California DMV Issues Apology for License Plate Interpreted as Mocking Israeli Attack
A family in California has clarified that the personalized plate LOLOCT7 belonging to a car owner was misunderstood. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The family of the car owner has stated that the phrase LOLOCT7 was misinterpreted.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued an apology regarding a contentious license plate that appeared to mock the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Media reports indicate that the personalized plate, which was displayed on a Tesla Cybertruck, read ‘LOLOCT7’ and incited significant backlash online. LOL is commonly understood as an abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud.’
The provocative plate was reportedly seen in Culver City, near Los Angeles, and gained notoriety after the activist group StopAntisemitism shared an image of it last week on X.
The organization condemned the plate, viewing it as a reference to October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a surprise cross-border raid on Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the abduction of 250 hostages. This incursion prompted a vigorous response from Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, escalating into a military conflict that endures.
StopAntisemitism asserted that the plate celebrated what it termed “terrorism against the Jewish people” and called on the DMV to revoke the plate, labeling it a “vile mockery of the 1,200 innocent lives lost.”
In response, the DMV released a statement within hours, committing to “swift action to recall these shocking plates” and vowing to enhance its internal review processes “to ensure such an egregious oversight never happens again.”
In the meantime, the car owner's son spoke with a local ABC affiliate on Saturday, insisting that the plate was misinterpreted and had no connection to the tragic attack. He explained that his family is Filipino, where ‘lolo’ in Tagalog means grandfather, CT stands for Cybertruck, and 7 refers to the owner's seven grandchildren.
“We have great empathy for anyone who has experienced any hatred,” he told the outlet. “And we would really appreciate, in turn, for anyone that’s seeing this or hearing this to have any empathy toward our family because we had no ill intent for anything.”
He also mentioned that the family had clearly detailed the meaning behind the plate during the DMV’s application process. The controversial plate has since been revoked.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued an apology regarding a contentious license plate that appeared to mock the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Media reports indicate that the personalized plate, which was displayed on a Tesla Cybertruck, read ‘LOLOCT7’ and incited significant backlash online. LOL is commonly understood as an abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud.’
The provocative plate was reportedly seen in Culver City, near Los Angeles, and gained notoriety after the activist group StopAntisemitism shared an image of it last week on X.
The organization condemned the plate, viewing it as a reference to October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a surprise cross-border raid on Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the abduction of 250 hostages. This incursion prompted a vigorous response from Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, escalating into a military conflict that endures.
StopAntisemitism asserted that the plate celebrated what it termed “terrorism against the Jewish people” and called on the DMV to revoke the plate, labeling it a “vile mockery of the 1,200 innocent lives lost.”
In response, the DMV released a statement within hours, committing to “swift action to recall these shocking plates” and vowing to enhance its internal review processes “to ensure such an egregious oversight never happens again.”
In the meantime, the car owner's son spoke with a local ABC affiliate on Saturday, insisting that the plate was misinterpreted and had no connection to the tragic attack. He explained that his family is Filipino, where ‘lolo’ in Tagalog means grandfather, CT stands for Cybertruck, and 7 refers to the owner's seven grandchildren.
“We have great empathy for anyone who has experienced any hatred,” he told the outlet. “And we would really appreciate, in turn, for anyone that’s seeing this or hearing this to have any empathy toward our family because we had no ill intent for anything.”
He also mentioned that the family had clearly detailed the meaning behind the plate during the DMV’s application process. The controversial plate has since been revoked.
Olivia Brown for TROIB News
