(JTA) — A Jewish firefighter from New York has sued his ex-boss allegedly for using anti-Semitic language against him in the work environment.
Jonathan Cummings alleges that in 2017, Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael Durkin of the Bureau of Fire Investigation sent a text message to someone in the department referring to Cummings as a “c–shot” and calling him “a Jewish wash woman,” according to court papers filed in Putnam County last week, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Cummings had investigated the fire that broke out on the set of Ed Norton’s film “Motherless Brooklyn.” That fire led to firefighter Michael Davidson’s death in March.
In the lawsuit filed earlier this month for discrimination, Cummings claimed that he faced bogus disciplinary charges for disagreeing with the fire report’s assessment of what caused the blaze.
Cummings’ dad, retired Scarsdale police office Ronald Cummings, notified the city and the FDNY last month the he planned to sue them for confiscating six handguns in an alleged scheme to retaliate against his son.
“The scourge of anti-Semitism continues to be embraced by the upper echelons of the FDNY,” Jonathan Cummings’ attorney, Peter Gleason, told the Post.
FDNY said of the text message, “The department will look into the allegation.”
The city Law Department did not immediately return the Post’s request for comment.
Durkin did not immediately return a voicemail message left to him by the Post.
