Members of Chattanooga's Jewish community are criticizing remarks City Council candidate Marie Mott made about Jewish slave owners in a 2020 video, which has resurfaced in the days leading up to a Thursday runoff election for an open seat on the panel.
"As members of Chattanooga's Jewish community, we strongly condemn Marie's comments and denounce antisemitism in any form," members of the community said in a letter obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Monday evening.
The letter was signed by 32 people, including three rabbis.
"Hate has been prevalent throughout our history," it said. "In the past several years, we have seen a resurgence of hate-mongering aimed at all minority communities. We must come together to stand up against hate instead of further dividing our communities."
Mott is squaring off against Councilwoman Marvene Noel, of Orchard Knob, who was appointed to the District 8 seat on City Council in March. The winner will fill out the remainder of former Councilman Anthony Byrd's four-year term. He stepped down earlier this year.
Last week, an anonymous account called "Mott Speaks" posted a 35-second snippet from the 30-minute video on Twitter. In the full version, Mott states that Jews owned slaves and overwhelmingly joined the Confederacy during the Civil War.
"Throughout the video, Marie oversimplified history," the letter states. "She exaggerated historical facts, and she presented disinformation about the Civil War and slavery. The truth is that, yes, there were Jewish people who owned slaves and joined the Confederate army.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga City Council candidate defends remarks about Jewish slave owners)
"This is a horrific part of our history which we will never deny; however, the number of Jewish slaveholders and Confederate soldiers was drastically lower than what Marie stated. Additionally, the vast majority of American Jews immigrated here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (post Civil War) as refugees to flee religious persecution."
The comments are among several Mott made across multiple videos, according to the letter, which included offensive comments aimed at Chattanooga's Jewish community.
"Regardless of intent, Marie's statements were divisive and blurred the lines of antisemitism," the letter continues. "To this day, Marie has offered no apologies for her statements. In fact, when the videos first emerged in 2020, members of the Jewish community reached out to Marie to have a conversation. She did not accept.
"When this video resurfaced, Marie initially doubled down and defended her comments. She has only now agreed to meet with members of the Jewish community, and we look forward to a discussion, which we hope will be fruitful."
Mott did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by text Monday evening.
"I don't know a soft way to say you enslaved my ancestors," she said on social media, responding to criticism of her remarks. "I don't know how to soften the blow of that, and don't ask me to."
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.