Embattled New Paltz Town Board appointee Edgar Rodriguez receives groundswell of support

Embattled New Paltz Town Board appointee Edgar Rodriguez appears to be enjoying a groundswell of support after the release of a video in which the council member can be heard expressing support for the killing of Israeli babies by members of Hamas on October 7. After several individuals spoke in Rodriguez’s favor at the joint town-village meeting last week, considerably more came to the July 18 town board meeting to do the same. A number of those commenting identified themselves as Jewish, and decried the use of the word “antisemitism” as a weapon. 

Rodriguez again read a statement, previously shared during the July 10 joint meeting, apologizing for the comments and asking residents to place them in a context of some 50 years of work on social justice issues. Those who showed up to comment appear ready to do just that. 

Eli Casera spoke about having a grandparent whose siblings were all killed in the Holocaust, and the discrimination faced by the family in Westchester — up to and including the grandparent being stabbed for looking Jewish. Casera called the use of the term “antisemitism” in this context as “disgraceful,” and speculated that it is part of a broader effort to shift the focus away from a genocide being perpetrated by Israelis in Gaza. Casera claimed that Israel’s education secretary has explicitly stated that antisemitism and the Holocaust are used to undermine opposition to Israeli policies. “It’s disgusting. As a Jew, I’ve experienced [antisemitism]. It’s real.” However, Casera believes that the term should not be used to obfuscate actions in Gaza that are happening at this time, and framed that strategy as “Zionists doing everything possible to take the focus off of that.” 

Karen Cathers read a letter from spouse Myriam Strouse, a member of the Jewish community of New Paltz, who characterized Rodriguez’s comments as a “sarcastic, facetious response” to a “hostile man yelling directly” in Rodriguez’s face. Like some detractors, Strouse has known Rodriguez for decades. 

One speaker acknowledged that no single Jew can define what feels antisemitic by all, but expressed the feeling that this was a “witch hunt” intended to silence opposition to genocide. Another read a letter purportedly signed by 37 individuals, in which it was opined that one’s personal opinions about world events is not relevant to one’s qualifications for local office. 

Maureen Crocker, another longtime Rodriguez ally, had a more nuanced view. Crocker, who is also Jewish, recalled asking if Rodriguez supported the right for Israel itself to continue to exist. Crocker does personally support this, but added, “I just don’t support Netanyahu.” Crocker also noted that none of the signs at the protest where Rodriguez made those comments had any reference to freeing the hundreds of hostages taken on October 7. “There is antisemitism at those protests.” 

One person of North-African descent, who declined to provide a name, noted that the semitic people include a wide swath of those from that part of the world, and expressed concern that the current debate appeared to be centered on white, Jewish individuals who are a small minority of that broader group. This tendency was framed as evidence of white supremacy in the discourse. “Edgar Rodriguez is supporting liberation of a semitic people,” the individual said. “You are either pro-liberation of all oppressed people, or you are against all of use. You don’t get to pick and choose.”