Boston, MA – A Boston city councilor walked back a tweet Thursday in which she had enlisted an antisemitic trope, writing in frustration over a federal court ruling: “ya’ll are letting the Zionists SHAKE YOU DOWN.”
Councilor Kendra Lara, of the city’s sixth district, initially tweeted in response to an appellate court ruling that upheld an Arkansas law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. The appeals court said the law did not conflict with the First Amendment.
Lara acknowledged that her tweet, which appeared to insinuate Jewish influence over the decision, relied on antisemitic stereotypes. She later deleted the tweet, which was preserved by screenshot.
In a series of tweets later Thursday, Lara said that while she maintained her disappointment in the ruling, she acknowledged that “the phrase ‘shake them down’ reinforces [antisemitic] tropes about Jewish people.”
“Although that was not my intention, the impact, especially in a moment when we’re seeing alarming rates of violence against Jewish people, is the same and I should’ve known better,” Lara said.
The notion that Jews wield disproportionate background influence over government, courts, media and other public spheres is a longstanding antisemitic stereotype. A 2020 poll from the Anti-Defamation League found the stereotype and similar offensive misconceptions of Jews remain “deeply entrenched” and “especially widespread” among Americans.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston said it met with Lara Thursday afternoon and asked her to delete the tweet, which she did.
“The Councilor expressed her explicit and unequivocal apology for her tweet, along with her responsibility to make repair. We have asked her to make a public apology in the same spirit and language,” JCRC said in a statement, adding: “No one should ever be made to feel unsafe, and we encourage all members of our civic society to deescalate rhetoric and escalate relationship building.”
Robert Trestan, the Anti-Defamation League’s New England regional director, told the Boston Globe Thursday morning that, “it sure sounds and looks like an antisemitic trope.”
“She should immediately explain why she sent that out,” he said, later adding: “When you put ‘shake you down’ for people in the Jewish community, there’s an immediate connection to tropes about money and power. ‘Shake you down’ is connected to some form of intimidation.”
The ADL also said it was awaiting the public apology the JCRC requested.
Another Twitter user noted that another local public official, Agawam City Councilor Tom Hendrickson, had “liked” Lara’s disparaging post. Hendrickson is also the campaign manager for State Rep. Jake Oliveira.
Lara’s chief of staff and communication director did not respond to a request for comment over email. Reached by text, Rep. Oliveira said that he “absolutely condemn[ed]” antisemitism and antisemitic language.
“Antisemitism has no place in my campaign and will not be tolerated,” Oliveira said he told Hendrickson. The campaign manager has since removed the like, Oliveira said.
Lara, in her thread apologizing for the remark, also said that she believes “conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism will ultimately prevent us from being in true solidarity with both Jewish people and Palestinians.”
In another Twitter post, she added: “I was raised by two Jewish mentors who taught me to be anti-Zionist and Pro-Palestine at a very young age (15/16) so the idea that anti-Zionism is inherently anti-Semitic is incredibly reductionist to me so I didn’t even consider how my word choice could inadvertently be reinforcing.”
The latter tweet raised eyebrows for some, including one Twitter user who replied, “This is giving ‘I’ve got black friends energy.’ Have some shame.”
