A San Diego City Council member exchanged barbs with a community group Wednesday stemming from a public confrontation that apparently took place a day earlier.
The group, Save Del Cerro, posted 15 seconds of audio to social media of a man, said to be Henry L. Foster, angrily speaking to an unidentified person linked to the activists following Tuesday’s council meeting.
Someone is heard mentioning “a Jewish community” and being a “Jewish marginalized man,” along with the words “6 million” and “ancestor.” The man said to be Foster then questions whether Jewish people should be considered a “marginalized” group.
“I don’t care what you are or not,” the man says. “I know you’re not marginalized. I know that for a fact.”
Foster, who represents San Diego’s District 4, issued a statement Wednesday evening and didn’t deny his part in the confrontation, but said those who posted the audio “misrepresented my comments to suggest that I have antisemitic views.”
He in turn accused a member of the same group of being “disrespectful” to the legacy of the late Leon Williams during an unspecified land-use discussion.
A post shared by Councilmember Henry L. Foster III (@cd4foster)
Williams, a former San Diego councilman and San Diego County supervisor, died March 1 at 102.
The Del Cerro group, in their Instagram story, also targeted Foster’s statement, describing it as an “embarrassing ‘apology.'”
They added that Foster allegedly “berated and yelled” at their team on Tuesday and that the posted audio represented “just a small part of his rant.”
A post shared by Save Del Cerro (@savedelcerro)
In his statement, Foster shared his “regret that my words were taken out of context,” while adding that he wanted to “sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding and harm” that resulted.
“I would never intentionally express or endorse antisemitic sentiments in any form, and I remain committed to respecting and uplifting historically disenfranchised groups,” Foster said.
The council’s Tuesday debate centered on the All Peoples Church proposal to build a major project on a six-acre site where College Avenue and Interstate 8 meet. The City Council rejected the proposal last year, but the church sued the city.
The council reversed the land-use decision Tuesday on a 6-3 vote to the dismay of Save Del Cerro.
The group says on its website that it “was born to ensure that our community is heard and has a say in what the future of Del Cerro looks like.”
In addition to the audio exchange, Save Del Cerro also shared their next steps in regards to the church project, saying simply, “Lawsuit forthcoming.”
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