It seems strange. Council member Chelsea Byers and co-Council member Sepi Shyne eloped ‘to run away secretly’ on an all expenses paid trip to Israel. Neither announced the trip before they left, and two council meetings later Council member Byers did not even acknowledge the trip in her ‘meetings and travels’ during the council member comment section of the city council meeting.
WEHOville learned about the trip and reported it here. The trip was kept secret until our story published.
A week later Shyne posted on her instagram: “A week ago I traveled to Israel,”, the disclosure carefully prepared. During this past weeks city council meeting Shyne re-read her instagram post verbatim. The prepared text offered no insights into the trip. There was zero acknowledgment that the two had taken the trip together or any reflections of what they discovered.
Chelsea Byres posted this photo indicating she was in Washington DC. But the photo was taken during the layover in DC on the return flight from Israel. A week in Israel without a single photo on any of their social media.
Byers and Shyne left quietly. They returned without any admission of taking the trip. Byers posted a photo showing herself in Virginia, and Shyne posted a message that she traveled to Israel ‘a week ago’. The coordinated plan to hide their trip together is misleading.
Transparency? We must ask ourselves what are they hiding? A source close to Project Interchange repeated these words “We hope we changed Chelsea’s perspective”, and Sepi also seems to be coming along.”. What does that mean?
It means that the organizations attempt to convince the two council members who have a history of anti-semitism may have learned something new on the trip to be more supportive. But the silence after the journey speaks otherwise.
A careful read of Shyne’s instagram post was perceived that she was backtracking on her previous positions. “This is how it appeared to me”, said a local member of the Jewish Community with close ties to the American Jewish Council which sponsors Project Interchange.
It is clear that Byers and Shyne are not being transparent and honest with the public. There was no disclosures and there was a coordinated campaign to hide their trip. The two who actively post their events and photos on social media have not posted a single photo of their journey.
WEHOville has reached out to Shyne and Byers for clarification but received no response. Public records requests are in process.
UPDATED BELOW with photos WEHOville has uncovered from their trip together.
[…] in the past and has been a longtime advocate of the Palestinians. She recently returned from a trip to Israel hosted by the American Jewish Council’s Project […]
[…] The Jews are being slaughtered, and it takes three days for the City of West Hollywood to put out a muted note to condemn the attacks. Three council members force ICAN, the Israeli American Civic Action Network, to pull the movie J’Accuse from being shown during National Holocaust Day. Our Mayor Sepi Shyne and co-council member Chelsea Byers take an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel and hide the trip from the public. […]
While Sepi Shyne is sporting highlighted hair, nothing changes the fact that both she and her pal Cheesy Byers both perpetually look like unmade beds in public. No business about them selves and no business about business. I once say a business card that read: THERE IS NO BUSINESS LINE NO BUSINESS. They should order some of these with the West Hollywood Logo on it. Geez!
THERE IS NO BUSINESS LIKE……. NO BUSINESS.
As a resident I’m becoming quite incensed that distrust and omissions are becoming the norm among council members. They don’t have to explain themselves to the local residents—the public and get to deceive us. They are not forthcoming with what they do or what political motivations they have that they let the unions or political action committees disseminate misinformation at election time. Ironically they travel in secrecy 8000 miles away only to end up at National conferences in Washington DC! Sepi’s been to DC two or three times in the past year and 1 week after being selected for mayor… Read more »
In addition to the many well-founded criticisms of these two Mamzeirim going on an all-paid junket to Israel and then misrepresenting (or at least failing to disclose to the citizens of West Hollywood), I have to wonder about the duplicity that the AJC had to engage in to even allow these two vulgar shreds of human debris onto Israeli soil. Indeed, Israel has a very strong policy prohibiting entry of persons who are part of the BDS movement, like Byers for certain (including her love affair with the Jew-hating Hamas terrorist organization), and probably Shyne as well (although she had… Read more »
These two are so creepy.
BRIDESMAIDS “Is anyone thinking what I’m thinking?” LESBIANS.
Chelsea is a fake. One of my Jewish neighbors asked her about her old statements at National Night Out 2022, then she stood behind me in line for a food truck complaining about it to her friend for ten minutes. How dare someone question her about it was her basic attitude. If her old social media posts were just against the Israeli Government, I could understand it, but they were against private Jewish businesses based in Israel and mocking videos of Jewish people.
She supported code pink, she’s absolute trash, disgusting person.
Yeah, those terrible anti-war, anti-drone strike, anti illegal detention at Guantanamo Bay, etc. communists.
What does Chelsea Buyers do for a living?
Appears to be a perpetual organizer tasked with grooming more like minded folks that spout prepared statements. Have you ever seen Byers dissect an issue? She simply disgorges rapid disconnected statements.
There is a training/indoctrination camp where they learn and rehearse the empty rhetoric of groupthink. Watch for the psychobabble buzzwords like lean into and center and amplify. They learn it verbatim and rote and the apply words like leader and activists….to themselves. Not an original thought in sight. It’s all so nouveau.
“Intersectionality” no idea
I generally discount anyone that relies on current seemingly hip buzz words and phrases as they have neither a thought process nor a vocabulary. Byers consistently delivers a rapid fire prepared statements without taking a breath. It’s called” speed problem solving”. Sepi Shyne has her own brand and halted delivery that makes it appear that she is thinking. Erickson simply erupts with laughter while experiencing an array of body tics before castigating a resident.
Project Interchange’s Educational ApproachWhen it comes to understanding Israel, there is no substitute for first-hand experience. AJC Project Interchange is unmatched in bringing global decision-makers to Israel to learn about its beauty, complexity, and diversity for themselves. AJC paid for the event. AJC’S MISSION IS TO ENHANCE THE WELLBEING OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND ISRAEL, AND TO ADVANCE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD. They promote Israel good, BDS bad. Unity good, hate bad. Their net assets in 2021 were $271,019,503. They are a 501(c)(3)l,and they are not required to disclose donors names… Read more »
I do not think that CM Byers is antisemitic. Mayor Shyne I know nothing about.
Being against Israel’s policies against the Palestinians is not antisemitic. Israel acts like an apartheid state.
No doubt about it.
You are completely clueless.
Explain yourself.
Well I should add that I frequently don’t agree with Joshua, but on this matter I actually sort of agree.
And so do I! Israel has stopped being a democracy as far as I’m concerned as long as they follow, Netanyahu down his authoritarian path.
To pick on Israel, particularly if you have no connection, but stay silent about the atrocities from the neighboring states, is antisemtic. You and every one else below who don’t see see this as antisemtic, are clueless or maybe antisemite?
Very feeble-minded.
It’s the equivalent of Trump talk, or when Sepi said it was mysgonist to speak against a policy simply because a female advocated a position.
Get it together.
“…but stay silent…?”
First of all, irrelevant on both points.
Second of all, how do you know what I say or don’t say.
Thirdly, it is not part of this discussion.
He makes total sense. He’s not clueless at all.
Agreed
The Palestinian’s bluff has been called repeatedly by Israel offering them everything they say is theirs but they turn it down (or don’t respond at all) because they want nothing less than the complete annihilation of Israel. The Palestinians lob a thousand rockets at Israel and Israel retaliates with one and the world goes crazy! It is frightening how deluded so many people are on this issue, including American Jews!
Someone with sense, B’H. Thank you!
Palestinians throw stones and the Israelis launch airstrikes.
Factually wrong!
First, why would this organization fly these two city council members of Weho which has a population of about 35,000 to israel? 1Unless these political hacks, Shyne and Byers, are obviously perceived as on the make for higher office. Second, their profession is now just being a politician. It appears Buyers has no job in the outside real world and Shine could hardly be serious about practicing law. Since they’ll go to a frog jumping contest in Watts if they thought they could get some mileage. Same is true for Erickson. Supposedly he works for planned Parenthood. He got the… Read more »