NYC Democratic leader faces backlash after blaming Jews for property dispute

Democratic district leader in Brooklyn blames “Zionists” for a real estate dispute.

By World Israel News Staff

A Brooklyn Democratic Party official is facing renewed accusations of antisemitism and calls to resign after blaming “Zionists” for a bitter dispute over her family’s Bedford-Stuyvesant brownstone and comparing the case to Israeli policies in Judea and Samaria.

Carmella Charrington, a Democratic district leader representing part of central Brooklyn, made the remarks during a recent interview with Egyptian podcaster Raha Zein while discussing the long-running legal fight surrounding her family home.

“They’re Zionists that basically did this,” Charrington said. “Same thing that they’re doing in the West Bank, it’s the same thing. There’s a connection.”

The remarks brought renewed scrutiny to Charrington less than two months after she faced criticism for promoting a video centered on Henry Ford’s notoriously antisemitic publication The International Jew.

Charrington has for years maintained that her family was the victim of deed theft involving its brownstone at 212 Jefferson Avenue. Her family says it has been connected to the property for roughly six decades and has challenged the circumstances under which ownership interests were sold.

The New York Attorney General’s Office, however, has said its review concluded that the case was not deed theft but instead arose from competing inheritance claims and a complicated dispute involving the property’s heirs.

The current owner has likewise maintained that the purchase was lawful and authorized through court proceedings connected to the conservatorship of Charrington’s elderly father.

The dispute became a major political issue in Brooklyn earlier this year when City Councilman Chi Ossé was arrested while participating in a protest intended to prevent Charrington’s eviction.

Charrington was elected in June as a Democratic district leader, an unpaid party position that nevertheless carries influence inside the Brooklyn Democratic organization. District leaders participate in choosing the county party chairman and have roles in party decisions involving judicial nominations and Board of Elections positions.

Her election was supported by figures associated with Brooklyn’s progressive political movement.

State Sen. Jabari Brisport and Assembly nominee Eon Huntley campaigned alongside her, although the Democratic Socialists of America did not formally endorse Charrington.

The latest remarks prompted Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, to accuse Charrington of invoking longstanding antisemitic themes.

“Repeatedly invoking ‘Zionists’ as a collective villain, particularly after previously promoting Henry Ford’s The International Jew, is not legitimate policy criticism,” Treyger said. “It traffics in some of the oldest and most dangerous forms of antisemitic scapegoating.”

Treyger called for Charrington to step down, while state Sen. Sam Sutton, the first Sephardic Jewish member of the New York State Senate, also said she should resign immediately.

The office of Mamdani, who has himself frequently clashed with pro-Israel Jewish organizations over Israel and Zionism, also sharply condemned Charrington’s comments.

“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism,” mayoral spokesman Sam Raskin said.

The controversy follows Charrington’s previous promotion of a social-media video discussing The International Jew, a series of antisemitic articles originally published through a newspaper owned by automobile industrialist Henry Ford in the 1920s.

The material promoted conspiracy theories alleging that Jews secretly controlled banking, media, government and other institutions. Ford’s writings became internationally influential among antisemites and were praised by Adolf Hitler.

Charrington shared the video in November 2025 and wrote in connection with it, “The only way to change is understanding the truth!”

When Jewish Insider questioned her about the post after her election in June, Charrington initially defended parts of the video as “some facts” and repeatedly told the reporter to “get your rabbi.”

“There’s so much harm that your community has done to me,” Charrington said at the time. “It’s a problem in our community and it needs to be addressed.”

She subsequently deleted the post and apologized, saying she had not intended to promote antisemitism and promising to “start a dialogue with my Jewish neighbors.”

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, the first Jewish speaker in the council’s history, condemned those earlier remarks as “unacceptable” and “abhorrent,” while Ossé said there was “no room for this kind of hate in Brooklyn.”