WASHINGTON (JTA) – Following a night of protests and unrest in Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn, President Donald Trump shared a tweet calling New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio “an anti-Semite thug piece of shit,” and appeared to compare NYPD intervention in Jewish gatherings to historical anti-Semitic regimes.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Massive and at times violent demonstrations took place in Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn Tuesday night, protesting against lockdown restrictions recently imposed on the neighborhoods due to a spike in coronavirus cases. Protesters burned masks and blocked a city bus. At one point, a group of protesters severely beat an advocate of mask-wearing.
One night earlier, late Monday night, police broke up a crowd celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot due to social distancing regulations. A video of that scene has garnered 1.4 million views on Twitter.
James Woods, an actor who has built a prolific pro-Trump Twitter presence, shared the video Wednesday morning and suggested that Jews in New York City face persecution resembling what Jews faced when Nazis sent them to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
(De Blasio was born Warren Wilhelm, but he did not have a good relationship with his father and later changed his name.)
Trump shared Woods’ tweet on Wednesday morning and also appeared to make a Holocaust comparison, asking “Wow, what does this grim picture remind you of?”
The president has frequently disparaged mask-wearing and lockdown regulations as responses to COVID-19, and people in the Orthodox neighborhoods have cited his leadership and right-wing antipathy toward mask-wearing as one reason why relatively few people in the area wear masks.
Trump has long suggested that the most severe anti-Semitism comes from the left, and said last year that Jews who vote for Democrats show “disloyalty.” His critics counter that he has encouraged far-right extremism, including in his declining to condemn white supremacists at last week’s presidential debate, where he told the Proud Boys, a far-right group, to “stand back and stand by.” Meanwhile, while some Jewish groups say they are open to comparing facets of his leadership to that of Hitler early in his rise to power, many others say Holocaust comparisons of any nature continue to remain unacceptable.
No one was arrested during the gathering Monday or protest Tuesday, according to the New York Police Department.
DeBozo is a tyrant who like most democrats hates religious Jews and Israel.
TRUMP WILL BULLDOZE DE BLAZIO SHLEMAZIO AND ALL THE FREAKING BLASTED DEMOCRATS REMOCRATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And hes supposed to be an anti-Semite…Trump cares about Jews more than the Jewish Jew haters constantly bashing Jews for supoosed health violations while they couldn’t care less when non-Jews and secular Jews do the same.
The President is 100% right. He does have an Orthodox Jewish son-in-law, you know? It’s this “obedient” Jew mentality that these self-hating Jews are brainwashed to believe. That good loyal citizen didn’t help too much when the Nazi’s rounded up those obedient Jews, stuffed them in cattle cars, and sent them to the gas chambers & crematorium! Oh, my government told me to wear a mask. I’ll wear a mask. My government told me to stay 6 feet away. I’ll stay 10 feet away. My government told me not to pray in Synagogue. I won’t pray in Synagogue. My government told me to get a flu shot. I’ll get my flu shot. My government told me to enter the cattle cars. I’ll enter the cattle car. I’m such a good obedient Jew. The gentiles must be so proud of me. Keep in mind, Mengele ym”s always said “please” and “thank you” when cutting off a Jews limb without anesthesia. Very nice well mannered person.
Thank you president Trump
Tonight on 13 ave and 46 street we are gathering thousands of Orthodox Jews to express our support for you. See you all 830 pm
I would generally prefer if people stopped comparing things to the Holocaust, unfortunately these images do evoke that reaction.
Are you crazy???
These comments minimize the horrors of the Holocaust and the progroms that Jews endured for centuries. Wear a mask.
He’s just trying to capitalize on the situation. who’s better a president that’s not promoting medical precautions with a quarter of a million dead or a governor that’s keeping our loved ones alive. Don’t fall for it!
Thank you mr president for having our backs !
We need to get his ear . They need to label schools as essential services . Schools cannot close down . Till then we must defy orders .
Re shuls , mixed bag . I do think it’s essential for Simchas Torah ,but after that outdoor is fine . And mask requirements are fine too