Posted on 06/27/21
| News Source: Times of Israel
In a video message Friday afternoon, New York mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa responded to criticism of a 2018 speech in which he warned residents of the city’s suburbs that Orthodox Jews were trying to “take over your community” and were a drag on the tax system.
The Guardian Angels founder declined to apologize in the video shared with the media, instead inviting Orthodox Jews to sit down with him to “resolve our differences.” He also reminded potential supporters of his work on behalf of Jews.
“My two youngest sons have been raised Jewish. They need to read this? To say to themselves, my father is an antisemite? Come on, even my worst critics out there would recognize that’s a shanda,” said Sliwa, who became the Republican nominee for mayor on Tuesday. “So I’ll reach out to meet with you and hopefully we’ll be able to resolve our differences.”
The original video, which resurfaced Thursday, showed Sliwa at a meeting of the Reform Party in October 2018 speaking to residents of upstate Rockland and Orange counties. In his speech, Sliwa derided the Orthodox “bloc vote” and suggested they control politicians because of their money.
“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 at the time.