Adam Haber criticizes posting as anti-Semitic

Democratic state Senate candidate Adam Haber said Monday that a social media posting against him is anti-Semitic, using altered imagery to depict him as a character from “Fiddler on the Roof.”

The posting provided by the Haber campaign contains a picture of Haber under the words “Adam Haber Tax Cap Fiddler,” which are next to a Newsday editorial headline, “Don’t fiddle with New York’s property-tax cap.” The Oct. 3 editorial arguing against relaxing the state’s property tax cap was unrelated to Haber’s race against Republican Elaine Phillips in the 7th state Senate district.

“It’s the Jew, it’s the money, and he’s going to play with your money. That’s the message they’re sending,” Haber, who is Jewish, said at a news conference Monday on the steps of State Supreme Court in Mineola. “This is not something you expect to see in 2016.”

He called on Phillips, the mayor of Flower Hill, to denounce the posting and for Senate Republicans to take it down.

Phillips didn’t return a request for comment, but her spokesman Chris McKenna said the campaign had no knowledge of the posting.

Haber accused the Senate Republican Campaign Committee of being responsible for the posting, which he said appeared on Facebook and Instagram, sponsored by The Real Adam Haber.

Senate Republican Campaign Committee spokesman Scott Reif would not say whether the post is theirs.

Newsday could not locate the posting independently on Monday.

Evan Bernstein, New York Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement, “While we do not know the intent or source of the image in question, we understand why some may take offense. By invoking a popular Jewish cultural figure from Fiddler on the Roof in the context of money, the image could help perpetuate age-old stereotypes of Jews and money.”

By David M. Schwartz

dschwar1@newsday.comschwartznewsNY

David Schwartz covers environmental issues. A native Long Islander, he's worked at Newsday since 2013.