A New York City public defender named Victoria Ruiz was caught on camera taking down posters of what was perceived to be kidnapped victims of Hamas's attacks on October 7.
In a video posted by the group StopAntisemitism on X, formerly Twitter, the barrister was seen ripping off some of the posters without responding to the questions the person behind the camera repeatedly asked her, "Why are you taking down pictures of missing children?"
"It is absolutely unacceptable for someone with such bias and hate to serve in your office," StopAntisemitism said in its tweet directed to Ruiz's employer, the New York County Defender Services.
Ruiz Apologizes, Keeps Job at Public Law Firm
Ruiz has since apologized for the act, and the law firm has since described her actions as "highly insensitive."
"It has come to our attention that one of our attorneys, Victoria Ruiz, recently attended a public vigil solely in her capacity as a private citizen," the public firm said in a statement. "Some of her actions at the event have drawn sharp criticism, and we strongly condemn them as highly insensitive."
Despite the act, the firm accepted Ruiz's apology and agreed to keep her job.
"Ruiz has apologized to those who were hurt or confused by her actions," New York County Defender Services spokesperson Lupe Todd-Medina said in a statement obtained by the New York Post.
"After an internal review and a pledge by all involved to do better, we accept this apology and now refocus on the vigorous pursuit of our mission: achieving justice and dignity for every individual we represent."
It was revealed that NY Defender Services has a $52.3 million contract with the city to provide services to indigent criminal defendants.
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NY Post Op-Ed Says Ruiz is Pro-Hamas Antisemite
However, both the Jewish community of the Big Apple and The Post felt the apology was superficial and insincere.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis said that Ruiz should have faced stricter sanctions and should have apologized to the families of the missing hostages given her profile.
"I don't understand why we allow people to get away with it so easily without holding them accountable," he said. "The punishment should be a lot greater than, 'I'm sorry,'"
Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Democrat who represents a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Riverdale, retorted that Ruiz only apologized because she was caught in the act.
"She should be required to go to diversity training for anti-semitism," he said. "These are people we are entrusting with our tax dollars to represent indigent defendants. Clearly, there's something wrong."
As a result of this perceived tolerance of Ruiz's employer, The Post's editorial board released its opinion statement on the publication.
"Ruiz's actions are reprehensible and demand, at the very least, a full public apology to the families of Hamas' victims as well as serious professional consequences," it wrote.
"But her vandalism does raise an interesting question: Why don't these brave fighters for the Palestinian cause simply put up their own posters instead of tearing down others? ... The answer, of course, is that Ruiz et al. don't actually care about supporting the Palestinians. They care about supporting Hamas."
The Post also suggested Ruiz and her employers should face a "blanket ban" on its public work until their moral and legal ideas were corrected.