The Rockland County Republican Party on Thursday removed a controversial video posted to its Facebook page that warned of a Hasidic Jewish takeover following outrage by lawmakers, reports The New York Times.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the video "disgusting."
"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 in a statement. "Attacking those who are different than we are only breeds hate and makes us weaker."
The video starts with dark clouds rolling and a warning that "a storm is brewing."
It takes aim at Hasidic county legislator Aron Wieder and claims Wieder and his Ramapo bloc of supporters are coming for "our homes, our families, our schools, our communities, our way of life."
Text below the video reads: "The stakes have never been higher. The future of our County, our communities, and our homes hangs in the balance of this year."
Nick Langworthy, the chairman of the State Republican Party, said the video was "ill conceived" and a "bad mistake" and called it the "antithesis of what the Republican Party stands for."
Rockland County Republican Party chairman Lawrence Garvey, though, defended it.
"Regardless of your thoughts of the video, there are facts that cannot be ignored," he said in a statement. "This is not, nor has it ever been a religious issue. It is an issue of right and wrong."
He added, "anyone who dares speak up about overdevelopment, corruption or education is immediately labeled as anti-Semitic."
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