NC Democratic official called colleague ‘Nazi,’ spy in leaked recording, complaint says

A North Carolina Democratic official has filed a complaint with party leadership saying three members used hate speech and made Islamophobic statements about him when he announced a run for a state officer spot.

Since 2020, Nazim Uddin, a member of the Asian-American Pacific Islander Caucus within the North Carolina Democratic Party, has authored many resolutions in support of Palestinian human rights. They are resolutions that mostly have been approved by party leadership, according to State Executive Committee meeting minutes. Uddin, a Charlotte resident, is Bangladeshi-American.

Now some party members are calling some of his resolutions antisemitic and have accused Uddin of the same.

A divide is brewing within Democratic party ranks over antisemitism versus Palestinian human rights. Tensions among members appear heightened since war erupted between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas after it attacked the Jewish state Oct. 7 along the Gaza border. After more than a week of airstrikes and violence, some 1,400 soldiers and civilians have been killed, and hostages taken.

Uddin filed a complaint in March against party members Matt Sadinsky, Paula Wolf and Stephen Coen, whom he says used defamatory and Islamophobic language. Those comments allegedly came as they urged other party members not to vote for Uddin for second vice chairman, based in part on the resolutions he authored.

Uddin said Sadinsky, who heads the party’s new Jewish Caucus, used “incendiary language” and racial tropes against him, including calling him “Nazi-em” and saying that he was an “Iranian spy.” Sadinsky, in an interview with The Charlotte Observer, denied saying those things. Uddin says he has a recording of them from a January phone conversation Sadinsky had with Progressive Caucus leader Ryan Jenkins.

Sadinsky, the former head of the State Executive Committee Board, said while he recalls that conversation with Jenkins, he denies calling Uddin “any names.” Sadinsky said he’s concerned about the resolutions Uddin authored and what they mean for Jewish Democrats.

Uddin says he has been waiting several months for a mediation hearing to resolve his complaint, a delay that prompted him to share the recording with The Observer recently.

“I have lost faith in the (Council of Review) process which has yet to enter into mediation,” Uddin said in an email Sunday. “We simply cannot be a party that turns a blind eye to blatant racism, bigotry and Islamophobia. We simply cannot achieve unity if this is left unaddressed. Do we have a safe space to be active within the party without facing this sort of discrimination and bigotry?”

NCDP Chairwoman Anderson Clayton said the party is taking Uddin’s complaint seriously and giving it “due diligence.”

“In the Democratic Party, all are welcome. We are a big tent party and we do not condone any hateful or harassing language or behavior towards anyone based on their religious or cultural beliefs, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc.,” she said in an email shared with the Observer via a NCDP spokesman. “That is not who we are nor will it ever be.”

It’s not clear when a mediation session would be scheduled.

In June, party leaders passed another broader set of resolutions supporting Palestinian and Israeli rights and diplomatic engagement, not proposed by Uddin, according to a Platform and Resolution Committee Report shared during a June State Executive Committee meeting.

The party platform aligns with the values the state Democrats stand for, while resolutions are acknowledgments of current events, thanking party leaders or encouraging elected officials to tackle specific issues, NCDP spokesman Tommy Mattocks said in an email to The Observer.

What led to the complaint?

In January, Uddin announced on social media his intent to run for second vice chairman, one of seven state officers for the NCDP. These officers are elected by the State Executive Committee and other governing members. Uddin felt it was important to run because the party needs “reform and must reflect the voice of the grassroots,” he shared in his post.

But his announcement drew negative comments.

According to the complaint, Coen stated he could not support Uddin for any office in the NCDP, citing that Uddin supports movements such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) that support Hamas, which the U.S. designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.

Reached by the Observer on Thursday, Coen said he did not call Uddin antisemitic.

Meanwhile, Uddin says Wolf texted defamatory statements to other party members, saying Uddin authored antisemitic resolutions “that have plagued the party for years,” and urged members not to vote for him, according to a screen grab of the text message shared in the complaint.

Wolf has not responded to the Observer’s requests for comment.

In January, while organizing the soon-to-be formed Jewish Caucus, Sadinsky reached out to Jenkins to invite him to the Jewish Caucus Convention, which took place last week. During the conversation, Sadinsky said he asked which political issues Jenkins supported, such as gun control, immigration reform and his sentiments on redistricting legislation.

“Then finally I asked him, why is he supporting these anti-Israeli resolutions,” Sadinsky told the Observer, alluding to the resolutions Uddin authored.

“I support the good work of all Democrats of all religions to unite against our common enemy here,” Sadinsky added. “And then I hope that the Democrats who are of the Muslim religion will support the Democratic state of Israel. It’s the only democracy in the Middle East.”

Sadinsky also says it’s crucial to have a safe place for Jewish voices in North Carolina’s Democratic Party. Sadinsky said he takes resolutions that Uddin authored basically as “... a threat. He made a threat that said, ‘Israel will never be secure until there’s no apartheid state of Israel.’ ”

Jenkins says he already had his video recording feature running from a previous call when he spoke with Sadinsky. When he heard Sadinsky refer to Uddin as “Nazi-em,” he decided to share the recording with Uddin, who filed a complaint — then months later, Uddin shared it with Observer journalists.

A recording of a phone call purportedly between Sadinsky and Jenkins includes the following statement: “He is a Nazi, and I don’t mean to sound racist, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he were an Iranian spy sent to undermine American democracy.”

The Observer could not independently verify the recording but Jenkins, in an interview, said he recorded Sadinksy and that the comments were about Uddin. Neither Uddin nor Jenkins would provide a recording of the call beyond the snippet quoted.

Jenkins said Uddin is not antisemitic. He does feel there is a deep seated “racism against black and brown people in the Democratic Party that is kind of being swept under the rug,” Jenkins said.

“(Uddin) does feel strongly about that Palestinians are human beings and should have human rights,” Jenkins said. “If that makes someone antisemitic, then every decent human being is.”

Looking for the same peace: ‘a safe space’

Uddin, 46, is a practicing Muslim who moved to Charlotte in 2013 and lives here with his wife and dog. Following Donald Trump’s election, he decided to become more active with the party, attending his first precinct meeting in 2017.

“(There are) a lot of young Muslim Americans who are becoming more engaged. I feel like the Democratic Party is our home,” Uddin said, adding that he believes Republican Party ideals condone or promote racism and Islamophobia.

“I felt a need to become engaged in the political process. And unfortunately, you know, some of those very similar rhetoric exists within the (Democratic) party, and and it’s taking forever for the party to sort of address this internally.”

The Council of Review panel has 10 days to respond to a complaint and schedule mediation, according to the NCDP organization plan. After that, the NCDP executive director has 15 days to mediate a resolution or it goes back for review.

“It made me feel like the party was doing some ignoring it, bowing down to the Jewish Caucus. They don’t want to be held to the same rules or standards as anyone else,” Jenkins said.

Sadinsky, who is a life long Democrat, believes this party is the best place for Jewish Americans.

In 2016, when Trump won the presidency, he called a party leader and stressed they needed to be united and organized against Trump who “will derail and obscure American democracy,” he said.

Sadinsky ran for the NC Democrats’ State Executive Committee in 2018 and 2020, winning both times. In 2022, he moved to Catawba County and resigned from his position, but continued to build toward establishing a Jewish Caucus within the party. Sadinsky also served as a delegate for Joe Biden when he was nominated in 2020.

“I am a firm believer that we need to fight and save our democracy now, more than ever before,” Sadinsky said.