Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles’ Jewish mayor, is bringing the Instagram account he used on the campaign trail last year back to life. But this time, the pictures are personal, not just political.
In an article about the mayor’s photo feed, the New York Times describes the 43-year-old’s torrent of photographs as both artistically and politically ambitious. By publishing artsy snapshots of LA on social media, Garcetti is both celebrating his city and attempting to reach younger voters.
Ultimately, though, he’s just being himself. As Rex Weiner wrote in his December 2013 profile of the newly elected Garcetti, “But as a politician, Garcetti is less about being all things to all people than about being his own, somewhat irreverent, self.” Weiner noted Garcetti’s Instagram presence as one such example.
There is no confusing Garcetti’s Instagram account with a politician’s conventional, sanitized online presence. Instead of chronicling handshakes and high-fives with important people at national landmarks, Garcetti posts colorful, eye-catching pictures. “I find myself in these unique places with a unique angle that nobody else can get to,” the mayor explained about his handiwork, which ranges from a panorama of the city’s skyline to a close-up of an insect on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
And, like every tech-savvy Jew on the planet, Garcetti posted a photo of a handmade Menurkey last November. Here are some Jewish highlights from his Instagram account (he’s gained more than 1,000 followers since the Times piece ran yesterday.):
Related: Rhodes Scholar, Italian, Mexican, Jew: Meet Eric Garcetti, L.A.’s New Mayor
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Lily Wilf is an editorial intern at Tablet.
