Rabbi Defends Kennedy

Talks Lawsuit Against NY Society for Ethical Culture

Days after the mainstream press and the DNC accused Robert F. Kennedy, Jr of anti-Semitism, the presidential candidate met with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in New York, on July 25, at an event titled “Fighting Antisemitism, Championing Israel,” hosted by the World Values Network.

“Few presidential candidates from either party, Democrat or Republican, have expressed such comprehensive, thorough and unapologetic support for Israel as Bobby did last week,” the Rabbi told The Kennedy Beacon this week. “He is not an anti-Semite. Precisely the opposite is true. He is a phenomenal friend of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.”  

The media, in its wide-spread smear campaign against Kennedy, was quick to hurl accusations at him after he referenced a scholarly article from 2020 alleging that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people have some immunity against the COVID-19 virus.

Just launching the July 25 event proved challenging. It was scheduled to take place at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. The institution canceled the talk hours before it was to begin, sparking outrage among Kennedy supporters and behind-the-scenes scrambling to find a new venue. Private event space, The Glasshouse, which was already hosting Kennedy’s appearance on The Sean Hannity Show earlier in the evening, stepped in.

Crowds waiting to enter The Glasshouse on Manhattan’s 12th Avenue were fired up. Little badges shone on their chests; some wore bright hats saying Kennedy 2024.

Reflecting on the brouhaha, Rabbi Shmuley said, “We absolutely plan, God willing, to sue the Society for Ethical Culture, for breaking a legally binding contract, for trying to stifle First Amendment rights.”

Continued the Rabbi,  “Our presidential candidate series is there to illuminate the important national issues on the part of presidential candidates for the Jewish community,” he said. “but the wider community in general, the Jewish community in particular, I think, could achieve its objective.”

The event opened with the rabbi making clear that while he does not endorse any presidential candidates or political campaigns, he finds it imperative to defend a man who has always championed Jews.

He told​​ The Kennedy Beacon he was pleased with the turnout and outcome of the event. “I think it was extremely informative,” he said. “I think it set the record straight. I never want to see someone falsely accused of antisemitism, or bigotry or racism when it's a lie. And those charges against Bobby Kennedy were a complete fabrication.”

The rabbi echoed the sentiments of Rabbi Hershel D. Lutch in his 2019 Jewish Telegraphic Agency article, entitled “False accusations of anti-Semitism hurt the Jews more than you realize.” Rabbi Lutch’s article was in response to allegations of antisemitism against Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota. Rabbi Lutch said he knew Emmer well and was aware of Emmer’s understanding of the geopolitical tensions surrounding Israel and his respect for the Jewish community. 

“Falsely accusing someone of anti-Semitism is just as dangerous as not calling out anti-Semitism when, in fact, it is present,” Rabbi Lutch wrote. “By falsely flagging conduct as anti-Semitic, we lose our ability to stay focused on combating the very numerous and extant threats of anti-Semitism — and, importantly, we lose our credibility to define and identify them. If all conduct critical of any Jew is anti-Semitic, then the term “anti-Semite” loses its teeth and becomes just another meaningless expression. Watering down the definition of anti-Semitism is done at great risk to our community.”

He added, “By raising the specter of anti-Semitism against our community’s friends, we inadvertently alienate our closest allies. Especially in the dangerous times in which we live, our community can ill afford to take its friends for granted.”

Rabbi Shmuley, too, had a similar take.

Before giving Kennedy the platform, the rabbi recounted Kennedy expressing his pain at being labeled antisemitic. “Shmuley,” Kennedy had told him. “I cannot communicate the personal pain of what it feels like to be called an antisemite.”

Kennedy, in turn, talked about the “ups and downs” and his past week. 

“I have been involved in controversial issues for most of my career,” he said. “It really doesn’t affect me at all. But the charge of antisemitism is the one that cuts me, it hurts me, it hurts Cheryl, it hurts my family. It was painful.”

Kennedy spoke about how he had received unwavering support from his close friends and family who knew how deeply he felt about the plight of the Jews, especially in the wake of the Second World War. He also reiterated that most people at the hearing who labeled him an anti-semite actually believe that.

“I have spent a lifetime studying the Holocaust,” he told the crowd. “I understand the unprecedented injury, the murder of six million Jews in World War II. I understand the pain of antisemitism to those people and I don’t want to contribute to it. I don't want them to suspect that I approve or endorse that suffering. That hurts me…There’s nobody who knows me who believes I am an anti-semite.”  

Kennedy said he is a victim of targeted propaganda and character assassination and, thus, should have been more careful about when and where he stated the findings of the peer-reviewed study, knowing how others would try to weaponize his statements against him. 

While Rabbi Shumley said he doesn’t endorse candidates, he told The Kennedy Beacon that he finds Kennedy’s candidacy ‘refreshing.’ 

“I think that Bobby is trying to empower the individual,” he added. “The overarching message is that the corruption of large corporations or the abuse of power by the government is something that voters don't have to stand for… So empowering the individual I feel is his essential message. And I think that's why it's resonating. Because I think the individual is feeling very disempowered.”