A viral controversy has embroiled San Francisco social media after a Jewish sandwich shop owner publicly accused a Jewish public defender of anonymously posting “Godspeed to Hamas” on X — an allegation he acknowledges he never independently verified and one she vehemently denies.
The allegation came from Adam Mesnick, who owns the Deli Board in the South of Market District and runs the @bettersoma account on X, which has nearly 30,000 followers, including high-profile figures and elected city officials. Mesnick has said he identified San Francisco deputy public defender Ilona Yáñez as the person behind the anonymous account @loomdoop, or “Y Disassembler,” because “one of her colleagues snitched.”
“Has anyone asked Yanez if it’s her account? Stop asking me. I think it is. I’ve heard that it is. And it makes sense that it is. Dig people. I’m a dishwasher,” he posted to X on July 14.
Mesnick told the San Francisco Chronicle this week that he was “not sure how anyone would know who an anonymous account would be,” acknowledging that he himself had not corroborated the claims tying Yáñez to the account.
Despite that, Mesnick repeatedly named Yáñez as the account holder, urging city officials to investigate and potentially fire her. One of his posts naming her drew more than 22,000 views, fueling an online debate over antisemitism, anonymous speech and the consequences of viral accusations.
The controversy began after Y Disassembler replied “Godspeed to Hamas” on July 10 to a discussion about Gaza. The post was widely condemned, including by S.F. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who called it “straight-up Jew hatred.” Dorsey, who is not Jewish but is a “self-proclaimed Zionist,” added that if the account belonged to a city employee, there should be consequences.
Yáñez, who is Jewish, told the Chronicle that the allegation has been especially painful because it falsely portrays her as supporting a group she unequivocally condemns. She denied operating the account or writing the post, describing Hamas as “extremists” and “fascists.”
“They are terrible to women and they are terrible to anyone who is not Muslim,” she told the Chronicle. “What they did on Oct. 7 was disgusting and appalling and is mass murder.”
The anonymous operator of Y Disassembler has also denied being Yáñez, posting, “My name is not Ilona,” while continuing to defend the account’s pro-Hamas statements. The account also made several posts calling Mesnick, who is Jewish, a Nazi. Y Disassembler cited a photo of Mesnick displaying the “OK” hand gesture along with the claim that Mesnick’s “entire social media presence is racism and hate porn videos.”
Mesnick’s @bettersoma account, which features graphic posts documenting drug use, homelessness and street disorder in San Francisco along with calls for tougher policing, has drawn controversy in the past. Supporters see the content as a raw, unfiltered look at the city, while critics say it is dehumanizing to unhoused people and take issue with Mesnick’s use of derogatory terms and slurs.
The “OK” gesture, in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers of the hand are held outstretched, can function as a hate symbol according to the Anti-Defamation League, which advises that “particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture” due to the more commonly used traditional meaning of it.
Mesnick offered no public evidence linking Yáñez to the account beyond saying he had heard she operated it. When another X user asked him to substantiate the accusation, he replied simply, “It’s her.” Later, he told the Chronicle that his source was the unnamed colleague who had “snitched.”
Yáñez has been involved in several high-profile disputes in the past, which she has said stem from her work as a deputy public defender and her outspoken criticism of police and prosecutors.
She gained attention for aggressively challenging law enforcement in court, including accusing Brooke Jenkins of misconduct during a 2021 murder trial before Jenkins became San Francisco’s district attorney the next year. Jenkins later said she had made a “harmless error” in that case and, after becoming district attorney, publicly criticized Yáñez’s handling of a domestic violence case in 2024.
Yáñez was accused of several ethics violations in the domestic violence case, including inappropriate contact with the victim, crying during final comments and purchasing drinks for several jurors at a bar near the courthouse the day the judge discharged the jury.
The Public Defender’s Office disputed those allegations and called ABC7’s reporting “erroneous.”
Yáñez and her husband, former San Francisco Police Commissioner Jesus Yáñez, have also been involved in a long-running dispute with a neighbor that resulted in litigation and a restraining order.
Yáñez told the Chronicle that the conflict generated extensive online attention and harassment, prompting her to move from her home and transition to a desk job within the Public Defender’s Office because of the stress.
She said she is considering a defamation lawsuit against Mesnick and hopes to clear her name after what she describes as a viral campaign of false accusations.