Dear Upper West Siders,
Last week my campaign manager, Quinn, got into an argument on Twitter over the very important issue of Jewish identity and diversity.
The bottom line is, she did not say the Upper West Side was ‘too Jewish.’ This was a fabricated headline designed to smear our progressive campaign.
No one on my campaign, including me, thinks the Upper West Side is too Jewish. Quite the opposite. Senior staff on my campaign, including myself, are proud, active members of the Jewish Community on the Upper West Side.
Quinn did use unprofessional, profane language in this discourse online, which I do not condone. I have made clear to my team that what they say in public does reflect on the campaign and that they must be professional at all times. She takes full responsibility for the inappropriate language used and I trust we will not have these issues going forward.
But, I will not condemn someone for something they did not say. What I do condemn is right wing organizations weaponizing claims of antisemitism against progressive Jewish women for disagreeing with conservative positions.
The New York Post and other outlets have taken her comments wildly out of context and I would like to set the record straight.
This incident occurred following the racist responses to my tweet about Duante Wright, an unarmed Black man killed by police. Quinn engaged with Twitter accounts that responded hatefully to my tweet. She tweeted the demographic statistics of the Upper West Side, showing that the Upper West Side is majority white. While she did not say it was ‘too’ white, she did state that the Upper West Side has a “diversity problem”. While this language was provocative on her part, I do believe it’s critical to address the historic roots of segregation and work to remedy the ongoing effects.
Part of my campaign platform addresses the inequities we face across the city, including in our own community. I’ve worked on the integration efforts for our public school system and have various proposals about how to make our neighborhood more inclusive, affordable and accessible. It’s important to recognize how the government has historically created and perpetuated segregation — nationally, at the city level, and on the Upper West Side itself. My policies are rooted in the imperative of integration. This is a conversation I welcome from anyone interested in discussing how diversity impacts a community.
Within this Twitter argument, Quinn also put forth her opinion regarding race, ethnicity and Jewish identity. As a Jew, Quinn personally identifies as white. I recognize that not all Jews are of Eastern European descent, present as white, or identify as white.
I understand there is a larger conversation about Jews and whiteness given the way the Jewish People are targeted by white supremacist movements. While there are many Jews of color, her comment was addressing the way some Jewish people benefit from white privilege.
These conversations are difficult, but I believe it’s important to take an intersectional view on power, oppression and privilege. It’s also important to include Jewish voices in conversations of intersectionality, as they are far too often not given a seat at the table on this issue. There are many ways in which one can be oppressed and equally as many ways in which one can be privileged. This is a conversation I welcome.
This campaign has been relentlessly harassed by anonymous accounts on Twitter for months.Twitter has become a distraction from the real work on the ground in the community that I have always been focused on, which is why I announced last week that I am leaving Twitter for the duration of this campaign. I will be spending the next two months on the ground in the neighborhood speaking with voters. I welcome discussions of any kind about the issues you care about on the Upper West Side.
You can read about my campaign platform at www.saralind.nyc, and reach out any time via email at saralind@saralind.nyc.
