An ambitious defense strategy by attorneys for 26 protesters who blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in April has led critics of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to openly question whether she is under the influence of the Israeli government.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, the aphorism goes, and many in San Francisco believe they have some, in the form of two bottles of wine gifted to prosecutors by the Israeli consulate in recent months. Lawyers for the pro-Palestinian protesters, who have been charged with crimes for blocking the bridge for more than 4½ hours, say Jenkins should not be allowed to prosecute their clients because of those gifts and other evidence of “anti-Palestinian bias.”

The argument has sparked some anti-Israel vitriol online after it was reported in the San Francisco Chronicle under the headline, “Lawyers for Golden Gate Bridge protesters seek DA’s recusal over Israeli government wine gifts.” The story was highly popular, outpacing other news stories shared by the Chronicle on X that day by more than 148,000 views. (Most stories shared by the Chronicle on X receive only a handful of likes and fewer than 2,000 views.)

The bottles of wine are listed on a “Statement of Economic Interests” form filed with the city. One $17 bottle was labeled simply as “wine,” and a $60 bottle was labeled “Mid Bar Syrah,” likely a reference to the Midbar winery in Israel’s Negev Desert (“midbar” is a Hebrew word meaning wilderness). The same statement shows that Jenkins received $146 in “beauty and skin care products” from the cosmetics company Sephora on Nov. 9, as well as a book called “Trauma Stewardship” on April 7.

The story explains that defense attorneys are calling on Jenkins, the San Francisco district attorney elected in 2022, to recuse himself from the case, citing public documents showing the gifts from the Israeli consulate. The attorneys also allege that Jenkins met with Israeli officials in “at least two non-public meetings.” Officials at the Israeli consulate declined to comment for this story.

The lawyers say the wine gifts are part of a pattern of alleged anti-Palestinian bias by Jenkins. They cite the fact that Jenkins’ director of public affairs used to work for AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying organization, and that Jenkins last October called a protest in downtown San Francisco a “pro-Hamas” rally in a social media post that she later deleted.

“Our prosecutors have a solemn and important duty to ensure that justice and fairness remain the touchstone of our criminal justice system,” the attorneys said in a letter to Jenkins’ office. “When a conflict of interest is so serious that it is unlikely that the defendant will receive a fair trial, recusal should be ordered.”

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins with Ambassador Marco Sermoneta, Consul General of Israel in the Pacific Northwest. (Consulate General of Israel in the Pacific Northwest)

On August 12, the district attorney’s office announced that 26 people had been charged with a range of crimes after blocking both lanes of the iconic bridge on Tax Day, April 15, as part of the so-called A15 protest, a “coordinated economic blockade to liberate Palestine.” Protesters gathered together, chanted and held up a giant banner reading “Stop the World for Gaza.” Eight people were charged with crimes of conspiracy in what the district attorney’s office described as a “coordinated disruption of the economy across the country.”

“As a result of the protest, hundreds of motorists were stranded on the Golden Gate Bridge and U.S. 101, having no choice but to sit on the freeway for hours,” the DA’s office said. The victims told harrowing stories. One said she missed a brain surgery appointment, a mother said she was stuck without water to feed her baby, and a surgeon had to cancel his entire schedule for the day.

In an email statement to J., the Public Prosecution Service indicated that, upon request, the Public Prosecution Service regularly consults with consular staff from countries with offices in San Francisco, and with activist groups, to hear their concerns.

“DA Jenkins, like other elected and public officials, and previous elected DAs, has met periodically upon request with the consular staff of several countries, including El Salvador, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Switzerland, and the SF Consular Corps,” the statement said. “Meetings have included discussions regarding the security of consulates, consulate staff, and their civilian populations.”

The effectiveness of this particular defense strategy remains to be seen; attorneys representing the protesters have sent Jenkins the letter but have not yet filed an official request to have her excluded from the case..

But in the meantime, the widely shared story has become a source of inspiration for Jenkins’ detractors.

Ryan Khojasteh, a lawyer running to unseat the district attorney, shared a photo of the Chronicle’s headline. “Another day, another scandal,” he wrote. “It is imperative that the top law enforcement official be impartial and unbiased at all times.”

Nadia Rahman, a San Francisco activist, weighed in on the conversation with an X-post sharing excerpts from the story. “Why is the San Francisco District Attorney accepting gifts from the Israeli government?” Rahman wrote in a post that has been viewed more than 64,000 times. “The District Attorney’s office is clearly biased and cannot pursue this case, which is clearly politically motivated.”

Others expressed their hatred on social media.

“For Israel, by Israel. The new American way,” wrote one account, citing a conspiracy theory that the U.S. government is controlled by Zionists. “Bribery is legal when Israelis do it,” posted another.

In its statement, Jenkins’ office strongly opposed the defense attorneys’ claim, adding that any motion to recusal would be heard in court, “not in the press.”

“We do not prosecute political cases under any circumstances and at any time,” the statement said. “This case will be handled like any other case based on facts, evidence and the law.”