A political group known for anti-Israel rhetoric is denying responsibility for an anti-Jewish outburst at a labor event in San Francisco on Wednesday.
The city’s mayor, Daniel Lurie, who is Jewish, wrote that “a group of individuals that were chanting ‘tax the rich’ began to shout ‘tax the Jews,’” during a press conference. He noted the event, meant to tout a plan to increase jobs and housing, was organized with Bilal Mahmood, the first Muslim elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors.
Lurie and Mahmood were promoting their legislation to reform San Francisco’s real estate tax system to generate housing construction and related investment.
“Suggesting that Jews are wealthy is a tired trope, and targeting our community at an event focused on creating economic opportunity for San Franciscans is decidedly antisemitic,” Lurie wrote. “I will never accept hate directed at the Jewish community or any community in our city. Those are not San Francisco values—we’re better than that.”
Mahmood called the incident “blatant antisemitism.”
“Targeting Jewish community members during a unity event bringing labor, business, and city leaders together to create jobs is unacceptable and contrary to everything San Francisco stands for,” he wrote.
Matt Mahan, the mayor of neighboring San Jose, also weighed in, writing, “This is not who we are. This is not how we solve problems. Debate policy all you want—but when free speech turns into hate speech, California needs to draw a hard line.”
The San Francisco branch of the Democratic Socialists of America organized the protest but said the individual responsible was not part of their group.
“A non-member joined the crowd and spouted disgusting antisemitic remarks,” the group wrote. “DSA members and other protesters asked her to stop, but she refused. We want to be clear that whatever hate she holds isn’t shared by DSA members, and we categorically reject antisemitism.”
Jackie Fielder, a member of DSA and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for District 9, said the woman who was shouting anti-Jewish language is “mentally unstable” and “known to construction workers in the area.” She said the confined setting made it difficult to distinguish her from other protesters. The woman has not been publicly identified.
The Democratic Socialists of America, whose members include New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), promotes a boycott of Israel as part of its platform and endorses Palestinian “resistance.” Its New York chapter held a rally in Times Square for Palestinians the day after the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Critics have repeatedly accused the group of antisemitic rhetoric.
