NEW YORK (JTA) – Video from 2018 surfaced this week of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, describing Orthodox Jews as a drag on the tax system.
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“We’re not talking about poor, impoverished, disabled people who need help, we’re talking about able-bodied men who study Torah and Talmud all day and we subsidize them,” Sliwa says in the video. “And then all they do is make babies like there’s no tomorrow and who’s subsidizing that? We are.
“So are we the shmucks and putzes? Yes.”
Sliwa’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The video, which shows the founder of the Guardian Angels speaking at a meeting for the Reform Party, was posted originally to a Facebook page called United Hudson Valley on Oct. 25, 2018.
Sliwa, 67, won the Republican primary on Tuesday against Fernando Matteo, although with New York’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate he is unlikely to win in November.
In the video, Sliwa speaks repeatedly against the “bloc vote,” referring to Orthodox Jews. He encourages the meeting attendees to vote for Reform Party candidates to keep the “bloc vote” from continuing to control New York politics.
“They don’t vote the way normal Americans vote … They’re being told by the rebbe or rabbi this is who you vote for,” Sliwa said.
He also spoke about political contributions from Orthodox donors.
“The politicians are rolling over [for] them. Why? … Because they contribute, the big machers who write the checks and the checks don’t bounce,” he said.
Sliwa specifically criticized the Orthodox community for diverting tax dollars to non-public schools.
“If somebody comes in and tries to take over your community lock, stock, and barrel and break all the rules and expect the tax dollars to go to their community, and they’re taking away from you, and their kids aren’t even being serviced in the public schools, but they want all the money in the public schools to go to the yeshivas, then you got to righteously stand up and say no, it ends right here,” Sliwa said.
Sliwa was a member of the Reform Party until February, when he joined the Republican Party for his mayoral run.
He was known for founding the Guardian Angels, a volunteer patrol group, in the 1970s. The group patrolled the subways at a time when crime in the city, and particularly on the subways, was skyrocketing.
In recent years, as antisemitic attacks have increased against Jews on the streets of New York, Sliwa and the Guardian Angels have volunteered to patrol Jewish neighborhoods where attacks have occurred. The Guardian Angels were a prominent presence at the January 2020 No Hate, No Fear march against antisemitism in New York City.
Sliwa also appeared at a news conference in the Riverdale section of the Bronx in April to protest a series of attacks on synagogues there.
In the 2018 speech, Sliwa took issue with the idea that his own words might be construed as antisemitic.
“The moment you bring this to somebody’s attention, you’re called an antisemite,” he said. “You’re not antisemites, you’re trying to preserve your community.”
Sliwa also says in the video that his two youngest sons are Jewish.
As a frum yid I have acknowledge that what he says is true. Its hard to hear but it is the emes.
Sliwa was the ONLY one who came to Crown Heights with his group when we needed help.
Oh please. So typical to put a smear article by those trying to derail him on someone who’s an ardent supporter of the Jewish people. Great crime fighter and a real mentch. He just likes to do so much that when You are getting attacked and Williamsburg left and right he came out with his chevreh to watch over us. He really hates us I tell you bunch of garbage. We owe him our gratitude!!!
I had dealings with him personally years ago.
He is a complex, complicated person.
He doesn’t claim to be the PC candidate. If you want a PC party line figure, look elsewhere.
This seems like an attempt to cancel the GOP candidate based on remarks from a conflict in upstate New York, in the Rockland County area, related to the school board there. When he says “your community” he refers to the local area there.
Things he said have been stated by others at times, but he puts things together more, and states them more colorfully. Fact needs to be separated from fiction, however, and care needs to be taken, not to conflate Orthodox Jews and Chasidim, as well as moderate Chasidim and extreme Chasidim. These groups are not monolithic.
Recall as well, that some people have brought up remarks that Eric Adams made regarding Louis Farrakhan years ago too, and want to cancel him based on them. So what are we left with?
He said things that others think, but don’t say publicly. Don’t delude yourself that he is the only one with such thoughts.
I am reminded of another Republican who made uncomplimentary remarks about Jews, President Richard M. Nixon. However, when Israel was in danger, in the Yom Kippur war period, he ordered a vital airlift for their ASAP restocking, over opposition. Afterward it was said that (as Lubavitch teaches, המעשה הוא העיקר), people’s actions are what is important. When help was needed he came through. Comments can sometimes be overlooked.
Somebody. Please tell me what part of what he says is a lie.
Yawn. Pretty accurate.
In politics (voting) there’s an age-old saying: Hold your nose and vote!
Because all politicians stink.
One must select a candidate that currently best is suited to hold office in your opinion. That would be based on evaluating all the candidates and choosing from what’s there now.
That would mean exposing all old dirt on the other candidates to be fair and then making your choice.
Curtis Sliwa is a good choice for NYC right now.
Like Trump he speaks his mind. He is an ohev Yisroel with 2 Yiddish kinda, too bad Aguda is trying as usual to ki$$ up to Dems for gelt
Based on the comments it seems a lot of people are bristling at the lack of hakaras hatov (ingratitude) of the professional kvetchers who make a career out of crying “anti semitism”. These people don’t speak for us!
So many whiners and crybabies here looking for a friend to us Jews for whom to vote. Wake up! There is no such thing. How can we expect a friend to exist when we are our own biggest enemy? If we can’t befriend each other, how do we come to expect others to do so?
Anyhow, SLIWA is the only one competent for this job – biggest opportunity for New Yorkers in a very long time.
I’m not a frum person and I wouldn’t vote for curtis, but you people have no hakoras hatov. Curtis has been very supportive of Jewish causes over the years.
I used to respect him. No more.
There are a lot of true problems with the Orthodox community. However we saved the city millions and millions by not sending our kids to public school.
This man is a liar I wouldn’t lend him $0.10
We need to wake up and end our love affair with the Republican party. We need to support each candidate based on their merits not on their party.
CURTIS is street smart. Poke the bear and he’ll follow the money. Maybe someone from Agudah should explain their position on the Katz roundtable on 77 cuz this stuff is probably going to come up there.
Being critical doesn’t make somebody a anti semite
leave him alone, hes a good guy.
I have been following Sliwa since the 197o s HE ISNT A FREIND OF THE JEWS
I stand corrected from my opinion about him I stated in a previous article on him. If he does not apologize for past statements he has made then we shouldn’t support him.
great! so there is no one good to vote for maybe we all move to a different state, what do u guys think?
Sliwa’s candidacy has been endorsed by former NYC Mayor Giuliani.
Maybe he can help him through this kerfuffle.
Sane people refuse to run for public office because they know any past skeletons will become public knowledge. It just ‘aint worth it.
He’s a decent guy. And let me tell you Adams is a true star. Really dumb move.
uh oh!
Thank you VIN for posting this video. If he said it back in 2018 then I am certain that his opinion hasn’t changed 3 years later.. Perhaps he will downplay it in hopes of buying votes. Thanks for making this video public. We have to be very careful who we vote for…. Adams in my opinion tolerates Orthodox Jews more than this Sliwa. Adams is not new to our community and has always been supportive. (I think..)
Sliwa, you Trump hater. Get lost. Take the train.
Adams vs Sliwa is a tough call, they both have done/said a impressive amount of good, but they both also have some repulsively bad comments in the past
He’s right.
Many, many times on his WABC NY radio show he knocked and mocked Orthodox Jewish communities and practices. This Slimy Sliwa has a mixed up ethnic background and is JEALOUS of Jews. He acts like a macho adolescent and shoots his mouth off but has NO SUBSTANCE. His main platform is HATE. Hopefully Adams will knock him down to size and be a good Mayor for everyone.
I thought I was going to vote for him. It seems Curtis is worst than Eric Adams.
If he cared about his Jewish children, he would send them to Jewish schools to learn Torah..
I am sure he , with his emphasis on saving cats, would not be in favor of kapparos either.
This is not his first. I heard him many times on the radio making derogatory comments towards Frum Jews.
Some Shomrim Machers used to call him years ago to their events thinking loser Sliwa is some hero.
There are some non-Jews who do like us but in general we are hated by most of them.
I believe that at this time most of the hatred towards Frum Yidden we can say thanks to Naftuli Moster and his miserable ilk’s. They are making sure that we stay in the secular news on a daily basis.
As far as Sliwa he has no impact on anyone except on a few losers. In personal life he is a loser.
We only have oursleves to blame.We couldn’t find a single sensible normal middle ground candidate for republican’s? I said this almost a year ago when governor antichos closed us down for his ego. The frum yidden had the opportunity to partner with wall st execs who were frustrated with crime and the demise of NYC. Together we could have found a sensible executive like Bloomberg who is a centrist to run as a republcian for mayor. The good thing is a fresh new guy could stay out of the Trump mess. He can detach himself from that noise. Why were we sleeping? Time to wake up for the governor race and find someone normal.
Does he realize it costs the city like 30k a year for each public school student? Is he nuts? He is taking his lines from Haman.
How can any Jew, especially a frum Jew, even consider voting for him after watching this video? He sounds like Rev Farrakhan or David Duke. I had no idea until seeing this. Thank youVIN for posting this.