April 30, 2020

"You humiliated yourself with your ludicrous run for president last year, and every time you open your mouth now, Andrew Cuomo runs over and drops a stick of dynamite in it to remind you who’s boss."

Writes John Podhoretz in "Bill de Blasio’s new low: blaming the Jews" (NY Post).

The headline refers to De Blasio's harsh reaction to a specific event: a large gathering of Jewish mourners that took place in Brooklyn. De Blasio blamed those Jews for that one thing that they did. The headline makes it sound as though de Blasio had engaged in classic anti-Semitism, blaming Jews in general for things that go wrong.

For example, during the Black Plague in the 1300s, Jews got blamed and murdered on the theory that they were causing the disease. I don't think de Blasio is much good as a mayor and he should never have joined the overcrowded Democratic presidential race, but it's awful to characterize him as "blaming the Jews."

Podhoretz writes:
There’s no way to read your tweet from Tuesday night in an exculpatory fashion. Here it is: “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”
Now, there really is something stupid about that tweet. De Blasio refers to the "Jewish community" when he meant the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, and they are a small proportion of the much larger set of Jewish residents in New York City. Podhoretz writes that there are 1.2 million Jews in NYC. I had to look up the number of Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, who are not even 10% of the total who belong to "the Jewish community" in New York.

But maybe Podhoretz is seeing into de Blasio soul. Why did he get so mad at the Jews who came out onto the street in mourning? Why did that provoke him into posturing about a strong show of police force? Why did he look at one Jewish community and see "the Jewish community"?

And what a terrible visualization — Cuomo sticking dynamite into de Blasio's open mouth. Where does that violent imagery come from?

132 comments:

MayBee said...

The tweet from DeBlasio was jaw dropping.

rehajm said...

The tweet from DeBlasio was jaw dropping.

...but not surprising if you've followed him for a while. How he got elected...never mind. I know how he got elected...

tim maguire said...

I think de Blasio is being extra officious now to try to make people forget how lax he was in the early days of the pandemic. It's his own sin he is making the Jewish community the scapegoat for. That's not reading into his soul, it's basic human psychology. Maybe it's wrong, but it fits the facts.

It doesn't help his cause that he doesn't obey his own orders; nor that the Hasidim say they coordinated that gathering with the mayor's office and the NYPD. Finally, it is not seeing into his soul to accuse him of holding all Jews accountable for the acts of these few Jews. His own plain words get the job done well enough.

stevew said...

Podhoretz is angered to the point he is not arguing rationally.

Were it anyone other than Deblasio I would be tempted to think he is using this incident and these people to send a message to everyone. He has chosen to use them as an example because they can take it (don't care much about what a man they don't respect says) and because there are no other minority groups he could use to get out his message. Because it's Deblasio I think it was just an ill-considered and stupid action.

I don't get the stick of dynamite reference. If anything, Deblasio, simply by speaking (or tweeting) is the one placing the dynamite in his own mouth. Sort of?

Anonymous said...

Tyrants have always hated Jews for the same reason that I love them... Jews go their own way.

Howard said...

Aren't the Hasidim anti-vaxxers as well? Wasn't there a measles outbreak in their community last year? In any event I'm sure you people can somehow twist this into an attack on Donald J Trump and his grandchildren.

Gusty Winds said...

That's what he did. He PERSONALLY went to break up the funeral? That's nuts. This is the same Mayor that gave a recommendation for a Broadway show in early March. Plus the Subway's are still running, and public transportation is a hot bed of spread.

Democrats hatred of Israel is and extension of their disdain for.....

Howard said...

That said, the optics for the Blasio where pretty revolting even if he was in the correct.

gilbar said...

The tweet from DeBlasio was jaw dropping

Germans gotta German.
Mayor Warren Wilhelm is so much more understandable if you remember his Real name.
Warren is a German communist, other German communists include Marx, Engles, Lenin* and Hitler


Lenin* okay! Lenin wasn't A German, he just lived there while he was learning what to do

WK said...

“ Cuomo sticking dynamite into de Blasio's open mouth. Where does that violent imagery come from?”
Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd “Dynamite Dance”. Lots of dynamite imagery.

rehajm said...

The dynamite reference is a sign someone discovered can stream Looney Tunes on Boomerang.

Howard said...

That's right the old saw likud party equals Israel equals the world jewry. Ip so therefore fact oh anyone who opposes likudnic aggression is an anti semantic Nazi.

Strawman construction is the hobby horse of motivated unreasoning.

Ken B said...

No, the tweet did not blame *those* Jews because it did not even mention *those* Jews. It mentioned *all* Jews. You observe this yourself:
“ Now, there really is something stupid about that tweet. De Blasio refers to the "Jewish community" when he meant the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg,” Podhoertz's point is precisely that he did not refer to the Williamsburg Hassids, but instead used them as a synecdoche all Jews.

Howard said...

Gusty winds using the same brownshirt arguments against New Yorkers that they used against Jews whom they claimed brought it all on themselves. Priceless

Jamie said...

Howard, are you using voice recognition? If so, it's not helping you make your case.

Automatic_Wing said...

The Hasidic Jews consider themselves to be exempt from the social distancing rules. Hence the yuge number of cases in places like New Rochelle.

That said, there are other groups who consider themselves to be exempt as well, but de Blasio wouldn't dare address them like he did with the Jews.

Lurker21 said...


And what a terrible visualization — Cuomo sticking dynamite into de Blasio's open mouth. Where does that violent imagery come from?

The image may come from cartoons, but for the sentiment, we may have to look to mom and dad.

AllenS said...

Bill DeBlasio? Don't you mean Warren Wilhelm Jr? It would make more sense of his actions, if called by his given name.

narciso said...

Howard removes all doubt again, wilhelm addressed all jews yet is soilcitous of moslems on ramadan

Automatic_Wing said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AllenS said...

I see gilbar, beat me to it.

iowan2 said...

This is a tempest in a teapot. I saw the reporting and could not make the stretch from threatening large crowds, in general, and large Jewish crowds specially with legal action. I did enjoy the spectacle of Leftists eating their own.
On the same topic, I notice zero reporting on Ramadan observances. None happened? Or the media and govt officials would like to keep their neck attached to their shoulders?

rehajm said...

... but instead used them as a synecdoche all Jews...

...for some provocative shut in viewing you might try Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Synecdoche, New York. The title is a word play on and was shot in my old stomping grounds of Schenectady.

Many called it pretentious crap, but that's how I would describe most people from Schenectady...

Howard said...

You must be new here Jamie. My dyslexia ADHD and other sundry verbal and written learning disabilities is part of my stick.

I have found it is a subversive troll tactic to get supercilious ninnies to correct my Engrish glamor.

and by the way I have been very open about this tactic yet I still managed to catch quite a few lunkers. I find it to a useful band pass filter.

Gusty Winds said...

Gilbar said...."Mayor Warren Wilhelm"

I just saw the yesterday. There was like a middle change at one point to Warren DeBlasio Wilhelm..... But that's quite a name change. Something most men don't do. Not like he's a Movie Star, or needs pen name.

Seems he's not ashamed of the dark side of his German heritage.... He's just hiding it.

rehajm said...

Lenin wasn't A German, he just lived there while he was learning what to do...

Forget it, he's rolling...

Lurker21 said...

The subways have to stay running for essential workers to get to their jobs. My guess is essentials have to be masked and non-essentials have to stay off them. I suppose the city could figure out other ways to get workers to their jobs in a city where a lot of people don't have cars, but with everything else going on, they didn't take that route.

DiBlasio's tweet was awkward and stupid and offensive. But how many times do people say online that secular, liberal Jews aren't "real Jews"? That may also be awkward and stupid and offensive, but more than a few people say it.

Nichevo said...

Now, there really is something stupid about that tweet. De Blasio refers to the "Jewish community" when he meant the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg


Nice mind reading, Karnak the Emerita!

Meanwhile Muslims get their call to prayer five times a day and 400,000 free halal meals.

Your clue was that communists are, in the main, anti-Semites. Don't talk to me about Bernie Sanders, getting tugjobs from he likes of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. When was the last time he said a kaddish for his father?

robother said...

Democrat mayors and governors sget particularly triggered by open air assemblies, in the streets, parks or on the beaches. Newsome is gonna close all CA beaches and state parks today, because too many folks flocked to beaches in last week's heat wave. DeBlasio may still be trying to herd folks into the subway cars, where the risk of transmission iis nothing to be worried about (per his March 10 public announcement).

AllenS said...

Nichevo said...
Meanwhile Muslims get their call to prayer five times a day and 400,000 free halal meals.

Spending tax payer money to buy the votes of Muslims. Brilliant.

Heartless Aztec said...

The veneer of civilization is easily peeled away - by accident or intent.

Howard said...

That's interesting, some of you think that I might have actually read any of this bullshit. I'm just riffing off of the OP and the comments. It's a way that I humor myself and also gather intelligence on what is currently eating the deplorables so I can report back to my libtard family and friends who could not possibly have the stomach for engaging directly with you people.

A Voice of Reason said...

The imagery come from Roadrunner cartoons. It means that if you are unwise enough to open your mouth wide to say stupid (at a minimum) things, so that someone can easily shove something in it, don't be surprised when it blows up in your face. So to speak.

320Busdriver said...

“Immediate actions the city government needs to take ........is a city task force on racial inclusion and equity, focusing on the disparities we are seeing already, making sure that we are addressing structural racism that is obviously present in the realities that we are facing with this disease.”
Bill Deblasio 4/29

“His ideas don’t work, that’s the problem, it’s not just that he’s mediocre, dumb and incompetent.”
Tucker Carlson. 4/29

Gusty Winds said...

Hey Howard the Duck.

NYC elected this moron, and now vilify the guy that got them through 9/11. They give us the gift of AOC. Wisconsin idiots elected a school superintendent Governor, and we are paying a huge price. He's in the process of tanking our economy.

So yeah. This type of antisemitism is absolutely condoned by NYC voters. No doubt about it. See Al Sharpton.

Andrew said...

@rehajm
"...but not surprising if you've followed him for a while. How he got elected...never mind. I know how he got elected..."

Serious question: what do you mean? I don't follow NYC politics enough to know what you are referring to. Are you referring to corruption? Fraud? A particular interest group? Involvement by the national Dem party? I don't like DeBlasio but know nothing about his mayoral candidacy or election.

My own opinions about the mayor's comments have already been articulated. Podhoretz might be hyperventilating, but it was a despicable tweet, made worse by DeBlasio's personal involvement. The mayor's true feelings of hostility and contempt are showing. Plus he thinks he can get away with it. I'd love for him to say something similar about the Black Muslims, and all Muslims.

Also, my impression is that many Hasidic Jews really like President Trump.

rhhardin said...

The antisemitism charge is hunger for something to be outraged about. Like sexual harassment charges.

There are lots of cliched outrage attractors.

JAORE said...

Totally off topic.

I've been amazed at how my on-line world is reflected in pop-up ads. If I check out an ailment for a relative, I see ads for various cures. If I search info for a planned trip to Denmark,I see Scandinavian ads galore.

On this site today I got a rubber rattlesnake, a "humorous" sweatshirt: MILF (Man I Love to Fart), and a turbocharger kit for a type of vehicle I don't own. Three swings, three misses. By a mile.

Definitely a glitch in the matrix.

rhhardin said...

9/11 is a patriotism attractor.

Howard said...

Pudhoretz is a never Trumper, so there's that angle to dissect and analyze the entrails.

Bob Boyd said...

Every time de Blasio opens his mouth a dead groundhog falls out.

Howard said...

It was fun while it lasted

JAORE said...

DiBlassio: Jew vill obey!

Ken B said...

“ Now, there really is something stupid about that speech. Clinton referred to the ‘basket of deplorables’ when she really meant the lunch box of Dee and Plor Abel, her Norwegian neighbors.”

Nichevo said...


Howard said...
Aren't the Hasidim anti-vaxxers as well?

And you tried hard to spel gud, so we know your intentions is serious. To answer you:

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2870103/jewish/What-Does-Jewish-Law-Say-About-Vaccination.htm


Vaccinations
The directives found in the Code of Jewish Law for avoiding danger don’t really carry any risks of their own (e.g., fleeing the city, not eating meat and fish together, or not putting coins into your mouth). Vaccinations, however, may have certain risks, however minuscule they may be. Thus presenting us with the question of whether one may take a small risk now in order to perhaps avoid a bigger risk later.

In grappling with this issue, one of the leading authorities at the time of the discovery of the smallpox vaccine during the 19th century, Rabbi Yisroel Lipschutz (famed for his commentary on the Mishnah entitled Tiferet Yisrael), ruled that despite the risk of death from the smallpox vaccine (at that time 1/1000), one should still get vaccinated.7

When the polio vaccine was being implemented in Israel, there were those who turned to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, for his opinion. The following is a sampling of his replies.

In the winter of 1957 the Rebbe wrote a reply, pointing out that he was hurrying to do so because of the prime importance of the issue at hand:

. . Regarding your question about inoculations against disease:

I am surprised by your question, since so many individuals from the Land of Israel have asked me about this and I have answered them in the affirmative, since the overwhelming majority of individuals do so here [in the United States] successfully.

Understandably, if there are inoculations that are produced by multiple pharmaceutical companies, you should use the ones whose product has been safely tried and proven.8

In the spring of 1956 the Rebbe wrote:

. . In reply to your letter in which you ask my opinion about the injections that are commonly given to young children:

It is with regard to matters such as these that the axiom “Do not set yourself apart from the community” applies. You should act according to that which is done by [the parents of] the majority of children who are in your children’s classes . . .9

Even as the polio vaccine effectively eliminated the dreaded disease, there were instances where faulty shots actually brought about illness. In a letter from the winter of 1957, the Rebbe addressed this issue:

. . The event that occurred in the United States was at the beginning of the use of these vaccines, before the [exact] medical compound was definitively established. This is not the case at present, after months of experience with the vaccine.

Therefore, once a vaccine’s reliability is firmly established, there is no worry. To the contrary . . .10

In a similar vein, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, one of the preeminent rabbis of the past century, rules that if one has reasonable concern of the dangers of not being vaccinated, and the only chance to be immunized is on Shabbat (or the person would have to wait 4 or 5 years for the next chance to be immunized), then immunization would be permitted on Shabbat.11


If Chabad isn't Hasidic, you tell me who is.

To answer the question you did not ask: some individual Hasidim are anti-vaxers, some of whom command a certain audience. Think Jenny McCarthy or Robert Kennedy, not Hollywood/the Irish/Democrats (do I repeat myself?).

Jokah Macpherson said...

Much of the internet has seen this classic already, but it is a good conceptual framework.

I think the Jews (see, there, I did it too) can be hypersensitive about ordinary benign criticisms but there is a good underlying reason why you would expect this.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

DeCommio cannot help himself. He's a commie.

Nichevo said...

Howard said...
You must be new here Jamie. My dyslexia ADHD and other sundry verbal and written learning disabilities is part of my stick.

I have found it is a subversive troll tactic to get supercilious ninnies to correct my Engrish glamor.


And any engagement is victory for you...low standards for a Marine, I would have thought. Kind of like a homeless schizophrenic smearing himself with feces to...accomplish whatever that accomplishes.

Ken B said...

Tim maguire and Automatic Wing sum it up nicely. De Blasio knows he can scapegoat Jews.

Bob Boyd said...

Is the Jewish community of NYC Deplorable now?
Cool. We'll take them.

320Busdriver said...

Mayor Bill de Blasio
@NYCMayor
To the Muslim New Yorkers beginning their celebrations tonight who need halal meals, we have them across our 400+ grab and go meal sites, and are bringing hundreds of thousands more to the 32 sites most frequented by our Muslim communities

rehajm said...

Is the Jewish community of NYC Deplorable now?
Cool. We'll take them.


They'll still vote Democrat.

Nichevo said...

I'd repeat to the one who is banned that the community in Williamsburg specifically coordinated this event with NYPD; also that her comment on the New Rochelle outbreak is mere gibberish; but forget it, she's rolling.

MikeR said...

Statement from that Hasidic community: https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/1854720/statement-from-tolaas-shul-explains-unfortunate-incident-at-levaya-of-rebbe.html
They couldn't have done the apology better. Kudos.

Bob Boyd said...

They'll still vote Democrat.

Baby steps.

Temujin said...

New Yorkers can whine and moan about how horrible everything is right now. And they can point their fingers at Trump all they want, but Trump did not do to New York what DeBlasio has been doing to New York since 2014. Remember, before DeBlasio, there was Bloomberg, who took over a revitalized and cleaned up New York from Giuliani. Rudy did the heavy lifting and turned that city around. Bloomberg only had to keep things as they were. And he got bored so he worked on a few other things like removing salt from restaurant tables, and large soft drinks from the universe.

But Giuliani cleaned up a working shithole created by previous Democrat 'leadership' such as Ed Koch and especially David Dinkins. The minute DeBlasio took over, the Giuliani city was done. DeBlasio immediately put the city on a path back to shitholiness. He's a full on collectivist who views the world through a lens that is a combination of socialism with a heavy dose of 'everything is systemically racist'. He makes decisions based on this thinking.

So the city was a mess before Wuhan Virus was riding the subways and he was hanging out in Chinatown urging people to go to restaurants. The virus did not kill New York. It was ripe for a large infection. Toss in a corrupt State Governor and you've gort a recipe for what we've seen take place.

The only thing out of whack is this: Those pointing fingers at Trump are the same people who voted for DeBlasio, not once, but twice. They saw his work, heard his words, and said- rather than a Republican, we'll take this cretin who is destroying our city. And they have continually re-elected the most corrupt state government in the nation. And that's a very high bar.

Cuomo is parading on TV daily. Acting like he's had control over this thing. The only thing he had control over was the press. Trump got him the Javits Center, the ship Mercy. Neither of which has been used. Sucked stock of materiel from all sources to prioritize New York over any other states. Sent thousands of ventilators- most of which have not been used and Cuomo's acting magnanimous telling the world he's shipping them to other states.

New York is led by putzes. And the people there keep electing them and Dems would love to foist that leadership on the rest of the nation. DeBlasio has been a mess from day one. But he is not the only gap in NY leadership. They've got a load of them, including the guy dumping dynamite down DeBlasio's mouth.

Sally327 said...

There aren't enough cops, not enough jails (and they're letting the inmates out anyway because of this virus) and the courts aren't really functioning. The only way the government can make its orders effective is for the citizenry to cooperate. Because de Blasio lacks the ability to inspire through competent leadership, he resorts to pointless grandstanding (showing up the funeral) and issuing empty threats (the time for warnings has passed!). He used the funeral to make a point. Podhoretz used the phrase "blame the Jews" to make one as well. I think that's fair play.

jaydub said...

"For example, during the Black Plague in the 1300s, Jews got blamed and murdered on the theory that they were causing the disease."

Now, instead of blaming a particular group, we all join together in an economic suicide pact. It's great that we have advanced so far.

chuck said...

I'm just going to sit here with the rest of the hicks and enjoy the entertainment.

Ken B said...

Just about a year ago https://althouse.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-did-nyt-international-edition.html

Nichevo said...

Banned one, it's exactly as if you didn't go to MikeR's link. Yes, it was, in fact, attempted to be done safely and within guidelines.

bagoh20 said...

For whatever reason he did pick on the Jews. He said it, he chose to go after those specific Jews and not the other millions of people in the city who go out in close proximity simply becuase he permits them to despite the fact that they are taking the same risks in the subways and buses and stores. The threat of arresting and incarcerating them is threatening to put them at much greater risk than just leaving them alone. It's pure power hungry fascism, it's emotion driven, and it's ugly, but anything is acceptable today except not obeying little tyrants like DeBlasio.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

The directives found in the Code of Jewish Law for avoiding danger don’t really carry any risks of their own (e.g., fleeing the city, not eating meat and fish together, or not putting coins into your mouth).

Is this for real? Something so stupid. Fleeing a city carries no risk? You would think the Jews, of all people, would know the risk to refugees.

Was there an outbreak of measles in the Hasidic community because they believe vaccines are against their religion?

Interesting, Nichevo, did the same as de Blasio. He generalized the Hasidic of Brooklyn to all Jews.

Leland said...

I'm weary of people dropping the anti-Semitic tag in the same way I'm weary of people dropping the racism tag. Still, de Blasio preceded his "My message to the Jewish Community" tweet with a tweet to Muslims about "bringing hundreds of thousands" halal meals "to the 32 sites most frequented by our Muslim communities." 5 days apart.

A simple way to avoid tags of racism and anti-Semitism is to avoid identity politics and treating identified groups differently. That way, others will avoid naturally comparing the ways you treated different populations of people.

Hari said...

I hate DeBlassio as much as any New Yorker, but I suspect that he wasn't going after the Jews, per se

The Hasidic Jews are disproportionately pro Trump, and I think that is what set him off. DeBlassio looked at the funeral mourners an saw a Trump rally.

MD Greene said...

Meanwhile, the head of the MTA (subway system) has beseeched HIzzoner to restore order in what now has turned into a series of violent, filthy, rolling homeless motels. The subways remain the only way to get to work for most "essential' workers who can't afford to hire private Escalades. Penn Station, a dystopian sink of human despond on its best days, is much more dangerous now without the balancing effect of hundreds of thousands of merely miserable commuters trying just to get out of the place. As of last week, 50 MTA employees had died of the coronavirus.

But the important thing is to take out after Hasidic Jews who alone will suffer the consequences of their own ill-advised decisions. The mayor would wouldn't say a word if it were Muslim men crowding too close with their prayer rugs during Ramadan.

The man has his priorities, and he makes them clear.

Lurker21 said...

"The ________ community" is like "you people": something you don't want to say if you're a politician. Or rather, you can use it in a positive sense, but not in a negative one. I could say that it reflects a collectivist way of viewing the world and point to some ominous examples from history, but it's too early in the day for that.

Chris N said...

identity politickers unite competing identity groups with radical resentment, free goodies and by using the stability of the ‘system’ they destabilize and seek to control.

When reality kicks in (time, plagues, wars, running out of other people’s money), the utopian promises tend to disappear.

*also, fathers stick around raise your sons well enough so they don’t flirt with radical political ideology. That’s partly how Big Red Warren Wilhelm DeBlasio got where he’s going. That and a hopelessly corrupt, spoils based bureaucratic politics in NYC.

Ken B said...

Hari
I might agree with that, but how would that be less mind reading than Althouse condemns Podhoertz for? In any case, he might have wanted to attack just those Jews, but instead he attacked “the Jewish community”.

jaydub said...

"DeBlasio may still be trying to herd folks into the subway cars, where the risk of transmission is nothing to be worried about (per his March 10 public announcement)."

Weren't the Jews in Germany also told they had nothing to worry about before they boarded the train? Are the subways still in operation only because Mayor Wilhelm couldn't find enough box cars? Asking for a Hasidic friend.

AllenS said...

The Democrats have owned the New York Jewish vote for a very long time, and they are now trying to win the New York Muslim voters over by giving them things nobody else is getting.

I commented last year to a Minneapolis Star and Tribune story of how the Native Americans have this terrible homeless problem, by pointing out that the Indians should ask the Somali people what they do because as soon as the Somali's arrive in town they are given a place to live. The Minneapolis Star has moderation for all comments, and mine never showed up online.

jeremyabrams said...

Communists, as activist athiests, cannot abide a social structure that draws its animating force from God. That's why the orthodox community draws deBlasio's ire. Reform Jews are a different matter.

William said...

I see nothing wrong in enforcing the distancing guidelines, but the tell was DeBlasio showing up personally to supervise it. How often do you see the Mayor showing up to supervise the police as they enforce the law? His sympathies tend not to lie in that direction.....I would like to see DeBlasio show up and supervise the police as they remove the homeless from the subway. I guess that's not his style. Maybe he could go full Mother Theresa. He should join the MTA workers as they disinfect a subway car. Maybe a photo op of him mopping up feces would show that he's really serious about getting the subways in order.

Ken B said...

Doesn’t Hardin routinely state a complaint about particular women as a complaint about women?
Did Althouse ever cover for him?

Sebastian said...

"Why did he look at one Jewish community and see "the Jewish community"?"

Ah, back to the why-oh-why approach to prog rhetoric. How could he! It's so hard to understand! He should do better! It's so sad!

The "Jewish community" has been a target of leftist ire since, well, Marx's "On the Jewish Question." Though I doubt that Warren What's-His-Name has read it.

Jupiter said...

I don't think de Blasio is much good as a mayor and he should never have joined the overcrowded Democratic presidential race, but it's awful to characterize him as "blaming the Jews."

Well, Podhoretz isn't black, so he can't call DeBlasio "racist".

Birches said...

No other minority group would ever be singled out like that anywhere in the country. I could tell you the main ethnic group in my area who isn't social distancing...no one would ever call them out as a group. Or why isn't he complaining about all the Brooklyn hipsters crowding the parks? He's got a track record on this. That all factors in.

Ken B said...

“ No other minority group would ever be singled out like that anywhere in the country”

White men. In shorts.

JMW Turner said...

"You people"...Howard reveals his true modus operandi:make insulting, inflammatory statements, leaning back to collect well meaning but misguided responses from those stupid, ignorant deplorable *others* so he can trot back to his liberal comrades for a good laugh. If there was any doubt about the futility engaging in flame wars with this shit stirrer, here it is folks. Best way to deal with this waste of time is to ignore him, stop reading his juvenile taunts, because life's too short!

tds said...

substitute 'Jewish Community' with the name of any other ethnic group living in NY. Does this tweet still sounds shocking? Maybe DeBlasio is the only one normal here.

Bay Area Guy said...

JPod is a little over the top here. He might want to direct more of his wrath at the overall ridiculous viral policies of dumbass Mayor de Blasio than just his stupid remarks against Jews.

Derve Swanson said...

skewered, rather.

or hell, just screwed over.

Nichevo said...

Interesting, Nichevo, did the same as de Blasio. He generalized the Hasidic of Brooklyn to all Jews.

4/30/20, 8:23 AM.


Interesting, Bill, Republic of Texas, did the same as de Blasio. He generalizes a particular sect of hasidim to all hasidim. Lubavitchers are not the same as the Bozoers are not the same as the Satmar.

Tom T. said...

"substitute 'Jewish Community' with the name of any other ethnic group living in NY. Does this tweet still sounds shocking?"

Yes, a tweet admonishing "the Muslim community" after 9/11 would be shocking. It's amazing that so many people keep trying to convince themselves that this is something different.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

It's a bad way to die.

Tom T. said...

"If y'all don't see where the tribal identities lead, read a bit of history."

"Stop being Jewish, and stop acting black, and then we'll stop hassling you!"

stevew said...

DeBlasio is making the case that it is okay, in 2020, to blame the Jews for any and everything? Discuss.

Bilwick said...

And yet, if Comrade De Blasio ran for re-election tomorrow, even against some wishy-washy RINO posing no real threat to the Plantation, NY Jews would probably vote for him. And I speak as a Friend of the Tribe. It's always saddened me, as both a libertarian and a "FOT," that Jews, like Gays, Blacks, Women (the voting blocs who historically have been victims of statism), invariably rally 'round the more statist candidate in any political contest. When Red Diaper Barry was up for for re-election, several old Jews I know were lamenting the fact that in no way could they vote for him, and would have to vote Republican. But when it came down to Crunch Time, they all voted for the Red Diaper Baby. I think its some sort of delayed Stockholm Syndrome.

buwaya said...

Podhoretz Jr. seems primed to react especially emotionally to insults vs his people.
Hence the disconcertingly violent language.

That is understandable, but the flip side is that he has no ability or desire to sympathize with the American volk in general - that is, the white Christian traditional-American former dominant culture. The people who celebrate July 4, go deer hunting and take part in Civil War re-enacting.

His father had much more ability to take in that which was outside his narrow world.

Jim Gust said...

"De Blasio refers to the "Jewish community" when he meant the Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg"

How do you know that? Assumes facts not in evidence.

n.n said...

Covington Catholic white young men got called out by the Black Zionists so they moved... If y'all don't see where the tribal identities lead, read a bit of history. You're destroying what made America great: E Pluribus Unum.

The Diversity Doctrine, a PC conception, does not recognize individuals. Diversity indulges inference to construct color blocs, bands, then normalizes them for social [unqualified] progress, justice.

the white Christian traditional-American former dominant culture

By way of special and peculiar interests, and corporate go along to get along ethos, foreign and domestic, the native color American bloc cannot be exploited for sociopolitical and economic leverage. The modern family exploits the family name and throws its ancestors under the bus when ever it is politically congruent.

Birkel said...

We should not draw attention to the anti-Semitiam of the Leftist Collectivists.

How mean of us.

Spiros said...

Compare de Blasio, a notorious anti-Semite, with Fiorello LaGuardia who, in 1933 (!), warned that Hitler was a "perverted maniac." And, in a public address in 1934, "[p]art of [Hitler’s] program is the complete annihilation of the Jews in Germany."

Gunner said...
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Gunner said...

Pod Boy is the Democrats problem now. He wanted to join them in whining about Trump so now they have to soothe him during his "special" temper tantrums. I suggest bacon cheeseburgers.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

iowan2 said...
I did enjoy the spectacle of Leftists eating their own.

4/30/20, 7:43 AM

Hasidic Jews are not leftists. Orthodox Jews are conservative. That's why secular leftist Jews have generally been so quiet about the many anti-Semitic attacks in NYC over the past few years - because it is the Orthodox who have been targeted. Street thugs aren't beating up West Side Jewish businessmen and journalists who voted for Hillary. They're picking on the yeshiva kids in Brooklyn. Secular leftist Jews have long been embarrassed by their observant cousins with their Old World ways, just as "enlightened" progressive Christians are embarrassed by evangelicals.

I think the outrage here is due to deBlasio's phrasing. He has shown that, like all anti-Semites, he makes none of the distinctions between Jews. The European Jews felt there was a world of difference between the sheltl dwellers of Eastern Europe and the sophisticated Reform Jews of Germany. The Nazis erased that difference - they all came to the same end. Warren Wilheim's little slip shows he lumps them all together too.

The idiotic thing is that those outraged secular Jews will continue to vote D and shriek about Trump.

narciso said...

interesting the film version of the dan brown novel, inferno has the who as the allies of the depopulationist villain, Zobrist, but adds the further fillip they allow the villain's scheme to succeed,

Bay Area Guy said...

Jpod has been terrible on Trump, terrible on the virus, absent in any meaningful concern over the economic casualties, caused by the gov't shutdown in response to the virus, but now goes guns a blazin' against hapless de Blasio.

Sorry JPod - you may be kinda sorta right, but we ain't listenin'.......

hombre said...

DeBlasio’s great sin is poor timing. The revolution has not progressed far enough for its anti-Semitism and totalitarian instincts to be outed publicly. Anyone familiar with the Russian Revolution realizes that Jews are too useful to be alienated early on.

After the takeover they can be Trotskyed.

rcocean said...

Yes, the poor, powerless Jews, its good someone is sticking up for them. Otherwise, The mayor of NYC might start a Pogrom. Remember when De Blasio getting elected on a "Hitler was Right" platform? Yeah, neither do I. Honestly, coming out against supposed "antisemitism" is the cheapest form form of moral signaling in the world.

EAB said...

Gusty Winds said: Is there a more self-centered population on Earth?

Why, yes. San Francisco and the entire Bay Area.

It’s pretty much impossible to defend DeBlasio on anything. His arrogance knows no bounds. I don’t begrudge his walks in the park, but does he need to be driven to Brooklyn instead of just going to nearby Central Park (the park near Gracie Mansion isn’t much of a walking park...). Did he have to appoint his wife to lead a new task force? He really seems to believe he is beyond criticism. Given the number of anti-Semitic attacks in NYC, he should be extra careful in his wording. And it’s just plain silly for him to show up in person.

rcocean said...

The problem is that - life anything regarding blacks - one simply can't note that someone is not treating a minority well, or equally. Instead it has be accompanied by screams of Antisemitism, the Holocaust, Nazis, or in the case of blacks, Racism, slavery, white supremacy, and the KKK. If its Indians, the writer will have to drop in some comment about " "We" committed genocide against an entire people, or the trail of tears, etc.

This hysterical, overblown, trotting out of the big gun "isms" at every minor situation, gets annoying and tiresome.

Ken B said...

Cruel neutrality balks at calling a Democrat prejudiced.

Lurker21 said...

Lubavitchers are not the same as the Bozoers are not the same as the Satmar.

???

I know people say the Hasidim dress funny, but the Bozoers may be taking it too far.

Jack Klompus said...

"anti semantic Nazi"

Nitschke scholar Howard is the gift that keeps on giving.

"I have found it is a subversive troll tactic to get supercilious ninnies to correct my Engrish glamor."

I think the simpler explanation is that you're just an idiot.

Martin said...

Read DeBlasio as exemplary of the woke Left, which is rife with anti-Semitism, and I think you can get an idea of where Podhoretz is coming from.

Yancey Ward said...

Here is the problem- why haven't the subways and buses been shut down? You can't pretend that a funeral procession is a huge danger, and then completely ignore the exact same situation that exists on every single bus and subway car- the latter is thousands of times more effective at spreading the disease than this funeral.

Yancey Ward said...

This is simply safety theater at this point in time. It is virtue signalling all the way down.

Spiros said...

How did Bill de Blasio find three or four hours to drive across town and personally harass these people? Doesn't this man have a job? New York City is going through its worst crisis in one hundred years and the mayor can dick around in the middle of the day?

The Vault Dweller said...

Blogger Yancey Ward said...
Here is the problem- why haven't the subways and buses been shut down? You can't pretend that a funeral procession is a huge danger, and then completely ignore the exact same situation that exists on every single bus and subway car- the latter is thousands of times more effective at spreading the disease than this funeral.


I think this is the nut of a lot of issues in the quarantine, but especially regarding religious practices. To the secular, religion is generally seen as an archaic cultural practice that is fine for people to do normally, but isn't really important so isn't worth the risk of spreading Corona, after all in their minds we have the 1st amendment to protect us from religious involvement in governmental decisions and actions.

And to the religiously observant, Religion is of paramount importance. Generally it is seen as the most important duty in one's life to love God and follow his commands. Of course it should be at the top of the list of protected activities. After all in their minds we have the 1st amendment to protect religion from governmental decisions and actions.

This carries over to business closures as well. To some who see themselves as a consumer of a particular service, a hair salon or barber shop is useful on a normal basis, but hardly necessary. And of course we need to shut them down or risk spreading the disease further. While to others who view themselves as a business owner. Of course hair salons and barber shops are important they represent the livelihood of many people. It is how they pay rent, buy groceries, and provide for their loved ones.

Biff said...

Keep in mind that Haredi communities tend to vote much more conservatively than the Jewish population as a whole, and Trump actually carried several of the NYC neighborhoods with large Haredi populations because of their support. The neighborhood that was the subject of de Blasio's tweet was one such neighborhood.

At the risk of over-generalizing, the broader NY-area Jewish community looks at the Haredim the way that Ivy League liberals look at evangelical Christians.

daskol said...
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daskol said...

He's from Boston. Enough said.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Why did De Blasio get mad? I suppose it's because he's had a close political alliance with the ultra-Orthodox for a number of years - they were among his early supporters - and he's mad that they are now making him look ridiculous.

And by the way, the people involved in this funeral are members of the Satmar sect of the Hasidic Jews, so they are a minority of a minority of a minority, a tiny number of people.

Inga said...

“Here is the problem- why haven't the subways and buses been shut down?”

Because the essential workers need to get to work... that’s a duh.

Inga said...

Cuomo says the subways are going to be closed overnights and disinfected. A bit late, should’ve done so from day one.

DeBlasio should’ve spoken more clearly and mentioned the particular group specifically and not foolishly broad brushed. Everyone knows that the Hasidim and similar sects are anti vaxxers and aren’t going to follow anti edicts from anyone regarding public health and pandemics. I don’t blame other Jewish people from being upset by the way DeBlasio included them in this sect’s doings.

Spiros said...

I wonder if tons of essential workers are walking to work instead of taking public transport. New York City is surprising small. The Manhattan Island is only 13 miles long.

Chris N said...

Corona Ken B,

In my opinion, expressing an opinion, advocating for a principle, a set of facts or belief is great.

Constantly appealing to the moderator to regulate others who don't share your opinion, principles, set of facts or belief, or for some perceived fairness standard=acting like a bitch.

please stop acting like a bitch. Or start your own site or visit other sites where your standards are met.

You likely aren't advancing your point of view very well.

Yancey Ward said...

Because the essential workers need to get to work... that’s a duh

I know that, Inga, but the fact remains that the subways have spread the disease thousands of times more effectively than this funeral did, or even all the Jewish funerals held in the last 2 months have done. One can't attack these people this way and be taken seriously when one allows the subways to continue to operate, even if it was a necessary thing to do. This is why I called it "safety theater"- they are focusing on completely irrelevant issues when bigger ones are right there staring DeBlasio in the face. A truly serious person would have not gone out of his way to shut this funeral down. A serious person would have, at least, put some thought into finding a solution to the mass transit problem, and this would especially apply to someone who did go out of his way to shut this funeral down. It is all safety theater, and DeBlasio proves it with his actions.

Yancey Ward said...

And note, I have written it before- I thought keeping the mass transit system operating was the correct decision- I just criticize how selectively lockdown advocates apply their reasoning- their decision don't make any logical sense when viewed as a whole.

Robert Cook said...

"...other German communists include Marx, Engles, Lenin* and Hitler


"Lenin* okay! Lenin wasn't A German, he just lived there while he was learning what to do"


Neither was Hitler a German; he was Austrian. Hitler was also NOT a communist, socialist, or any other "-ist" on that end of the specrtum, persistent nitwit assertions to the contrary from nitwits notwithstanding.

Leora said...

This follows a few years of DeBlasio ignoring attacks on Hasidic Jews on the streets of Brooklyn and the increasingly open anti-Semitism of his leftist supporters. Podheretz is responding to something that is definitely there.

Leora said...

Some essential workers are staying at or near their workplaces. I know of doormen and maintenance people who are camping in the basements of co-op buildings rather than take the subway. Some supervisors organize car pools to bring the workers in from the outer boroughs.

Rosalyn C. said...

In DeBlasio's defense, at least he didn't defend himself afterward with, "Some of my best friends are Jewish." Then again, maybe he doesn't have Jewish friends?

I have to say I was touched by the statement by the Yeshiva World spokesman who apologized to the Jewish people for causing us to be singled out for criticism.

Matt said...

Boy, those Jews are f'ng touchy, aren't they?

It's willfull blindness to pretend that tweet was 'targeting' Jews. It was targeting 'all communities' and using the Jewish thing as context threaten the broader community.

Duh. Seriously, why is so much energy spent on Jews every day in this country? They're, what, 2% of the population? Who gives a shit?

Bunkypotatohead said...

It's the 90% of New Yorkers that give the other 10% a bad name.

Josephbleau said...

New York is like London, 75% shithole, and 25% a cultural gem.

Nichevo said...

DeBlasio should’ve spoken more clearly and mentioned the particular group specifically and not foolishly broad brushed. Everyone knows that the Hasidim and similar sects are anti vaxxers and aren’t going to follow anti edicts from anyone regarding public health and pandemics. I don’t blame other Jewish people from being upset by the way DeBlasio included them in this sect’s doings.


Inga, respectfully, it does not behoove you to speak from ignorance. I've already quoted Hasidic authorities (there was no Hasidic leader bigger than Menachen Schneerson) directly and explicitly promoting vaccination.

You are talking not aboutv Hasidim but about individual rabbis and their congregations within the subset of Jews known as Hasidic, haredi, or ultra-orthodox.

It's like blaming Christians or Pentecostals or Baptists for some objectionable views of a Joel Osteen, or a Fred Phelps. More specifically, like blaming Democrats for RFK Jr on vaccines.

Nichevo said...

Neither was Hitler a German; he was Austrian.


Nor was Napoleon French, nor Stalin Russian. Whoopee-fuckin'-do.

Nichevo said...

Blogger Yancey Ward said...
And note, I have written it before- I thought keeping the mass transit system operating was the correct decision


I don't see how it could be any other way. Then again, I don't see how, from the beginning of taking this whole thing seriously, you don't disinfect every train, not every night, but at the end of every run, each way.

Rosalyn C. said...

You could rename the NYC subway system the world's best covid virus delivery system.

Rosalyn C. said...

@ Nichevo So true about the Hasidim and the NY subway. You could rename the NYC subway system the world's best covid virus delivery system.