Brannan Hasn’t Been Good on Standing Up Against Antisemitism in Bay Ridge
Tonight Justin Brannan said at the debate, “We can’t pick and choose what we condemn…if you call out antisemitism, you have to call out Islamophobia.”
But Councilman Brannan hasn’t been good about calling out Antisemitism when it’s come to Bay Ridge.
1) On December 26, 2021, Suleiman Othman, 28 from Staten Island punched Blake Zavadsky, 21 twice and tossed iced coffee on him because Zavadsky wore an Israel Defense Forces sweatshirt in Bay Ridge.
Both Councilman Brannan and Senator Gounardes tweeted and then didn’t do anything.
Because Brannan and Gounardes did not take action, both Democrats and Republicans in Brooklyn did! Ari Kagan and Inna Vernikov held a large protest. (See here)
Shahana Hanif, Alexa Aviles and Tiffaney Caban came to Bay Ridge to talk to people about hate. Justin Brannan did not join these Councilmembers!
Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe! #NYCAgainstHate canvassing in Bay Ridge about hate violence prevention & how we can look out for each other. #SafetyInSolidarity@ArabAmericanNY @alexaforcouncil @ShahanaFromBK @tiffany_caban @SandyforCouncil @BaratEllman pic.twitter.com/SV6R7zFDwL
— Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (@JFREJNYC) January 2, 2022
In May 2023, Suleiman Othman plead guilty to third-degree assault as a hate crime. People were glad to see Othman received a 60-day jail term and three years probation. (Info)
2) When “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were chanted in Bay Ridge, it took Councilman Brannan seven days to speak out against the hate in a PRIVATE Facebook group. (Info here) Our community isn’t the private FB group.
OMG ?? why are you here if you hate America?? @NYPD68Pct @FBI @NewYorkFBI @CIA @DHSgov This would not happen under Senator Golden’s watch! But under @JustinBrannan @Sen_Gounardes anything is possible! pic.twitter.com/kGiUJGuNSS
— Marko Kepi (@MarkoKepi) July 3, 2020
I don’t know why Brannan and Gounardes did not take a strong stance against this ridiculous chant!
Brannan and Gounardes did call out hate against Palestinians faster (which is good), but again – it’s just tweets – not action! (See here)
Hugs,
marlene
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