Hundreds protest against sect of Holocaust deniers
Several hundred Jewish demonstrators taunted members of a small Hasidic sect yesterday for attending a recent Holocaust denial conference in Iran.
“Nazi traitors! Go back to Iran! You are killing Jews!” the protesters yelled at members of Neturei Karta in the Rockland County community of Monsey.
About a dozen cops stood between the two groups and generally kept them from approaching one another. There were a few hand-to-hand skirmishes but no arrests, police said.
The protestors, mostly members of the Jewish Defense Organization, brandished bullhorns and waved signs, as did members of Neturei Karta.
“Your children should get cancer and die!” one demonstrator screamed across yellow police tape to members of the sect.
Neturei Karta’s Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss outraged Jews worldwide by embracing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel’s destruction, at the conference. Ahmadinejad has also called the Holocaust “a myth.”
About 250 people, many bused up from New York City, crowded in front of the dilapidated Neturei Karta headquarters. Some waved Israeli flags as they sang the Israeli national anthem.
“We would like to talk to people and explain that all we want is peace,” Weiss said.
Weiss believes that the Zionist State of Israel is to blame for much Middle East bloodshed.
But enraged protesters had no time for dialogue.
“Go Back to Iran! Nuclear Karta!”
Surrounded by about 50 Hasidim, Weiss countered with the chant: “Judaism – peace. Zionism – bloodshed!”
Monsey resident Zev Nudel, who came to observe the protest, sided with the demonstrators.
“It’s as if an American went to a conference that said 911 didn’t happen,” he said. “That’s how we feel about these guys.”