Giuliani: It was ‘nice Jewish people’ who staged pro-Trump rally that ended in arrests
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By David Ian Klein October 26, 2020
Eleven demonstrators were arrested on Sunday in Manhattan when a rally, organized by a group called “Jews for Trump,” clashed with an anti-Trump group in Times Square.
According to the Associated Press, two caravans of cars, decked out with pro-Trump paraphernalia, including “Make America great again” flags and bumpers tickers, set out from Coney Island and upstate New York that morning, heading towards Manhattan’s Trump Tower to express their support for the president’s reelection.
The president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, greeted them when they approached Trump Tower.
American Jews have historically voted overwhelmingly Democratic and are likely to again in next week’s election. However, the Orthodox community — about a quarter of American Jewry — leans more to the right.
As the convoy entered Times Square, it converged with an anti-Trump protest that had marched in by foot from Brooklyn, and a small skirmish resulted, requiring the police to break up the fight.
According to The New York Times, 11 people were arrested. All have since been released, save one man who threw eggs at police.
More from brawl in Manhattan when anti-Trump protesters attack #JewsForTrump vehicle convoy pic.twitter.com/KUPratW4Mf
— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) October 25, 2020
“I would love to have had a campaign commercial of it and put it on in the middle of America and say, ‘Who would you prefer for the next four years?’” Rudy Giuliani told the New York Times in response to the violence.
“This group of foul-mouthed people who don’t seem to have a vocabulary beyond three words, or these very nice Jewish people who are driving in the car and not saying anything back and not doing anything other than exercising their right to say they’re for Donald Trump.”
According to Jews For Trump’s website, the rally was organized to show solidarity with those in the “red zones,” — areas of New York which have been designated COVID-19 hot spots by the state government and face increased regulation. Many of the red zones are heavily haredi, also known as ultra-Orthodox, towns and neighborhoods.
Protests against red zone policies also turned violent earlier in October, when a series of demonstrations challenging the law broke out in Brooklyn. A dissenter and a journalist were attacked.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
