Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman has been aligning herself with an online anti-Israel group that’s been accused of spreading antisemitism.
Raman has repeatedly shared and engaged content from Dear White Staffers, an Instagram account that first built a following by exposing anonymous workplace complaints from congressional staffers, but has since become engulfed in controversy over its political messaging after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The shift has drawn significant attention in Washington.
One recent headline bluntly asked: “How ‘Dear White Staffers’ turned into an anti-Israel, antisemitic account.”
The page became popular in 2022 for posting anonymous and often unverified allegations from Capitol Hill staffers about lawmakers and political offices.
Its creator remained largely hidden while the account ballooned into a closely watched political force with nearly 120,000 followers.
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But after Oct. 7, critics say the account took a dramatic turn.
Instead of posting Capitol Hill gossip and workplace complaints, the page increasingly became dominated by anti-Israel messaging, accusations of genocide in Gaza, and attacks on the Biden administration and members of Congress over continued support for Israel.
The account also targets Jewish lawmakers and promotes controversial claims about Israeli police training and Capitol security responses.
Dear White Staffers also allegedly helped organize anti-Israel protests involving congressional and administration staffers and pushed Democratic voters to abandon President Joe Biden in Michigan’s presidential primary over his Israel policy, a report by Jewish Insider said
Other prominent Los Angeles progressives are in the same online orbit.
Far-left DSA councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and fellow mayoral hopeful Rae Chen Huang, have also become cozy with the account.
The latest controversy adds to what has already been a rough stretch on the campaign trail for Raman.
The mayoral hopeful has faced criticism this week over a widely-shared interview answer that critics mocked as a “word salad” response on policing, questions surrounding a CNN-related campaign moment, and backlash after she tried to ban backyard barbecues during high fire danger periods.
The Post contacted White Staffers, Raman, Huang and Hernandez for comments.
The Los Angeles primary election is set for June 2.