New York Young Republicans call Andrew Cuomo aide a ‘court Jew’
Image by Courtesy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo
(JTA) — The New York Young Republican Club called Andrew Cuomo’s director of Jewish affairs a “court Jew” and tweeted that he is “working for the most antisemitic Governor in America.”
Responding to a tweet by the director, Jake Adler, disparaging an upcoming in-person conference hosted by the state’s Young Republicans, the GOP club was repeating a claim by Cuomo critics that he has been biased against Hasidic communities in Brooklyn during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Imagine being Jewish and working for the most antisemitic Governor in America,” the group tweeted. “You are a disgrace and pathetic. Shouldn’t you guys be arresting Orthodox Jews in BK? Keep being a good boy for your failed corrupt boss.”
When David Greenfield, an Orthodox Jew who is CEO of the Met Council on Jewish Poverty, vouched for Adler on Twitter, the Young Republicans responded by deriding “court Jews.” The reference was to Jews who would work in royal courts in exchange for special privileges not afforded other Jews. It has become a slur disparaging Jews who are seen as selling out communal interests to advance their own status.
“Court Jews defending the blatant antisemitism of Cuomo is so repugnant & vile its almost too unreal to behold,” the Young Republicans tweeted. “Thankfully our Club leadership is full of proud Jews who are happy to call a spade a spade and not cover up the systemic discrimination and persecution of Hasidic Jews.”
The Anti-Defamation League’s regional office tweeted in response that “Everyone has the right to disagree w/ public policy & political positions, but resorting to tropes should be off limits.”
In response, the Young Republicans tweeted that the ADL is a “sham” and told the civil rights group to “shut up.”
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.
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.
