A viral video circulating online in recent days has ignited backlash across New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities, with critics accusing its creator of trafficking in crude antisemitic tropes to drive engagement.
The video targets Kiryas Joel, a predominantly Chasidic village in Orange County, and was posted by an online influencer who framed the community as dependent on public assistance. The video relies on selective footage and inflammatory language to cast Orthodox Jews as grifters — a depiction mirroring long-standing antisemitic stereotypes.
The same individual posted a follow-up message on social media soliciting tips about Lakewood, New Jersey, home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish populations in the country.
Jewish social media figure “Clappy” released a video rebuttal on Friday slamming the deliberate hit job against Kiryas Joel and warning that such rhetoric risks normalizing harassment and hostility toward Orthodox Jews.
Behind the scenes, local community leaders in Monsey and Kiryas Joel circulated a letter in Yiddish urging residents to avoid engaging with individuals filming in the area. The guidance advises community members to walk away from cameras rather than respond, arguing that confrontation often feeds narratives that are later distorted online.
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There is a time and place for government assistance – and that’s exactly what it is – assistance. Not a ticket to go on Hud and then buy a house as an unwed mother. Assistance to help you get a job and become self supporting.
Government support has gotten way out of hand and we all know it. Doesn’t matter the community you’re talking about. Look at the schools, shuls, housing, at some point you know it’s going to come back to haunt us. Sure some services are needed but there is so much waste and overspending it’s ridiculous. The amount of over spending has made us greedy and fat and when the time comes to actually get back to basics a lot of us are not going to be able to deal with it.