Members of Merced County Jewish community call for apology from elected official
Members of Merced County's Jewish community have called for Supervisor Rodrigo Espinoza to apologize and be "a true friend of Jewish people" following an anti-Jewish Facebook post he shared recently.
The video claimed to explain a conspiracy that experts and residents of Jewish descent have said is hateful and disparaging. Espinoza appears to have deleted the video from his Facebook page after the Sun-Star reported on it this month.
Los Banos resident Susan Graham said she reached out to Espinoza on Facebook to get a better understanding of why he shared the video. She said he claimed to not remember the contents of the video, which is also what he told the Sun-Star.
"I have a Facebook page," Graham told the Sun-Star on Friday. "I would never post something without first viewing it myself."
"I think everyone has a responsibility for what they post," she continued.
Graham said she went to Espinoza's Facebook page to ask him why he posted the video but was met with arguments from other Facebook members. She said Espinoza "unfriended" her and effectively shut down the conversation.
She said Espinoza should apologize to the Jewish community.
"I'm Jewish and I'm very offended by what he did," she said. "We do reside in Merced. There is a Jewish community here, and we expect to be treated as well as anyone else."
In another video posted on his Facebook page last week, Espinoza asked anyone who felt offended to meet with him at the Merced County Administration Building. The post was not public as of the writing of this article, so it can only be viewed by his Facebook "friends."
"Saying a Mexican (is) being racist is kind of funny because we're used to confronting racism," he said in the video. "We see it every day."
Espinoza did not respond to multiple calls from the Sun-Star seeking comment since Friday. "I'd be willing to talk to anybody," he said in the video.
He has not publicly explained why he shared the video of the anti-Jewish conspiracy theory, instead saying questions about what he posted to his Facebook page were attempts to “try and make me look bad.”
Espinoza spoke publicly at the Merced Pride event held Sunday in Applegate Park, where he addressed his actions. "We as minority communities are used to fighting racism," he said to the crowd. "Now they're saying I'm antisemitic."
He then invited anyone who was offended to "let me know," he said.
The Facebook video is a "derogatory fake narrative meant to bring about hatred of Jewish people," according to Ira Blatt, president of Congregation Etz Chaim temple in Merced. "I believe it is wrong to share videos that are meant to stereotype and disparage people," he said in a statement.
"I am willing to believe that Mr. Espinoza was unaware of the fallacy and malice of these types of malignant 'theories,' " he said. "And, that perhaps as a result of this has learned, and will grow as an individual and become a true friend of Jewish people, and a defender of all people who are similarly maligned."
This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Members of Merced County Jewish community call for apology from elected official."