A Jewish man from Brooklyn is accusing state Senator Julia Salazar of insulting him based on his “stereotypical Jewish” facial features after he criticized her voting record.
The controversy started last week when Salazar tweeted about a weekend meeting she went to hosted by the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus.
Salazar, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, described the get-together as an “another opportunity for people I have known for several years to suddenly realize I have 20 tattoos on my body,” according to the New York Post.
In response, Flatbush resident David Kelsey, tweeting as @TheKvetcher, wrote a sarcastic response: “When your record is too far out there to get specific during campaign season … ‘I have 20 tattoos on my body.”
Salazar, apparently incensed by the Kelsey’s tweet, responded with a screenshot of the Jewish New Yorker’s Twitter bio alongside a close-up of his head, centering on his face, underneath the statement, “Submitted without comment.”
“What can I say, Senator Salazar? My grandparents are actually Jewish. And this is how I look,” said Kelsey, referring to campaign trail claims by Salazar that she was Jewish, of which she never provided proof and later appeared to backtrack on.
Kelsey, the owner of a Jewish digital publishing business, told the news outlet: “I look stereotypically Jewish and she was just mocking that.”
“Why blow my face up like that unless you’re making fun of my looks? Who cares what I look like?” he said.
Shorty after Salazar tweeted the enlarged photo of Kelsey’s face, she blocked him.
Later, after other users came to Kelsey’s defense, Salaza accused Kelsey of being obsessed with her.