Eduardo Martinez, the mayor of Richmond, California, said on Monday that he "sees no reason to resign," after promoting a social media post that claimed the Bondi Beach attack on a Hanukkah celebration was a “false flag” perpetrated by Israel.
Martinez said he "reached out to the Jewish community," took it as a "learning experience," and claimed he was ready to move forward.
"I'm really frustrated about what is going on in Gaza, I feel frustrated that there is nothing I can do," he assured during an interview for the Stu Smith Studio. "And the only outlet that I have is to express my personal opinions on LinkedIn," he added.
Jewish Community of Bay Area says mayor didn't reach out
According to the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area, Martinez has not yet personally apologized for the incident.
"He issued what some may consider to be an apology, but there are still lots of these posts that are still up," said Jonathan Mintzer, representative of the JCRC.
Martinez was elected in 2022 and has long been a vocal critic of Israel. He reposted several antisemitic sentiments and conspiracy theories on his LinkedIn page, following the attack in Bondi Beach.
“The root cause of antisemitism is the behaviour of Israel & Israelis,” read one since-deleted post shared by Martinez, according to J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
Another post shared by Martinez compared the Bondi celebration with hypothetical Hanukkah displays at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, writing that both should be seen as “performative assertions of dominance.”
Grace Gilson/JTA contributed to this report.