How New Rochelle Mayor Tried (and Failed) to Quietly Remove Israeli Flag at City Hall
Ham-fisted backroom dealing amidst rise in antisemitic incidents blows back on Yadira Ramos-Herbert
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (February 4, 2024) — New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert spent much of her first weeks in office orchestrating a failed backroom effort to remove an Israeli flag from a flagpole in front of City Hall, emails show.
Ironically, had she done nothing the Israeli flag would have been lowered and replaced in the normal course of business during the next cultural flag ceremony which is scheduled for the end of February as part of the City’s celebration of Black History Month.
This was the case in 2022 when after about 3 months the Ukrainian flag was replaced by the Pride flag.
She wanted the flag removed on January 31. After her scheming was exposed she was forced to accept the flag will remain flying until the end of the following month.
I have the emails and it is not a pretty picture.
100 emails and attachments, obtained today through a Freedom of Information request filed on February 1, depict the Mayor pushing the City Manager to remove the flag without public discussion even after a high profile antisemitic incident at the Golden Horseshoe shopping center on January 25. On the day the flag was to come down, on January 31, Ramos-Herbert backed down, citing the Golden Horseshoe incident the week before.
UPDATE: After this article was published, a reader sent me a video linked below in which Yadira Ramos-Herbert gives a speech at a rally at the Golden Horseshoe. After 9 days pushing to take down the Israeli flag at City Hall the theme of her speech is “raise these Israeli flags”. The shameless hypocrisy displayed by the Mayor is truly sick making.
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