SAN FRANCISCO (VINnews) — Jewish leaders and city officials denounced antisemitic chants that erupted at a political gathering in San Francisco on Wednesday, where participants reportedly shifted a “tax the rich” slogan to “tax the Jews.”

At an event this afternoon, a group of individuals that were chanting "tax the rich" began to shout "tax the Jews." This was an event I put on with Supervisor Mahmood, labor leaders, and dozens of workers to announce a plan that creates more jobs for those workers and housing for…

— Daniel Lurie 丹尼爾·羅偉 (@DanielLurie) February 25, 2026

The event was hosted by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who is Jewish, alongside District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and labor leaders to announce new proposals aimed at creating jobs and housing opportunities for city residents.

“Suggesting that Jews are wealthy is a tired trope, and targeting our community at an event focused on economic opportunity is decidedly antisemitic,” Lurie said. “I will never accept hate directed at the Jewish community or any community in our city.”

A video from the event shows at least one individual chanting “Tax Israel” and “Tax the Jews,” prompting swift condemnation from Jewish advocacy groups. Amy Spitalnick of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs described the chants as “hate and extremism masquerading as progressive politics,” while the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area called the incident “a despicable act of antisemitism that must be universally condemned.”

Rudy Gonzalez of the city’s Building and Construction Trades Council, who attended the event, blamed far-left protestors for disrupting the gathering with the chants. The San Francisco branch of the Democratic Socialists of America said a non-member had joined the crowd and made the antisemitic remarks, and that members asked the individual to stop.

“This hate is not shared by DSA members, and we categorically reject antisemitism,” the group said in a statement.

The incident highlights ongoing concerns about antisemitic acts in San Francisco, including recent vandalism and attacks on local Jewish institutions.

There’s some disagreement online over whether it was the group of protestors that was chanting “tax the Jews” or a singular person. The audio appears to show it was a singular person. https://t.co/4wLugyZkvn

— Gabriel Lorenzo Greschler (@ggreschler) February 26, 2026