New York progressive group accused of antisemitism for mocking Jewish politicians’ names

An activist group aligned with New York Democrats is being called out for anti-Semitism for mocking the names of two Jewish state politicians – House candidate Dan Goldman and state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz

“The jerk buying a House seat with inherited money is ‘Goldman’… the IDC-adjacent Assembly member is ‘DINOwitz.’ Who came up with these names, Dickens?” a member of No IDC NY wrote in a since-deleted tweet on Saturday.

No IDC NY was formed to defeat former members of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of state senators who formed a coalition with the chamber’s Republicans. It disbanded in 2018 after the GOP lost their majority in the state Senate.

The tweet was met with immediate condemnation from Democratic elected officials in New York City.

“A tweet dripping with Antisemitism,” tweeted Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres, who represents the Bronx and penned an op-ed last year defending Israel against “the Twitter mob.”

“The normalization of Antisemitism is a sign of how poisonous our politics has become.”

A tweet dripping with Antisemitism.

The normalization of Antisemitism is a sign of how poisonous our politics has become. pic.twitter.com/j3hdW39Qo7

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) August 28, 2022

Dinowitz, who was born and raised in the Bronx, called No IDC NY’s tweet “a classic display of antisemitism” that should be condemned.

“I've been the target of antisemitic attacks from both the far right and the far left. This tweet from an extremist, anonymous account selectively singles out two Jewish politicians and is disgusting,” he wrote on Twitter.

In April, the Anti-Defamation League said that antisemitic attacks in New York reached the highest level in decades last year, which saw a wave of incidents sparked by Israel’s May 2021 conflict with Hamas militants that killed at least 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis.

The left-wing group apologized in a reply to Torres’ tweet, saying that “no anti-Semitism was intended” and they took it down “when folks expressed concerns it could be taken the wrong way.”

The rising progressive wing’s support for Palestine has alarmed establishment Democrats who are traditionally aligned with Jewish Americans and Israel.