Edited by: TJVNews.com
Assigning blame for the precipitous rise in anti-Semitism throughout the city of New York on the media and various politicos, Brooklyn Councilman Kalman Yeger on Wednesday let both groups have it with both barrels in a strongly worded speech in the council chamber.
Yeger said that both the media and elected officials tend to embolden the scourge of anti-Semitism by creating negative stereotypes of Jews and creating a palpable fear and mistrust of those in his community.
Concerning the “No Hate, No Fear” solidarity march on January 5th, that the UJA-Federation of NY and other establishment groups helped to organize and support, Yeger said that some who attended “spend the other 364 days of the year festering hate against my community.”
In his powerful and damning address, Yeger added, “For far too long, too many who hold public office, and those who portend themselves to be members of the media, have tinkered at the fringes of anti-Semitism. You market an “us vs. them” message against Orthodox Jews. You did this.
When you deliberately paint a portrait of Orthodox Jews as backwards members of society, who don’t vote how you like, don’t do what you want, don’t educate our children how you wish, you did this.”
Pointing to the hypocrisy of certain elected officials and their questionable agendas, Yeger criticized those who have said that the problem at hand was tolerance.
He said that “The notion that a “lack of tolerance” is at issue, as if Orthodox Jews are so heinous that our presence in society is something to be tolerated, is grotesque.
We have the right to live in our city like anyone else. We have the right to go about our day without being assaulted. We’re not doing this to anyone. You’re doing this to us.”
He continued: “You attack our yeshivas regularly, repeatedly, with hatred. But whenever has anyone seen a group of yeshiva students run down a street and smack someone in the head? Why is that never discussed – how we raise our children to be honorable, intellectual, decent members of society, how we are kind to one another?
You paint us all with a scarlet letter of derision. You did this to us.
Those of you who did this know who you are, and you’ve done this, and it’s you’re responsibility to stop it. And I’m asking you all not just to show up one day a year and take a couple of pictures. But do this for the other 364 days that you stand up and you hurt our community with your words, with your acts, with divide-and-conquer politics, with the things that are not necessary in this city, just because you don’t like how we think, or you don’t like how we dress, or you don’t like how educate our children. Leave us alone and let us be part of this city, without you festering hate on us.”
Yeger didn’t name any specific names, but he urged those who have promulgated divisive rhetoric against Jews to show solidarity with the Jewish community for 365 days a year, not just one day at a march.
