New York Senator Julia Salazar distanced herself from online posts made by two of her staffers that seemed to endorse or praise Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. However, Salazar did not indicate that she would reprimand either of them, and instead condemned the reporting on the posts as a “cynical hit piece.”
According to screenshots published by the New York Post, Sarah Campbell, Salazar’s communications and policy director, wrote the phrase “by any means necessary” on her personal account on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 7. More than a month later, on November 12, she posted, “I don’t condemn Hamas, I condemn Israel. Who has reigned more terror: Hamas in the entirety of their existence, or Israel in just the last 30 days?”
The screenshot of the November 12 post showed that her account had been made private, and it has since been deleted. The Post also reported that Isabel Anreus, Salazar’s chief of staff, liked an October 7 post that said, “The stuff happening in Palestine really cheers me up.”
After the report was published, Salazar addressed it in a post, writing that her staffer posted the comments to her “personal, locked social media account without my knowledge.” Salazar’s office did not respond to a request for further comment.
Salazar, a Democrat representing northwest Brooklyn, is part of the Democratic Socialists of America and was elected to the State Senate in 2018. She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, criticized Israeli strikes on Gaza, condemned the Hamas attack, and demanded the release of hostages held by Hamas. She posted that she was among the hundreds arrested at a Jewish-led rally calling for a ceasefire at Grand Central Terminal late last month.
Ultimately, Salazar distanced herself from the online posts made by her staffers but did not indicate that she would take any further action against them.
