Richmond Mayor Faces Possible Censure by City Council After Bondi Beach Conspiracy Posts

Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez is facing possible censure by the Richmond City Council on Tuesday evening for reposting conspiracy theories on social media in the days following the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia.

Martinez has apologized for reposting the content, which included claims that Israel’s actions are the root cause of antisemitism, and has since taken the posts down. Still, the episode has unsettled Richmond’s small Jewish community and prompted broader calls for accountability.

At Temple Beth Hillel, Richmond’s only synagogue, Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller said the mayor’s reposts — particularly one suggesting the attack may have been a false flag operation — were “shocking” and left her congregation of 70 households feeling unseen and vulnerable.

“We celebrate Hanukkah sometimes in public,” Saxe-Taller said, explaining that the posts made people think twice about gathering. “It’s hard to imagine what it would feel like for people who celebrate the dominant holidays to be afraid to go to a Christmas celebration, but that’s how people feel.”

Still, Saxe-Taller is not calling for Martinez’s resignation, at least for now. Instead, she is urging a process centered on direct conversation and learning. Martinez has reached out by email, she said, and the two have agreed to meet later this month.

“I want to address it in a way that’s actually people talking to each other,” Saxe-Taller said. “I don’t think it was wrong to call out the mayor’s serious mistakes. But that having happened, I want to go forward in actual conversation. That’s how learning and dialogue happens.”

That approach is reflected in a proposed censure resolution authored by Councilmembers Cesar Zepeda and Jamelia Brown, which they hope to introduce at a regular city council meeting on Tuesday evening. Because the agenda was published early due to the holidays, Zepeda must first secure five votes to take up the item as an emergency measure. Without those votes, the resolution would be agendized later this month.

Zepeda has said the censure is meant to help repair harm, not to force the mayor from office. The proposal would require Martinez to meet with Jewish community leaders and members, and complete antisemitism and cultural sensitivity training. The proposal also calls for the mayor to make a charitable donation to a Richmond nonprofit aimed at bringing communities together.

Zepeda described the effort as personally difficult, saying he has lost sleep in recent days. “[Pursuing censure] is not easy. [It] takes a toll on both the individual receiving it and the individual. [It] should not be taken lightly, regardless of the outcome,” Zepeda said.

He emphasized that he does not intend to run for mayor and the move is not politically motivated, but a response to residents who say they feel unsafe.

Elsewhere in the Jewish community, opinions vary. Regional Jewish organizations are planning a rally outside City Hall calling for Martinez’s resignation, while groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace argue that education, not removal from office, is the appropriate response following the mayor’s apology.