rabbi’s nose.” Cunin also said Lion had used racist slurs against African Americans.
In one confrontation, according to the report, Lion shouted at the rabbi: “I ain't going nowhere Jew boy, lose some f—ing weight. Go f—ing work. Do something for a change. Your fake f—ing gospel don't mean s—t. You're f—ing done. You kill Jesus, you're going to f—ing hell. Do you understand?”
“It was horrific,” Cunin told the California Post. “I've never experienced it, especially in front of kids. Little children. In this country, to have to see this kind of hatred and antisemitism is just unacceptable.”
Cunin said the harassment also included antisemitic shouting during prayers and took place in front of children and their families. He added that members of the community had repeatedly contacted police in recent months, before Friday’s arrest.
According to the report, Lion has a significant criminal history. In 2019, he was convicted of criminal threats and illegal possession of a firearm while violating a restraining order in a domestic violence case. In 2023, he was investigated on suspicion of assault, vandalism and other offenses connected to domestic violence.
A day before his arrest, Lion told the California Post that he had deliberately played Christian music at high volume to irritate his Jewish neighbors. He said he enjoyed doing so and would tell them they were “going to hell” and call them “disgusting pigs.” He also made an unsubstantiated claim that the rabbi was “hiding bodies” on the Chabad property.
Cunin said the behavior began in March, after Lion purchased the neighboring home. According to the California Post, Lion is a scion of the Lion Raisins family.