A Bay Area Jewish advocacy organization is calling for Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez’s resignation, accusing him of spreading conspiracy theories about a deadly terror attack in Sydney, Australia.
The Bay Area chapter of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) said in an open letter sent to Bay Area media organizations that Martinez has “posted repeatedly on LinkedIn spreading false conspiracies blaming Jews for the Bondi Beach terror attack.”
Two gunmen killed 15 people, including a child, during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration on Sunday in what Australian authorities called an antisemitic terror attack linked to an “Islamic State group.”
Martinez, 76, a former public school teacher, was elected as Richmond’s mayor in November of 2022. He has served on the city council since 2014 and is a member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance. He has indicated he plans to run for reelection in the city’s primary election in June of 2026.
Screenshots of the LinkedIn posts were sent to Richmondside on Thursday.
Martinez told Richmondside Thursday he acknowledged “making the mistake” of reposting the content and said he apologizes. He also posted an apology on his LinkedIn page on Wednesday, emphasizing that the posts were not “from my office or the city of Richmond.”
“I made mistakes. I admit the mistakes, and I apologize for them,” Martinez told Richmondside. “When someone makes a mistake, they should own it, and I have.”
Martinez, who due to illness was absent from Tuesday’s Richmond City Council meeting, where he was set to give a state of the city report, said that he misread one post suggesting “the actions of Israel and Israelis is causing antisemitism” before reposting it and said that when he reposted it, he interpreted it as stating that Israel’s actions were causing an “increase” in antisemitism.
“I’ve been ill, so my head hasn’t been that clear,” he said. “No excuses, just an explanation of where I was when I reposted that.”
Mayor’s speech at Palestine conference also has drawn criticism
The call for his resignation comes three months after Martinez made remarks at the People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit in August. There he appeared to find common ground between his life experiences and those of the violent extremist group Hamas, wearing a hat bearing the acronym “DDTTIDF,” which, according to the Anti-Defamation League, stands for “Death, Death To The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).”
In that speech, Martinez said his childhood experiences of being physically and verbally bullied by his peers in Texas shaped his views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.
“After so much torture, I couldn’t help but lash out. I was filled with frustration, and it came out with the ferocity of retaliation,” he said in the speech. “If Palestine were a schoolyard playground, I would be a Palestinian, and that part of me that couldn’t endure the abuse anymore would be Hamas.”
“Taken together, these actions reflect a consistent and deeply troubling disregard for the safety and dignity of Jewish people,” the JCRC letter stated. “No community should be led by someone whose conduct contributes to fear, division, and exclusion.”
Regarding the hat bearing “DDTTIDF” that he wore at the conference, Martinez told Richmondside Thursday he had no idea what the acronym stood for when someone asked to take his picture wearing it.
“What they told me was that it was an anti-MAGA hat, you know, because it was red,” Martinez said, referring to the Trump slogan, “Make America Great Again.” “I guess my mistake was in being too trusting.”
Martinez added that those criticizing his speech misunderstood it.
“I did not say I compared myself to Hamas,” he said. “I said that a part of me that cannot endure more injustice is Hamas. I don’t condone violence of any sort from anyone and people seem to not hear me say that because they just want to hear what they want to hear.”
The JCRC open letter also criticized Martinez’s role in Richmond becoming the first city in the nation to pass a Gaza ceasefire resolution following the events of Oct. 7, 2023. The decision was made during a contentious Oct. 24 city council meeting that saw public comment from both sides last late into the night.
In April, Martinez spoke at a Berkeley City Council meeting where those elected officials decided not to call for Gaza ceasefire, angering pro-Palestinian protesters.
“Leadership requires accountability,” the JCRC letter added. “When an elected official’s words and actions make a segment of the community feel unsafe and abandoned by their government, that official can no longer effectively serve. The tragic mass shooting in Sydney last week is just the latest example of how exactly this sort of antisemitic rhetoric can lead to violence. This is a stark example of where toxic social media, unchecked rhetoric, and the constant demonization of Israel and Jews can lead — and why it must be confronted.”
JCRC told Richmondside that the letter represented their views and they didn’t wish to comment further on the matter.
Martinez said he has, throughout the day, received “despicable” emails and that those calling for his resignation “are not ready to accept an apology” from him.
“We need to listen to each other with compassion, understanding,” Martinez added. “To understand someone’s point of view is not the same as condoning it.”
Richmondside asked Martinez if he considered whether his stance on conflicts in the Middle East could have an impact on his chances of reelection.
“I did not,” Martinez answered.
Was this story fed to you by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC)? Why did you identify them as “A Bay Area Jewish advocacy organization” instead of a pro Israel lobby group, which is what they are? I support my mayor in standing up to genocide and apartheid. He made a mistake on his repost, and he apologized. The harm caused by this hateful racist ideology is much worse than anything he’s said or done.
Perpetuating bigoted conspiracy theories is a pretty big “oopsie” for a mayor. I expect better from a leader.
This guy, the Mayor of Richmond no less, is really quite the idiot.
City of Richmond, you really need to do better than this.
Eduardo apologized. Like speech, actions also matter. The JCRC should feel ashamed for criticizing him for making the Gaza cease fire resolution. In world filled with cowardice, it was courageous. Both of our presidents sat idly by as the carnage continued with U. S. weaponry. 10’s of thousands of innocent children were not just collateral damage , but were themselves targets. I guess genocide is fine if your is not being gored.
This is disgusting. He is ill by his own admission, and where’s a hat he doesn’t know the meaning of? I question his competency to be a Mayor of anything.
Mayor Eduardo Martinez has been a good mayor for Richmond. His significant achievements include the settlement with the Chevron Corporation, which will bring $500 million to our city over the next ten years; the low level of homicides and violent crime; and the securing of Point Molate as a public park under the administration of the East Bay Regional Park District. He has also protected our immigrant community, both through words and through concrete funding.
The city is in a good place, despite the grim national picture. Solidarity lies at the heart of the mayor’s leadership and of City Hall itself. That solidarity has also extended to what I believe is the number one ethical and moral issue of our time: the genocide in Palestine—a genocide that began many years before October 7, 2023.
Our City Council passed the first—and strongest—resolution in the United States condemning the genocide in Palestine. As expected, the pro-Israeli lobby is now attempting to target our mayor for this expression of solidarity. This is the standard modus operandi of AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobbies.
I believe that Richmond residents remain horrified by the images of the more than 70,000 civilians killed in Gaza, 20,000 of them children, and by the hundreds of thousands wounded, displaced, and starved by Israel and its IDF. I believe we know who is who in Richmond: who stands in solidarity, and who is punished for standing in solidarity.
Mayor Martinez doesn’t have to resign for telling the truth about the horrible event in Sidney. Sad that innocent Jews are receiving hate and reprisal for the crimes committed by Netanyahu displacing and murdering innocent Palestinians… Every time someone opposes Israel’s policies it’s called ‘Antisemitic’, this has nothing to do with religion, but government policies. Same as if someone is opposed to Catholic priests’ sexual abuses, is NOT anti Christianity!
This is the most half-hearted apology filled with excuses. Opinions aside, I expect a city leader to do better than reposting antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories.
I stand with Mayor Eduardo and his courage! I also agree with his understanding of the analogy of Chicanos and Palestinians.
The JCRC is just a piece of the much larger Pro-Zionist attack machine that has perpetrated support for the colonialist genocide in Palestine. Schade!!!
This man, Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, is simply a liar. He’s made many stances all aligned under anti-Jew, Anti-Israeli. Now he tries to say that he was not feeling well and he is sorry. More lies. He is only sorry because he came into the spotlight. Even worse, he says that he did not know what “DDTTIDF,” meant.
This terrible man was on stage with a known terrorist and speaking hate but does not know what “Death, Death To The Israeli Defense Forces” hat looks like. Says “he thought it was anti Maga”! HA HA HA
Search his name, and you will see. This man is full of hatred and needs to be removed from office.
What’s being lost here is that this is a local governance issue, not a stage for performative geopolitics.
It’s possible to condemn the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and expect municipal leaders to exercise basic judgment and restraint. Those positions are not in conflict.
What is troubling is the way some defenders are collapsing Israel, Jews, and local Jewish institutions into a single political villain. Rebranding a Jewish civic organization as a sinister “pro-Israel lobby” and dismissing Jewish fear as bad-faith tactics is reductionist — and yes, that’s how antisemitism actually works in practice, regardless of intent.
There’s also a glaring double standard at play. We’re told that “words are violence,” except when the words come from the “right” side. Principles that only apply to opponents aren’t principles — they’re tools.
Cities are not moral theaters. They’re complicated systems that need attention to housing, safety, infrastructure, and services. Symbolic grandstanding on global conflicts may feel righteous, but it fractures communities and distracts from the work residents actually depend on.
You don’t advance justice abroad by being careless at home
Yes, exactly my thoughts. We can argue what’s the right side of Israel/Gaza forever and it won’t change a thing, but IMO it was a huge lapse of judgment for Martinez to say anything about it, how could he be so foolish? What the heck is he doing in Detroit giving speeches about it? Stay the heck out of global geopolitics and take care of business at home!
As a Berkeley resident, it makes me less than proud that my City Council did not vote for a Gaza cease-fire, while our Richmond neighbors did.
I am an anti-Zionist jew who worked with Eduardo teaching in WCCUSD. I know from those years that he can be quite injudicious. I’m chuckling at the thought of some of his carrying-on.
However, having worked with him for a several years, I doubt that his heart isn’t in a good caring place.
Unfortunately, many people of all stripes are rather incapable of separating Zionism from Judaism, thus horror’s like Bondi Beach. Of course, that a large proportion, likely a majority, of non-Israili jews ardently support Israel cum Zionism causes making such distinctions to be much less likely.