On Tuesday, the Walnut Creek City Council was hit with yet another public comment providing antisemitic rhetoric.
A male spoke who accused many in the public of being “brainwashed from birth” before promoting his personal website and radio show while talking about Jews and the holocaust.
However, while the man was talking, three people stood up holding up pride flags and religious symbols.
One of them, was Erica Beth Dahl spoke shortly after:
“I live in Concord, but I have lived in the Bay Area in Alamo and Walnut Creek for many years. I was horrified when I found out what happened, specifically what happened in February to a wonderful man and councilmember Mr. Wilk who I met the other day. I am here to say I will be here and others will be here in the community who will stand up to this vile display that does not represent who we are as a community,” explained Dahl. “Regardless of me living in Concord, I feel like this is my home to and we are all community members together… there is some heavy research being done by some of my colleagues on this effort, and other efforts jointly, come to find out, members such as the man who stood up before to make a spectacle, they actually make money off of doing this by GoFundMe sources on the dark web. I am letting you know that is actually true, we have receipts to show that. Maybe next time when I speak, when the video taping is going on for themselves and others they make money for that on the dark web.”
After public comments, Walnut Creek Mayor Loella Haskew issued a statement highlighting each of the councilmembers have taken an oath to follow the Constitution of the United States including honoring the First Amendment.
“Nevertheless the speech today full of threats and inappropriate language in my opinion borders yelling fire in a darken theater,” stated Haskew. “While under the letter of the law, you have the right to be disruptive, disrespectful and dreadful to listen to, but we have the right to obligation and right to vehemently disagree with your comments and choose not to be bullied and instead focus on communications that improve and bring progress to our city. To be clear, the council strongly disagrees and condemns your comments.”
Councilmember Kevin Wilk thanked the mayor for her comments highlighting the two public speakers who have come to Walnut Creek to spread hate have come from the City of Stockton and City of Modesto—over an hour away.
Wilk thanked the community for their support and the hundreds of people who have reached out to denounce the hate and offer support. He also thanked everyone in the community for being welcoming.
Wilk issued another statement after the meeting on social:
One of the antisemitic haters drove 75 miles to spew hate at last night’s Walnut Creek Council meeting. The community was prepared and denounced the hate. People stood up with large pride flags with religious symbols to show their disgust.
Meanwhile, the JCRC Bay Area also issued a statement:
Last night’s Walnut Creek City Council meeting marks the third time that outside agitators have hijacked this public forum to spew antisemitic hate speech. While we are encouraged by this display of unity from our #BayArea community, it’s clear that these deplorable incidents shed light on a far greater issue of rising antisemitism in our public spaces. At this moment, our work at JCRC Bay Area has never been more important as we work to educate, advocate, and bridge communities’ understanding of language that denigrates and threatens Jews in our community. Learn more about our work and join us in our fight against antisemitism: jcrc.org/join-us/
Previous Stories:
- Feb 21 – Podcast: Kevin Wilk Talks Antisemitic Speech During Walnut Creek City Council Meeting
- Feb 21 – Walnut Creek City Council Subjected to Antisemitic Rant
- Oct 4, 2023 – Walnut Creek Opts to End Zoom Public Comments
- June 22, 2023 – Walnut Creek Hate Speech Continues, Budget Passed With More Cops
- June 11, 2023 – Wilk Responds to Hate Speech at Walnut Creek Council Meeting
- June 8, 2023 – Walnut Creek City Council Meeting Targeted by Antisemitic Callers
