Thursday, September 05, 2019
Rockland County GOP leader vows to re-air ‘anti-Semitic’ attack ad
The head of the Rockland County Republican Party intends to re-show the inflammatory "A Storm Is Coming" video that was taken down last week after critics called it anti-Semitic for warning of a "takeover" by the Orthodox Jewish community.
"The Video came down for 2 reasons: first accomplished its goal of highlighting the issues that face our county. And second, took it down because the controversy stopped adding to number one above," Rockland GOP chairman Lawrence Garvey said in a Facebook post on the Village of South Nyack site.
"However," Garvey added, "the video will be back, because this conversation is important to Rockland."
The "A Storm Is Coming" video blames Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews for housing overdevelopment in the suburban county.
"Aaron Wieder [a Rockland County legislator who is Jewish] and his Ramapo bloc are plotting a takeover," it says.
The Post reported last week that Garvey and GOP officials had planned to air the controversial video months ago. Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, and other county elected officials saw the video during a strategy session in February in a bid to win county legislative seats this fall. It was posted on the Rockland GOP's website before it was taken down.
Tyrone McNeil, who's known Garvey since childhood, complained to Garvey about the video on the FB thread.
"WOW! …..Same old `Dog Whistle Southern Strategy in order to invoke fear and hate within specific demographic groups," McNeil told The Post.
"We went to school together; middle school, junior high, high school. We played sports together. I didn't think he was a bigot but now I can't say I'm more shocked than surprised. People get wrapped up in their political views. It's part of the hateful rhetoric that's going on right now."
Another member of the same Facebook group also said he was stunned that Garvey is defending the video and promising to re-show it.
"My feeling is that sometimes when people release something the first time, they do it to shock, the second time is to normalize this type of rhetoric," said Clarence Weathers.
Weathers said overdevelopment and education are legitimate concerns in the county, "but calling people names and doing this over-the-top stuff with the storm clouds that look like a pre-World War II propaganda video is not right."
A GOP insider called Garvey's post to recirculate the video "unreal."
Garvey declined requests for comment.
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