Jewish leaders and California elected officials have condemned an antisemitic chant that was audible during a protest Wednesday against the repeal of a local San Francisco tax ordinance.<\/p>\n
During a news conference<\/a> addressing a new housing construction development plan hosted by San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie and San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, protesters with the Democratic Socialists of America chanted \u201ctax the rich.\u201d<\/p>\n According to videos reviewed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, one woman on the scene can be clearly seen and heard chanting \u201ctax Israel\u201d and \u201ctax the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n Lurie, who is Jewish, condemned the chants, which he said had come from a group of people.<\/p>\n \u201cAt an event this afternoon, a group of individuals that were chanting \u2018tax the rich\u2019 began to shout \u2018tax the Jews,\u2019\u201d Lurie tweeted. \u201cSuggesting 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. I will never accept hate directed at the Jewish community or any community in our city. Those are not San Francisco values\u2014we\u2019re better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n The DSA, the largest socialist organization in the country, distanced itself from the chants, saying that only a single person was involved and that she was not a DSA member.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring today\u2019s protest of the Prop I repeal, a non-member joined the crowd and spouted disgusting antisemitic remarks,\u201d the DSA said in a statement. \u201cDSA members and other protesters asked her to stop, but she refused. We want to be clear that whatever hate she holds isn\u2019t shared by DSA members and we categorically reject antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n In the videos, the woman is wearing a head covering and glasses and appears to be pacing a distance away from the other protesters.<\/p>\n The incident comes as the DSA, which endorses the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and opposes economic and military aid to Israel, has both notched major wins and drawn repeated allegations of antisemitism. After Oct. 7, it broke with one of its political stars<\/a>, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, following her appearance on a panel where she condemned antisemitism. More recently, one of its members, Zohran Mamdani, was elected mayor of New York City<\/a>. There, a DSA member last week challenged<\/a> a DSA-affiliated elected official for condemning Hamas during an open meeting.<\/p>\n In San Francisco, the chant was condemned by other Jewish organizations, leaders and government officials, like the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council<\/a>, California Rep. Ro Khanna<\/a>, and Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt<\/a>.<\/p>\n