Julia Salazar, the presumptive State Senator of New York’s 18th District, feels vindicated after winning the Democratic primary last Thursday, despite a series of controversies. 

“I feel vindicated, yeah,” Salazar told Jewish Insider at the Brooklyn Dems’ post-primary breakfast Monday morning. “I feel I overcame a lot in the last few weeks.”

Though she was skeptical that the Jewish community would fully embrace her after facing scrutiny for false statements regarding her Jewish identity, Salazar said she was “hopeful” that the Jewish community in her district will accept her as their representative.

Salazar also commented on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s foreign media spokesperson, David Keyes, who is taking a leave of absence after she and a dozen other women came forward with accusation of sexual harassment. “I am hopeful — because other women spoke out immediately — that there will be some kind of accountability,” Salazar stated.