Democratic State Representative: “We cannot permit a person who is of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin to represent our community.”
The executive board of the Stamford Democratic City Committee began primary day by calling on state Representative Anabel Figueroa (D-Stamford) to resign as a member of the city’s Board of Representatives and the city party committee. The board issued the public declaration after it discovered antisemitic slurs Figueroa made in her primary campaign against Democrat Jonathan Jacobson, the party-endorsed candidate in today’s primary.
Jacobson is Jewish.
In a video posted on Youtube on July 28th, Figueroa, speaking in Spanish, concluded her interview on July 28th by announcing, “The Hispanic vote is going to determine on August 13th who will win to represent or who will continue to represent you. We cannot permit a person who is of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community. It’s impossible.”
Figueroa won election to the state House of Representatives in a February 2023 special election. Her hateful targeting of a Jew has roiled Stamford Democrats, who think of themselves as modern, progressive stewards of Connecticut’s fastest growing city on Long Island Sound, 40 miles from New York City.
UPDATE: Reached while campaigning this afternoon, Jonathan Jacobson said this is not his first encounter with Figueroa and hate. In 2018, Jacobson, a member of the Board of Representatives, moved to censure a fellow member who had posted anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiments in social media. Figueroa refused to join colleagues condemning hate.
Jacobson, who was called an “Israeli attorney” by a Figueroa supporter, said the Democrat is using antisemitism to “influence the outcome of an election.
On Tuesday afternoon, Figueroa raised the “I have Jewish friends” defense to explain her poisonous comments. She apologized and said, “we need leaders who represent our districts.” There are not enough Latino legislators, she believes. She seemed to attribute her comments to being “a bilingual speaker.” That appears to make her fluent in hatred in two languages.
“We cannot permit a person who is of Jewish origin, of Jewish origin, to represent our community” sounds as disqualifying in Spanish as it does in English.
Published August 13, 2024.