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.

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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.

“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.

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