Video Claiming that Chassidic Jews are Taking Over Rockland County Removed from FB

Late Thursday morning it was reported that a major scandal was averted as the Rockland County Republican Party removed a controversial video from its Facebook page

Edited by: JV Staff

The patently anti-Semitic video warned of a “takeover” of Rockland County by the Hasidic Jewish community. According to published reports, the video received widespread condemnation, including  some choice words from New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

James and other elected officials in New York including Governor Cuomo said the video’s message was “disgusting.”  They had called for Rockland GOP Chairman Lawrence Garvey to remove the video, which had been posted Wednesday, according to the LoHud web site. The video is still posted on other Facebook pages and is also circulating on Twitter. 

In a public statement, Letitia James let her sentiments be known in no uncertain terms. “To clearly state that members of the Jewish community are a threat to families and our safety and that they must be stopped is despicable and completely unacceptable,” James said. She added that,  “Attacking those who are different than we are only breeds hate and makes us weaker.”

The caption for the video said: “The stakes have never been higher. The future of our County, our communities, and our homes hangs in the balance of this year.”

Calling the video disturbing, disgusting and an example of the “politics of division and hate permeating the nation” Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “There is no excuse for anti-Semitism masquerading as concerns over zoning or development. While this video has since been removed, its impact will still be felt by the members of the Jewish community targeted by their own neighbors.”

According to the LoHud web site, Garvey posted a statement Thursday morning, after taking down the video, that defended the substance of the video. It said, in part: “The people of Rockland have become desperate for attention to the problems facing our communities and many live every day with the threat of losing their homes and neighborhoods. Anyone who dares speak up about overdevelopment, corruption or education is immediately labeled as anti-Semitic without any concern for facts or without any idea of the true issues at hand.”

Intense reaction to the video caused County Executive Ed Day to cancel a news conference Thursday morning at which he planned to call for the county to take over building inspections and code enforcement in Ramapo and Spring Valley, according to the LoHud web site. 

The GOP’s video called for the community to support Day. The party had released a similar video for Day’s 2017 re-election campaign.

In a statement before the video was taken down, Day said “the content of the video is factual, the tone and undercurrent is unacceptable.” Having listened closely to the concerns raised by residents and community leaders, I have contacted GOP Chairman Lawrence Garvey to request its removal and he assured me that he will,” the statement said.

Day has been highly critical of fire safety enforcement and overdevelopment in Ramapo. 

“The concerns raised about overdevelopment are accurate, well-grounded and desperately need to be addressed, but this must be done in a way free of rhetoric and rancor,” his statement said.

Taking to Twitter was County Legislator Aron Wieder, who is depicted in the video as the leader of the coming takeover, according to published reports. He wrote on Twitter that “it is a dark day in Rockland where such a shameful video has come to light.” He called on the Rockland GOP and Day to denounce the video.

The video caption includes this: “If Aaron Weider and his Ramapo machine win, they will control the upcoming redistricting of the County Legislative Districts and spread the influence of Ramapo throughout our County.” 

Also taking to Twitter was Rabbi Yisroel Kahan of Monsey who tweeted: “This is way worse than a thug punching, or throwing a rock. This took hours of planning, and editing. It was a calculated move by the Rockland County GOP and those responsible MUST be held accountable”

Michael Miller, a leader of CUPON-Hillcrest, a group fighting overdevelopment, said his organization would not attend the Day news conference and would not become part of the GOP campaign against Orthodox Jews, according to the LoHud web site. He said the GOP’s video is reminiscent of material that would be distributed by “the alt-right, the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazis.”

“This thing they published is well beyond anti-Semitism,” Miller said.