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RFK Jr. on the people to blame for COVID: ‘We know who they were and they weren’t Jewish’
(JTA) — Speaking at an event geared toward Jewish voters on Tuesday night, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said, “The charge of antisemitism is one that cuts me.”
Kennedy, the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and Democratic presidential candidate, was responding to mounting backlash against his claim that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to avoid Jews and Chinese people. That remark, made without evidence at a campaign event earlier this month on the Upper East Side, led to criticism from a range of figures including Jewish leaders and Democrats in Congress. He has denied that it was antisemitic.
At the Tuesday event, Kennedy got a chance to defend his record on the Jews, courtesy of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the author and former Republican congressional candidate.
The appearance on the Upper West Side drew hundreds of attendees, including Kennedy supporters, the Kennedy-curious and a smattering of hecklers. Boteach referred to Kennedy as a “trusted ally and friend” and offered him a platform to expound on Israel and antisemitism.
“I don’t believe they believe that I’m an antisemite,” Kennedy said about his critics. “I’ve literally never said an antisemitic word in my life. I believe that they probably think what they were doing was right, in one way or another. And I think we all have this capacity, or self-delusion, to judge ourselves on our intentions rather than our actions.”
But Kennedy also expanded on the “ethnically targeted” claim: “It would not have been engineered by Jews in any case,” he said. Referring to the people he believes are culpable for COVID’s spread, he added, “We know who they were and they weren’t Jewish.”
(There is no evidence that any ethnic groups are less vulnerable to COVID, which has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide.)
This is not the first time Kennedy has been accused of using anti-Jewish rhetoric to advance his baseless claims about medical issues. He has previously apologized for using the word “holocaust” to describe legislation mandating vaccines for children and, last year, for invoking Anne Frank at an anti-vaccine rally. He has also walked back praise of Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman and vehement critic of Israel who has been widely slammed for using Holocaust imagery during his concerts.
Kennedy, 69, said on Tuesday that he was friends with Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
“I understand the pain of antisemitism to those people, and I do not want to contribute to that thing,” he said. At another point, he said, “I’m aware of the history of blood libels and how that kind of information is used by malicious people to drum up hatred of Jews.”
Kennedy’s statements almost prevented the event from taking place. On Monday, Boteach announced on social media that the venue that was originally slated to host the event, the New York Society for Ethical Culture, had backed out. In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, that venue said hosting Kennedy would be “inconsistent with the longstanding principles and values of the Society.” The statement did not detail its objections.
But Boteach found an alternate space for the conversation, where he defended Kennedy from the accusations. He presented the conversation as the first in a series of events with presidential candidates put on by his organization, the World Values Network. The event was originally billed as “The Case for Israel,” a tagline that was later changed to “Fighting Antisemitism. Championing Israel.”
At another point, Boteach said two prominent Jewish Democrats, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, “owe Bobby Kennedy an apology for calling him antisemitic and saying he’s an embarrassment to the Kennedy name.”
Gottheimer had called Kennedy “a disgrace to the Kennedy name and the Democratic Party.” Wasserman Schultz was one of the lawmakers who initiated a letter by 102 Democrats last week calling for Kennedy to be disinvited from testifying to Congress. Gottheimer also called for the invitation to be revoked.
“If you’re an antisemite, then I am funnier than Larry David,” Boteach told Kennedy, sparking some polite laughter from the crowd.
A disruptor is escorted out of an event with presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on July 25, 2023. (Jackie Hajdenberg)
Boteach and Kennedy also spoke extensively about Israel. Throughout their conversation, Boteach referred to the legacy of Kennedy’s father, former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated during his 1968 presidential campaign by Sirhan Sirhan. Sirhan, a Palestinian, has expressed anger over the elder Kennedy’s support for Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.
But the younger Kennedy has cast doubt on Sirhan’s guilt, visiting him in prison in 2018 and telling the Washington Post that “the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father.”
(At one point, a woman from the crowd backed that idea, declaring that Sirhan was not the assassin. She was escorted out of the room by security, as were two more people who interrupted the event, including one Kennedy supporter.)
Boteach has praised Kennedy’s opposition to President Joe Biden’s attempts to rejoin the agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program. They also discussed Israel’s widely reported possession of nuclear weapons, something the Israeli government, as a longstanding policy, has aimed to keep shrouded in ambiguity.
Kennedy referred to Israel’s nuclear capabilities as a matter of fact, itself a highly unusual acknowledgement by a presidential candidate. “Israel’s use of that nuclear weapon is not going to happen unless it’s attacked,” he said.
On Iran, COVID and a range of other issues, Kennedy’s declared policies are out of step with the Democratic Party’s mainstream. His long-shot campaign, meanwhile, has garnered praise from a number of figures on the right. Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist Organization of America, has reportedly advised him on Israel issues, and the ZOA recently praised what it called Kennedy’s “strong support for Israel.”
But on at least one topic, Kennedy’s views accord with Biden’s: opposition to the right-wing Israeli government’s judicial overhaul, which has aimed to sap the Supreme Court of its power and independence. The first piece of the overhaul was enacted this week amid protest.
“I’m very proud of the Israeli Supreme Court,” Kennedy said. “I don’t want to see it dismantled. I think it is a source of pride.”
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The post RFK Jr. on the people to blame for COVID: ‘We know who they were and they weren’t Jewish’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.