PACIFIC PALISADES—On Saturday, June 13, Bruce Lion, 64, an heir to the Lions Raisin company based in Selma, CA, was arrested for allegedly threatening one of his neighbors, Rabbi Zushe Cunin, after allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks directed at the Rabbi and his Orthodox Jewish outreach organization, the Chabad of the Palisades.
Videos of Lion making the alleged remarks were published by the New York Post and its California-based affiliate, the California Post. Two insults included Lion claiming the Rabbi was hiding bodies at his home and threatening to pull the Rabbi’s nose, while standing on the balcony of his property, wearing minimal clothing. Lion also insulted the Rabbi’s weight, and a claim was made that the Rabbi killed Jesus Christ.
Cunin claims the remarks disrupted services and they have occurred since the heir to the Raisin company purchased the mansion in March 2026. Lion denies making some of the remarks and claims individuals associated with the Chabad were responsible for the disputes.
On June 12, Rabbi Cunin called the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Lion was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats and is being held on $50,000 bail. The investigation is ongoing, and no additional information has been released.
In 2019, Lion was sentenced by Fresno County Superior Court Judge Michael Idiarto to 2 years, with time already served in jail, for making a criminal threat and illegal possession of a gun, despite previously being legally barred from gun ownership by the court.
Four years later, in September 2023, he was arrested by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department after allegedly throwing rocks at vehicles in Monterey County, assaulting construction workers, and using debris to block the highway. He was booked on a range of charges, including vandalism, assault, assault with a weapon other than a firearm, and false imprisonment.
Later that year, he was arrested again at the residence of his ex-wife on North Van Ness Boulevard, after it was alleged, he violated a restraining order.
In 2025, the Department of Agriculture sued the Lion Raisin company, alleging that it violated the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act after a collision on February 23, 2024.
The driver of a vehicle transporting a group of migrant workers to Lion Farm was killed, along with seven of the workers, in a collision with another vehicle. The case was settled in 2026, and the company was ordered to pay past wages and civil penalties.
By Daniel Diquinzio