Paul Koretz, L.A. City Councilman, Threatens to Punch Man Over Hitler Comment

Paul Koretz.

L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz threatened to "clock" a man who said "heil, Hitler" to the council during a public comments period at City Hall today, according to The City Maven.

The Westside city leader reportedly said he was upset about the comment because his father had to flee Nazi Germany.

Here's how it went down, according to the Maven:

The speaker was using up his allotted two minutes, wrapping it up with a complaint that the council doesn't pay attention to such public input (which is generally true).

He reportedly stated:

I'm upset. So I guess I'll just salute you - Heil, Hitler.

Koretz's response, according to the Maven:

That's a highly offensive thing. Frankly, he hasn't disrupted the meeting yet, but I'm very tempted to go over there and clock him - and that will disrupt the meeting.

Not to be left out of the victim-claiming, Venice-area city Councilman Bill Rosendahl reportedly said he had "German parents ... who suffered through that process too ... "

He also one-up'd Koretz:

As a gay man, to know my people were rounded up, too, and (killed) in that Holocaust situation -- that is not a light term and it's not a funny term.

No word from the Latinos on the council, whose people also suffered not-so-horrific indignities under the jack-booted leadership of former LAPD Chief Daryl Gates.

We reached out to Koretz's spokesman for further clarification but had yet to hear back.

[Added at 3:11 p.m.]: Koretz's spokesman, Paul Neuman, got back to us and said, yeah, that's pretty much how he heard it happened.

And, in City News Service's account, the offending speaker also gave an arm-raised Nazi salute to the council. CNS identified him as Michael Carreon.

He reportedly responded to Koretz by saying:

I'll make Mr. Koretz an offer. I'll wait for him outside. You don't have to disrupt the meeting.

Whew. The testosterone in that place. We'll give credit to Koretz for being the most gangsta Jew in L.A. since Mickey Cohen. You go, Paul.

[Update at 3:48 p.m. Wednesday]:

Turns out that Carreon was pissed off because the council wasn't paying attention to him. Koretz told him not to address council members individually, setting off the speaker. Video via Ron Kaye!

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]