A viral controversy has embroiled San Francisco social media after a Jewish sandwich shop owner publicly accused a Jewish public defender of anonymously posting \u201cGodspeed to Hamas\u201d on X \u2014 an allegation he acknowledges he never independently verified and one she vehemently denies.<\/p>\n
The allegation came from Adam Mesnick, who owns the Deli Board in the South of Market District and runs the @bettersoma<\/a> account on X, which has nearly 30,000 followers, including high-profile figures and elected city officials. Mesnick has said he identified San Francisco deputy public defender Ilona Y\u00e1\u00f1ez as the person behind the anonymous account @loomdoop, or \u201cY Disassembler<\/a>,\u201d because \u201cone of her colleagues snitched.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHas anyone asked Yanez if it\u2019s her account? Stop asking me. I think it is. I\u2019ve heard that it is. And it makes sense that it is. Dig people. I\u2019m a dishwasher,\u201d he posted<\/a> to X on July 14.<\/p>\n Mesnick told the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> this week that he was \u201cnot sure how anyone would know who an anonymous account would be,\u201d acknowledging that he himself had not corroborated the claims tying Y\u00e1\u00f1ez to the account.<\/p>\n Despite that, Mesnick repeatedly named Y\u00e1\u00f1ez as the account holder, urging city officials to investigate and potentially fire her. One of his posts<\/a> naming her drew more than 22,000 views, fueling an online debate over antisemitism, anonymous speech and the consequences of viral accusations.<\/p>\n The controversy began after Y Disassembler replied \u201cGodspeed to Hamas<\/a>\u201d on July 10 to a discussion about Gaza. The post was widely condemned, including by S.F. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who called it \u201cstraight-up Jew hatred.\u201d<\/a> Dorsey, who is not Jewish but is a \u201cself-proclaimed Zionist,\u201d<\/a> added that if the account belonged to a city employee, there should be consequences.<\/p>\n Y\u00e1\u00f1ez, who is Jewish, told the Chronicle that the allegation has been especially painful because it falsely portrays her as supporting a group she unequivocally condemns. She denied operating the account or writing the post, describing Hamas as \u201cextremists\u201d and \u201cfascists.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are terrible to women and they are terrible to anyone who is not Muslim,\u201d she told the Chronicle. \u201cWhat they did on Oct. 7 was disgusting and appalling and is mass murder.\u201d<\/p>\n The anonymous operator of Y Disassembler has also denied being Y\u00e1\u00f1ez, posting, \u201cMy name is not Ilona,\u201d while continuing to defend the account\u2019s pro-Hamas statements. The account also made several posts calling Mesnick, who is Jewish, a Nazi. Y Disassembler cited a photo of Mesnick displaying the \u201cOK\u201d hand gesture along with the claim that Mesnick\u2019s \u201centire social media presence is racism and hate porn videos.\u201d<\/p>\n Mesnick\u2019s @bettersoma account, which features graphic posts documenting drug use, homelessness and street disorder in San Francisco along with calls for tougher policing, has drawn controversy<\/a> in the past. Supporters see the content as a raw, unfiltered look at the city, while critics say it is dehumanizing to unhoused people and take issue with Mesnick\u2019s use of derogatory terms and slurs.<\/p>\n The \u201cOK\u201d gesture, in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers of the hand are held outstretched, can function as a hate symbol according to the Anti-Defamation League<\/a>, which advises that \u201cparticular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture\u201d due to the more commonly used traditional meaning of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mesnick offered no public evidence linking Y\u00e1\u00f1ez to the account beyond saying he had heard she operated it. When another X user asked him to substantiate the accusation, he replied simply, \u201cIt\u2019s her.\u201d Later, he told the Chronicle that his source was the unnamed colleague who had \u201csnitched.\u201d<\/p>\n Y\u00e1\u00f1ez has been involved in several high-profile disputes in the past, which she has said stem from her work as a deputy public defender and her outspoken criticism of police and prosecutors.\u00a0<\/p>\n She gained attention for aggressively challenging law enforcement in court, including accusing Brooke Jenkins of misconduct during a 2021 murder trial before Jenkins became San Francisco\u2019s district attorney the next year. Jenkins later said she had made a \u201charmless error\u201d in that case and, after becoming district attorney, publicly criticized<\/a> Y\u00e1\u00f1ez\u2019s handling of a domestic violence case in 2024.<\/p>\n Y\u00e1\u00f1ez was accused of several ethics violations in the domestic violence case, including inappropriate contact with the victim, crying during final comments and purchasing drinks for several jurors at a bar near the courthouse the day the judge discharged the jury.<\/p>\n The Public Defender\u2019s Office disputed those allegations and called ABC7\u2019s reporting \u201cerroneous.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n