New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office on Monday condemned antisemitic statements attributed to Brooklyn Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington, calling the rhetoric “vile and inexcusable,” but did not call for her to step down from her position.
Charrington was elected as a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn in June despite controversy surrounding a series of previous social media posts that had been denounced as antisemitic.
Among the material Charrington shared last fall was an Instagram video promoting the notorious pamphlet series published by Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford. The video blamed Jews for an array of societal problems, including slavery and the spread of alcohol and drugs.
Charrington nevertheless prevailed in her election with support from prominent figures affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, including state Sen. Jabari Brisport and state Assembly nominee Eon Huntley. In a November Instagram post, Charrington described the video — which also encouraged viewers to watch a notorious Swedish neo-Nazi documentary and read Holocaust denial material — as “the truth” and asserted, “This better be the topic at the table.” When later questioned by Jewish Insider, she told a reporter to “get your rabbi” for a “roundtable” she intended to organize concerning a “bullying community.”
Charrington subsequently apologized in comments to The New York Times, but controversy erupted again after she appeared in a video with an Egyptian influencer and discussed Jewish investors with whom she has been engaged in a highly publicized dispute over control of property, referring to the men as “Zionists.”
“They’re Zionists that basically did this. Same thing that they’re doing in the West Bank, it’s the same thing. There’s a connection,” Charrington said. “But they are connected, the same people that’s doing it in the West Bank. I didn’t believe it at first. I just was like, who? Like, they’re like, it’s the people in Brooklyn, not just anything like in the U.S. It’s the connection straight to Brooklyn. And then they’re so bold, they come here and do it and show it.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin both condemned Charrington’s remarks. Mamdani’s office weighed in Monday after Jewish Insider published a report highlighting the mayor’s silence on the controversy.
While Mamdani’s office strongly denounced the statements, it did not demand that Charrington relinquish her Democratic Party leadership post.
“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism,” the statement said. “Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable.”
{Matzav.com}
