Orthodox Jewish leaders criticize boycott activism by Queens BP candidate staffer
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Councilmember Costa Constantinides. Photo by John McCarten via City Council/Flickr
By David Brand
Orthodox Jewish leaders in Queens have criticized Councilmember Costa Constantinides for employing an outspoken opponent of Israeli government policies on his Queens Borough President campaign staff, illustrating the importance of Israel on politics in Queens and heightened tensions amid a citywide increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes. Constantinides responded to defend the staffer’s right to free speech and expression.
Staffer Marla Solow, who is Jewish, supports the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” movement, which calls for international pressure on Israel in response to the government’s settlement policies and actions toward Palestinian residents. Solow led divestment efforts during her time at Barnard College and has posted images on social media with the text “Yes to divest” and the Palestinian flag.
She accompanied Constantinides to a November candidates’ forum with Orthodox Jewish leaders at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills synagogue, where participants learned of her BDS advocacy after searching her name online, the news organization Hamodia reported last month.
More than two dozen rabbis, school principals, elected officials and other Orthodox Jewish leaders attended the forum and asked candidates questions about increasing anti-Semitic crimes, their support for Israel and their opposition to BDS and anti-Zionism, according to Hamodia. Rabbi Yoen Schoenfeld told the Eagle he found Solow’s BDS advocacy and presence at the meeting “hurtful.”
“Anti-Zionism has been the new coded word for anti-Semitism,” Schoenfeld said, adding that Jewish opponents of Israeli policies “give wind to [anti-Semites’] sails.”
“If you have a problem with Israel — you don’t like that they put up a wall to save their own lives, they have security checks to keep out terrorists, which has proven to save lives, you don’t like that there’s an occupation — then discuss it, [but] don’t call it ‘war-mongers’ and ‘apartheid,’” Schoenfeld said. “‘Boycott’ to us brings back to us the days of the Nazi era.”
A campaign spokesperson said Constantinides, whose mother is Jewish, was unaware of Solow’s political position prior to hiring her, but stands by her and “respects her right as a Jewish woman to have her own view.”
“Costa takes tremendous pride in his Jewish roots. He joined the Jewish Caucus two years ago to stand up against anti-Semitism. And he has always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his Jewish brothers and sisters, especially in the wake of a recent string of despicable attacks on the community,” the spokesperson said, adding that Solow “did not express any opinions and made no political statements” during the forum with Orthodox Jewish leaders.
Solow did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Queens activist Rafael Shimunov, cofounder of The Jewish Vote, cautioned against linking criticism of Israeli government policies with anti-Semitism.
“No matter where one falls in support, opposition or anywhere in between on BDS, at its core it’s a nonviolent boycott movement and in the United States, protected as free speech,” Shimunov said. “It is completely inappropriate to bully elected officials or anyone for hiring a staffer who personally supports Palestinian human rights.”
“Stifling free speech and encouraging employment discrimination can be replaced with mature and good faith debate about America’s opportunity to bring peace and safety to all Israelis and Palestinians,” Shimunov added.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes, including a fatal shooting at Jersey City kosher market and a stabbing attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York last month, have increased throughout the region over the past year. Neither of those attacks have been linked to BDS advocacy, but have heightened concerns about anti-Semitism and veiled discrimination .
Queens has also been the site of several recent anti-Semitic offenses, such as hateful flyers dumped at a subway station in Ridgewood, messages scrawled on the walls and in the sand of Breezy Point and Belle Harbor, swastikas drawn in a Rego Park schoolyard and an attack on a teenager in Forest Hills.
Israeli-Palestinian relations and opposition to BDS efforts have long played a role in New York City politics, including during the June 2019 Democratic primary for Queens district attorney.
Some Jewish leaders criticized public defender Tiffany Cabán and her supporters for accepting an endorsement from activist Linda Sarsour, who is of Palestinian descent and advocates for international pressure on Israel. “BDS Activist Involved In Queens DA Race Makes Our Choice Easier” read the headline of an op-ed opposing Cabán in the Queens Jewish Link.
“There’s no way to have a BDS movement that isn’t antisemitic,” Councilmember Rory Lancman, a former candidate for Queens DA, told Jewish Currents in May 2019. “There’s no way to single out a people for economic, diplomatic, cultural, and social strangulation without it being a targeted attack on those people.”
Other Jewish organization say the issue demands more nuanced analysis, however. The left-wing organization Jewish Voices for Peace, for example, says its members “reject the assertion that BDS is inherently anti-Semitic” and believe BDS “is the most effective grassroots means for applying nonviolent pressure to change Israeli policies.”
