A news conference on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s tax reform proposal descended into disturbing antisemitic chants lasting over a minute, according to officials present at Wednesday’s event, the NY Post reports.

The protesters, linked to the Democratic Socialists of America’s San Francisco chapter, initially shouted “Tax the rich” outside a construction site where Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood were promoting legislation aimed at reforming city real estate taxes to encourage housing development and investment.

The demonstration quickly escalated into chants targeting Israel, with at least one individual loudly shouting “Tax the Jews.”

Mayor Daniel Lurie denounced the chants as antisemitic. “Suggesting that Jews are wealthy is a tired trope, and targeting our community at an event focused on creating economic opportunity for San Franciscans is decidedly antisemitic,” Lurie, who is Jewish, posted on X.

“I will never accept hate directed at the Jewish community or any community in our city. Those are not San Francisco values; we’re better than that.”

An onlooker told The NY Post the antisemitic shouts about Jews and Israel went on for roughly two minutes before “petering out,” with no one in the crowd intervening to stop the offensive remarks.

“It was an, ‘are you hearing what I’m hearing?’ moment,” the witness said.

Rudy Gonzalez, head of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, publicly condemned the Democratic Socialists of America for the incident. “During today’s press conference, individuals identifying themselves with the Democratic Socialists of America disrupted the event with antisemitic chants,” he wrote on Instagram.

“As a father and a husband in an interfaith home, I found what was shouted today deeply disturbing. Hate directed at any community is wrong. It undermines the solidarity that working people depend on.”

The DSA’s San Francisco chapter denied responsibility for the woman shouting “tax the Jews” and said members asked her to stop. “DSA SF members at the protest were similarly disgusted and horrified by this woman’s rhetoric, and want to make clear her words came from her alone. While we disagree on policy, we join you in condemning antisemitism.”

The disruption overshadowed the announcement by City Hall and labor officials, including Lurie, Mahmood, the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Chamber of Commerce, promoting lower real estate transfer taxes on housing projects and downtown sales to aid the city’s economic recovery.

The coalition argued that adjusting the tax rates would create jobs and cut construction costs by $32,850 per housing unit.