Socialist-led California city's clash over Israel and antisemitism offers glimpse into the left's future

A California city that has long been a hub of progressive politics now appears to be a test of how the American left navigates issues of Israel and antisemitism.

In Richmond, Calif., a city led by Democratic socialist-aligned Mayor Eduardo Martinez, discussions about housing, crime and other local issues quickly became drowned out by discussions about Israel's war in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks. The debate spread into the Bay Area, as Jewish leaders and residents said Martinez had crossed the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitic rhetoric.

Stephen London, a Jewish Richmond resident who spoke to Fox News Digital, said that before Oct. 7 he had not paid much attention to local politics. However, once the city became the first in the country to pass a ceasefire resolution after the attacks, he began watching city politics closely, questioning why city leadership was focused on a war thousands of miles away.

"Whatever your politics are about the Middle East, what the hell does it have to do with Richmond?," London told Fox News Digital.

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London said his family lives in Israel and that he has visited the country a few times, including volunteering on a kibbutz, but he has not been there in several decades.

The resolution, passed in October 2023, declared the city's solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and accused Israel of carrying out "a campaign of ethnic cleansing and collective punishment," according to a page on the city's website that appears to have since been deleted.

The resolution became a flashpoint for Jewish residents of Richmond, like London, and for Jewish leaders in the Bay Area, many of whom argued that it was aimed more at justifying Hamas' attack than criticizing Israeli policies.

"We could understand a year or more [later] on how policy critiques of the Israeli government could lead folks to want to speak out. But this was really just glorifying Hamas and demonizing the Jewish state as Jewish residents of Richmond were grieving, grieving for the worst attack on the Jewish people since the end of the Holocaust with October 7th," Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) Bay Area CEO Tyler "Tye" Gregory said.

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In August 2025, Martinez participated in the People's Conference for Palestine in Detroit, where he was seen wearing a hat that read "DD TT IDF," an acronym for "death, death to the IDF." The mayor also spoke at the conference, where he compared himself to Palestinians, saying that he understood the Palestinians' struggle because he was bullied as a child.

"If Palestine were a schoolyard playground, I would be a Palestinian, and that part of me, that part of me that couldn't endure the abuse anymore, would be Hamas," Martinez said.

While the conference intensified criticism of Martinez, his actions following the Hanukkah attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, proved to be the tipping point for many Bay Area Jewish leaders.

"He's made a lot of outrageous accusations and shared a lot conspiracies online. But the moment of Bondi Beach was so horrific. It was such a gut punch to all of us to see the leader in the East Bay of an important city really blame that on us as we were grieving was just the last straw," Gregory told Fox News Digital.

After Martinez shared on LinkedIn what JCRC Bay Area saw as offensive posts about the Bondi Beach massacre, the organization called on the mayor to resign. The posts contained conspiracy theories about the December 2025 Bondi Beach massacre in Australia.

One of the posts read, "RIP to all of the victims of Israel's false flag attack. The hero that disarmed the attacker was a Syrian-born Muslim man. That doesn't help the narrative that Israel is trying so hard to push." The same post accused Israel of "trying to manufacture fear and hate." Another post said that "the root cause of antisemitism is the behaviour of Israel & Israelis," and was captioned, "They know it. We know it. Everybody knows it..."

The JCRC said that the rhetoric in the posts was "dangerously antisemitic, deeply offensive, and wholly unacceptable—particularly coming from a sitting mayor." The organization added that the posts, along with Martinez's past behaviors reflected "a consistent and deeply troubling disregard for the safety and dignity of Jewish people."

J. The Jewish News of Northern California, an outlet that took screenshots of the offensive posts, reported that Martinez later removed his LinkedIn page from public view. As of this writing, it appears that it is not possible to find the Richmond mayor on LinkedIn.

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The mayor later apologized on Facebook, expressing his regret and saying that he did not "fully read and understand" the posts.

"I failed to fully read and understand the meaning behind what I was reposting, and inadvertently spread content that was factually inaccurate, conspiratorial, and portrayed Judaism in a negative light," Martinez wrote.

"As Mayor, I have a responsibility to represent all of Richmond and to bring people together. In this instance, I fell short of that responsibility," he added. "I deeply regret my actions and am committed to doing better. This will include serious personal reflection and meeting directly with members of the communities I have harmed to listen, learn, and understand their perspectives firsthand. This is necessary, and I take it seriously."

Reactions to the apology were mixed. Some who commented on the post said that the mayor was standing on the right side of history by opposing Israel, while others argued that the apology was not strong enough. Critics who commented on the apology post noted that the mayor was falsely claiming ignorance and not actually apologizing "for amplifying antisemitic conspiracy theories."

As the controversy unfolded, Martinez was preparing for his reelection bid. Martinez is both aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and is a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA), a powerful coalition that has had influence over politics in the city for years.

Rather than backing Martinez ahead of the June 2026 primary, the RPA announced in February that it would be supporting Councilmember Claudia Jimenez.

"We support mayoral candidate Claudia Jimenez because she is the best leader to move the city of Richmond forward. Claudia has demonstrated skills in managing city finances, championing immigrant rights, and spearheading the Chevron settlement fund," the RPA wrote on Facebook.

Despite what the coalition stated in its endorsement announcement, some speculated that the group could have made the decision as a way of distancing themselves from Martinez following the Bondi Beach posts.

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For Gregory, the controversy surrounding Martinez was not just about the mayor's comments, but rather how Bay Area Jewish leaders choose to respond to debates over Israel as they become more commonplace in local politics.

"I think the Jewish community needs to pick its battles. We're often not going to be able to stop people from the DSA from getting elected. The question is, what do you do once they're elected?" Gregory said.

Gregory warned that the Jewish community has to strike a balancing act between being "really careful not to cry wolf" and keeping the public's attention on the issue. He said the community should work with officials when they are doing the things they were elected to do, such as filling potholes, improving public safety or tackling other everyday issues.

"Where they are doing those things appropriately, I think that we need to work with them like we would another mayor or another elected official. And where they're crossing the line, where they are demonizing the Jewish community, that's where we need to step up and get involved," he said.

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The questions raised in Richmond regarding Israel and antisemitism have come up in other progressive strongholds as the issues become increasingly prominent in local politics. This has been the case in New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been criticized for his stance on Israel. Mamdani was widely panned during his campaign over his refusal to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada," which many interpret as a call for violence against Jews.

Despite his objections to Martinez, London expressed that he believed Richmond was in better shape than the Big Apple.

"I think Jews are getting organized. You know, we realize if we don't stand up for ourselves, we're in big trouble," London said. "I sort of like look at what's happening in New York and think 'Wow, things could be much worse. We don't have a Mamdani here.'"

Neither Martinez nor the RPA immediately responded to Fox News Digital's request for comment.