In response to accusations that he made anti-Semitic remarks earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Rabbi Shmuley Boteach that he has “never said an anti-Semitic word in my life.”
However, he admitted that “I should have been more careful about what I said because I know anything I say will be distorted and weaponized against me.”
In a secretly recorded video leaked to the media at an event where he talked to reporters, Mr. Kennedy can be heard describing research that reported that the COVID-19 virus disproportionately affected Caucasian and black people, while being comparably mild for Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people—who Mr. Kennedy suggested had a stronger immune response to the virus.
Mr. Kennedy also said that bioweapons could potentially be designed to harm certain ethnic groups over others.
Democrats and other critics of Mr. Kennedy condemned the comments as “racist” and “anti-Semitic.”
Mr. Kennedy has vehemently denied the allegations.
Days after a House hearing on censorship that saw Democrats attempt to prevent Mr. Kennedy from testifying.
Then, during the gathering, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) introduced a motion to move the hearing into executive session, which would have closed the hearing from public view.
“Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly made despicable anti-Semitic and anti-Asian remarks as recently as last week,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz said, citing a section of House rules that she said Mr. Kennedy’s comments violated.
According to the rules, a committee can move into executive session if public airing of the testimony “would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, or otherwise would violate a law or rule of the House.”
Mr. Kennedy’s comments about COVID-19 violated these rules, Ms. Wasserman Schultz said.
In a recorded vote, all 10 Republicans present at the hearing voted to shelve Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s motion. All eight Democrats present voted in favor of the motion.
Mr. Kennedy testified that he has “never uttered a phrase that was racist or anti-Semitic,” and he continued to defend himself on July 25 in New York at the World Values Network presidential candidate series event, which was hosted by Mr. Boteach.
Mr. Kennedy explained that he was censored by the Trump and Biden administrations and that he still faces those constraints.
“And I, as a candidate who’s aware of these things, should have been more careful about what I said because I know anything I say will be distorted and weaponized against me,” Mr. Kennedy said.
The anti-Semitism allegations have negatively affected Mr. Kennedy, he admitted.
“I have a thick skin. I’ve been involved in controversial issues for most of my career and usually stuff—even vitriol and poison—does not affect me very much or it really doesn’t affect me at all.
“My wife actually complains about that, but the charge of anti-Semitism is one that cuts me,” Mr. Kennedy said.
“It hurts me. It hurts Cheryl [Hines, Kennedy’s wife]. It hurts our family and so that was painful,” he added.
The event’s original host, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, canceled the booking hours before Mr. Kennedy joined Mr. Boteach on stage that was moved to the Glasshouse.
In a statement, the organization said that Mr. Kennedy’s event was “inconsistent” with its values.
Mr. Boteach has repeatedly defended Mr. Kennedy since the video was released, and on July 25 he called the charges of anti-Semitism against the candidate “a disgusting, offensive lie.”
In a video preceding the event in New York, Mr. Boteach told Mr. Kennedy that “this perception that you’re anti-Semitic bothered” him.
“I know you’re not and, in fact, I know precisely the opposite is true. I know that in your heart you feel a great closeness to the Jewish people, to the Jewish community, and to Israel,” said Mr. Boteach, who said similar remarks on July 25.
Mr. Kennedy told audience members that the firestorm of criticism over the video is an attempt to silence his bid to defeat President Joe Biden.
Criticized by Democrats for everything from his views about COVID-19 vaccines and shutdowns and his opposition to U.S. involvement in the Ukraine war to his unwillingness to chastise Trump and his backing of some issues that are supported by conservatives, Mr. Kennedy has faced backlash from his own party since announcing his candidacy in April.
“There’s a way to censor people through targeted character assassination—you use vile accusations to marginalize them, and that is the kind of censorship I’m now dealing with,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Mr. Boteach asked Mr. Kennedy if he recognized why his comments about Jews being more immune to COVID-19 were harmful, referencing a similarity to accusations against Jewish people during the Black Death in the Middle Ages.
“Absolutely,” Mr. Kennedy responded. “I was describing an article that I had nothing to do with. It was an NIH-funded article that was published in 2021 and one of the 10 top high gravitas journals, and it was done by the Cleveland Clinic.
“It’s not something that I would have talked about at a public event because I’m aware of the history of blood libels,” Mr. Kennedy added.
“And how that kind of information is used by malicious people—to just drum up hatred of Jews. I talked about it at an event that I was told was Chatham House rules.”
The Chatham House Rule is known as an agreement to encourage inclusive and open dialogue in meetings, according to the policy institute’s website.
During the discussion with Mr. Boteach, Mr. Kennedy expressed his support for Israel about claims that the nation is conducting apartheid against the Palestinian people.
Mr. Kennedy pledged to be a pro-Israel president and explained how he had grown up with deep admiration of the nation and would like to improve its image in the minds of Americans.
“A major piece of my campaign will be explaining to Americans why that is wrong and making the case for Israel.”
