Jewish Labor councillor’s X account exposed
A Labor councillor has stepped down from the board of a Jewish pre-school after horrified parents discovered her X account, which shared views absolving the terror group.
A Sydney Labor councillor has stepped down from the board of a Jewish pre-school after parents discovered her X account, which shared views absolving Hamas of war crimes and refuting that it was a terrorist organisation.
Michelle Gray, Labor’s Bondi ward councillor on Waverley Council in the city’s east, retweeted from an X account tweets that “the criminals here are not Hamas – it is the West” and suggesting US Republicans were “easily more radical than Hamas”.
Ms Gray, who was elected to the council’s Bondi ward – one of the most populous Jewish communities in Sydney – in December 2021, converted to Judaism upon marrying her husband.
She had, until the account was exposed by parents, sat on the board of a Sydney Jewish preschool that The Australian has chosen not to identify for security reasons.
The account was deleted late on Wednesday after a letter from parents to the school’s board and the synagogue to which the school is attached.
However, The Australian obtained screenshots of some of Ms Gray’s retweets from the past 24 hours before the account was deactivated.
“How dare Patricia (Karvelas) ask Nasser (Mashni) if he thinks Hamas is a terrorist org while he is talking about the genocide of Palestinians,” a tweet after Monday’s Q&A read, shared by Ms Gray’s account ‘Mitch’, @mishgray1.
“I had to delete a line from my last piece because there was still ‘doubt’ around who blew up a certain Gazan hospital,” another recently re-tweeted post read.
“These people are easily more radical than Hamas … the idea that Hamas are terrorists but these people who cheer the death of kids are not is absurd,” a tweet referencing Republican supporters, also shared by Ms Gray, read.
Another retweet after Monday’s Q&A took issue with a claim by Jewish community leader Mark Leibler that the “war crimes of the conflict are those of Hamas”.
“ … Utterly irresponsible of the ABC to amplify (his) bigotry,” the post read, in reference to Mr Leibler.
The account also shared a video of former Greek Treasurer Yanis Varoufakis, who said “those trying to extract condemnation (from me) of Hamas will never get it … The criminals here are not Hamas, it’s the West.”
On Wednesday, parents found the tweets and put together a petition to the school and synagogue calling for Ms Gray to resign. “We are very distressed that a board member who was elected to represent the interests of the parents is openly making anti-Israel statements,” it read.
“At a time when the Jewish community is forced to rally against increased levels of anti-Semitism and misinformation, it is appalling that a board member is fuelling anti-Israel narratives.”
The Australian obtained Ms Gray’s response where she stepped down and apologised for the “hurt caused”.
“I have differing views to many in the community on what is happening in Gaza and never thought anyone important would notice my thoughts,” she wrote.
“I understand my views don’t align with those of many in the community – I’m stepping down from my position on the board.
“I’ve loved helping (the school) for the last few years – this community means so much to me – and I’m sorry for any hurt I have caused.”
Ms Gray told The Australian the Twitter account had been a “big mistake … I’m deeply sorry for any pain I have caused; I know how much pain the community is in.”
She said she had “deep love” for the school and wider Jewish community, and her friendships there. “I hate Hamas for what they did on October 7 to our Israeli family; my heart’s been breaking since,” she said, calling the tweets an “error”.
Ms Gray said she didn’t stand by the views in the retweets and that she was desperate for peace. “Shouting into the echo chamber of Twitter is not conducive to that (peace) – I’m really sorry.”
Wentworth MP Allegra Spender, the area’s federal member, said she was “shocked”.
“A public representative can’t hide her opinions from the people she represents,” she said.
“She has retweeted comments that she knows her community would never accept.”
Ms Gray was a first-time candidate in the December 2021 local elections. Her now-deactivated LinkedIn account said she worked for Sydney Metro as a lawyer.
Ms Gray’s husband is Graham Kaplan, previously a Macquarie Group banker, although it is understood he recently left the company.
Waverley Council has been divided on its approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
In October, Greens deputy mayor Ludovico Fabiano was stripped of his position for refusing to back a motion condemning Hamas’s attacks.
Ms Gray was absent for the regular council meeting where that motion was brought forward, and the following meeting where the deputy mayor was demoted.
Liberal councillor Leon Goltsman told The Australian he was “gobsmacked” that an elected representative “hid behind” an X account, while councillor Sally Betts said she was “beyond shocked”.
“How dare she question whether Hamas is a terrorist organisation,” she said.
“The mayor has got to condemn councillor Gray – this is above politics.”
NSW Labor was asked whether it would condemn the account and retweets, but a spokesperson declined to comment.
Labor mayor Paula Masselos was contacted with the same question, but had not responded at the time of publication.
Additional reporting: Liam Mendes
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