Raleigh City council members Mary Black, right, and Christina Jones. Photo: Screenshot
This article appeared on The Algemeiner on September 10, 2024 12:47 PM
Two City Council members seeking re-election in Raleigh, North Carolina — Christina Jones and Mary Black — are in danger of losing their seats due to widespread concerns from the Jewish community and prominent local Democrats over their history of attacking Israel and working closely with pro-Hamas activist Rania Masri, despite their jobs having no apparent responsibilities concerning Middle Eastern affairs.
On Nov. 28, Masri spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where she referred to Oct. 7 — when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel and perpetrated the biggest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — as “a beautiful day.” Masri demanded “the eradication of Zionism” and added, “We know that one of the most powerful places we can exert our influence is the city councils.” Masri then mentioned the importance of bringing her activism to the Raleigh City Council.
In December, Masri posted a video on Facebook that called Hamas “our heroes.”
Jones and Black — along with Masri — are widely viewed as leading several failed efforts to have the Raleigh City Council pass a one-sided, anti-Israel ceasefire resolution to stop the war in Gaza.
A local news network reported at the time, “Jones says while she can’t promise a ceasefire resolution, she wants to make sure this comes up before her colleagues as much as possible.” A local newspaper reported that during one of the council meetings on the issue, Jones chanted slogans such as “Free, free Palestine” along with other anti-Israel activists. In the end, the ceasefire resolution did not pass.
Raleigh residents and Jewish leaders are appalled that Jones was photographed publicly embracing Masri in January following a Raleigh City Council meeting in which speakers spent almost four hours targeting Israel — the only Jewish-majority country in the world.
“It is sickening to me to see Christina Jones, a member of the Raleigh City Council, embracing Rania Masri, who called Oct. 7 ‘a beautiful day,’” Marcia Harris — a Raleigh resident, Jewish leader, and retired UNC administrator — told The Algemeiner.
Stefanie Mendell, a former Raleigh City Council member who held the same seat currently occupied by Jones, told The Algemeiner that she was once a “huge supporter” of Jones, having worked to place about 800 election signs for her initial campaign and having hosted, with a friend, a “meet and greet” for the local politician. Mendell now opposes Jones’s candidacy for re-election.
In a Sept. 7 email to her large mailing list, Mendell endorsed Jones’s opponent, John Cerqueira.
“Where Christina [Jones] has been particularly active is in international issues that council has no ability to influence. She has promoted divisiveness in the community with her flagrant support of Palestinian demonstrators, including her public embrace of Rania Masri who has called Oct. 7 a ‘beautiful day’ in praising Hamas’s terrorist attacks on innocent civilians,” Mendell wrote.
“Christina insisted on trying to push through a one-sided ceasefire resolution despite calls from her Jewish constituents to refrain from involvement in a very complex issue that she clearly doesn’t fully understand,” Mendell continued. “Christina encouraged Palestinian demonstrators to continue coming to council meetings despite their intimidation of speakers with whom they disagreed. The inordinate amount of time devoted to this resulted in many Raleigh residents opting to forego their opportunity to address council — both because of the intimidating atmosphere and because of the time restrictions imposed as a result of the huge turnout of people speaking on issues that council has no ability to influence.”
Mendell concluded, “In sum, Christina has not lived up to her campaign promises and has disrespected a large segment of her constituency.”
Conner Taylor, 2nd vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus, told The Algemeiner that Jones’s public embrace of Masri is now “infamous” and a “slap in the face” to the Jewish community.
Jones and Black were both recently endorsed by Solidarity with Humanity, which describes itself as “North Carolina’s first and only grassroots political action committee (PAC) building power for Palestinian freedom.” Jones and Black were pictured with a smiling Masri while attending a “Raleigh United for Gaza” fundraiser held by this new PAC. The two lawmakers were also photographed wearing keffiyehs at the event. In addition, Jones has recently donated to the PAC, as has Masri.
In a recent Wake County Democratic Party questionnaire, Jones stated that since Oct. 7 she has met “community members from both sides” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In response, Taylor told The Algemeiner, “I find that very concerning. That she [Jones] would have met with leaders from the Jewish community after Oct. 7, listened to the pain and fear our community is going through, and then still embarked on this very cozy political relationship with someone [Masri] who called Oct. 7 ‘a beautiful day.’”
The Algemeiner has reported extensively on Jones’s colleague on the council, Black, who has used social media in ways such as trivializing the Holocaust, using the antisemitic, white supremacist term “zios,” and dismissing concerns she is antisemitic as being “funny.”
Taylor recently explained to The Algemeiner the “betrayal” felt by the Jewish community observing Black and Masri’s close working relationship, seeing Black pose for photographs with Masri, speak on a panel with the pro-Hamas activist, speak at a fundraiser with Masri standing behind her, and speak at a local rally standing with the controversial figure.
The Wake County Democratic Party — which endorsed Black in 2022 — recently endorsed Black’s opponent, fellow Democrat Mitchell Silver. Political insiders told The Algemeiner that Black now has very little chance of winning her re-election bid. The North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus also endorsed Silver, as did Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue, the largest congregation in Raleigh.
However, community members, local Democrats, and Jewish leaders are furious that the Wake County Democratic Party — which includes Raleigh — recently endorsed Jones.
Solomon, a political progressive, wrote a widely viewed social media post condemning the decision.
“By endorsing Council Member Christina Jones, whose behavior has been just as abhorrent as Mary Black’s, the Wake County Jewish community’s worst fears were confirmed. Namely, that the local Democratic Party supports candidates who obsessively and singularly criticize Israel,” the rabbi wrote. “Christina Jones has done precious little to honor the trauma the Raleigh Jewish community is experiencing while she continues to embrace outspoken, violence-urging, pro-Hamas organizers like Rania Masri.”
Because of Jones’s endorsement from the Wake County Democratic Party, her re-election bid against fellow Democratic Cerqueira is expected to be close, according to political insiders.
The Algemeiner requested public record emails from the city of Raleigh for Jones and Black that contain keywords such as “Israel” and “Gaza” that were sent or received since Oct. 6. A representative of the city responded, “We’ve run the search you requested, and the volume of results that came back would take a long time for us to process.”
On Sunday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Raleigh and two Raleigh synagogues hosted a “Meet the Raleigh City Council Candidates” event where community members could “get to know” the candidates. About 15 candidates attended. Jones and Black were both invited. Neither attended.
Peter Reitzes writes about issues related to antisemitism and Israel.