Anti-Semitism in Rockland topic of discussion by legislature majority leader

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Wieder:  “Make your voices heard loud
and clear …”

NEW CITY – Rockland County Legislature Majority Leader Aron Wieder addressed his alleged involvement in the production of the YouTube video, “A Jew in Rockland,” and discussed Jewish issues in New City on Thursday.
The video, which has over 28,000 views, was made in response to troubling Anti-Semitic comments left on the Facebook page, Block the Block Vote and uses Holocaust era propaganda in side by side comparisons with media images from Rockland County.
Wieder shared some of the comments left on the Facebook page and to give an idea as to their nature.  One of the examples he shared said, “So F- the Jews. I say again, I’m honest, I’m racist and Anti-Semitic; F- the Jews. Those filthy people; they are all corrupt child molesters and are all on welfare; meanwhile, they all have money to drain the system dry. In my opinion, they are a cancer and must be removed.”
That bigoted comment Wieder shared was among many others that have been left on this Facebook page for which the video was made in response.
“Make your voices heard loud and clear that you will not tolerate hate, that we will embrace each other and make this county a gem in the Hudson Valley,” he said.
Some people are alleging that Wieder was the narrator in the video, or, that he helped release it. Wieder did admit that he knows and is friends with the individual who released the video but said, “Many people ask me if, indeed, it was my voice on the video clip. The answer is no. I did not narrate the video clip; I haven’t sanctioned the video clip or produced it. To be candid, if I had produced the video clip, I would have done it differently.”
Richard Sena, a Bardonia resident, is concerned that the emergence of this video is meant to distract Rockland County locals from an upcoming Ramapo school board decision.
“The subject matter is using racist remarks that are said on a certain ‘Block the Vote’ Facebook page and using them to politically take away from what’s going on in Rockland County with the Ramapo school system,” said Sena.
Regardless of the video’s intentions, Wieder said the Orthodox Jewish community members of Rockland County are concerned about the Anti-Semitism and are possibly intimidated by it. Wieder did not publically denounce the video but said he believes it is in the best interest of the person who submitted it to YouTube to take it down. 




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