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.A CALIFORNIA TOWN BET BIG ON SOCIALISM.IS IT COMING TO MORE AMERICAN CITIES?People record video as Richmond Vice Mayor at large Eduardo Martinez speaks during a press conference at a homeless encampment on Rydin Road in Richmond, Calif., on Thursday, Sept.
15, 2022.(ane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)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...