Former Democratic New York Rep. Mondaire Jones deleted a social media post on Wednesday after it was deemed “antisemitic” and “disgusting” by lawmakers from his own party.
Jones, who is running to take back his seat representing New York’s 17th Congressional District, tweeted out a photo Tuesday of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) meeting with Jewish leaders in the Empire State with the caption, “Well this was a waste of everyone’s time.”
The photo showed McCarthy and Lawler wearing yarmulkes and eating alongside the religious leaders.
Jones’ tweet was posted shortly after McCarthy was stripped of his speakership Tuesday by Democrats and eight House Republicans.
Liz Gereghty, the sister of Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is challenging Jones in his congressional primary race, questioned the former congressman’s “judgment” after seeing the tweet.
“If Mondaire Jones didn’t realize that his tweet could be viewed as antisemitic and elicit vile comments in response, I would question his judgment,” Gereghty told Jewish Insider.
“If he did it anyway, that’s far, far worse,” she added. “As someone with a large social media platform running for Congress, he has a responsibility to hold himself to the highest possible standards and I would hope he is more thoughtful in the future, because the rise of hate in this nation is currently one of the greatest threats to our safety and stability. I will never take any community for granted or exploit them for personal gain.”
Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), who are both Jewish, also slammed Jones for the tweet.
“This was not a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders,” Moskowitz tweeted, according to the Hill. “Additionally, I doubt your choice of religion to highlight here was coincidental.”
“This disgusting post is insulting to Jewish people and every person of faith. Meeting with religious leaders is critical to understanding the needs of our communities. This antisemitic rhetoric is deeply concerning,” Gottheimer said.
Both lawmakers took down their posts after Jones deleted his.
“Yesterday, I posted a tweet that was too open to misinterpretation,” Jones tweeted Wednesday. “My point was to communicate that Kevin McCarthy, and by extension Mike Lawler, cannot possibly deliver for communities in Rockland [County] because he’s no longer Speaker.”
“Regrettably, I did not make this point clear enough, and so I have deleted the tweet,” Jones added. “I am proud of my record of combating antisemitism in Congress and after Congress. In a time of rising anti-semitism, we must be crystal clear where we stand: I continue to be a strong ally of our diverse Jewish communities.”
Lawler, who stands to face off against Jones in 2024 if the former lawmaker can best Gereghty in the primary, told Jewish Insider that the former New York rep’s comments “are shocking but not surprising for a guy who pals around with anti-Semites like Pramila Jayapal, Jamaal Bowman, and the rest of the Squad.”