Mondaire Jones, who is running against Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y) for his old New York congressional seat, shared a post on X on Tuesday that members of Congress and others are slamming as antisemitic.
The since-deleted post—archives of which remain online—includes a photo of Lawler and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Wash.), who was ousted on Tuesday night from the U.S. House of Representatives speakership, meeting with the 82-year-old Rabbi David Twersky, the Skverer rebbe of Ramapo, N.Y.
“Well this was a waste of everyone’s time,” Jones wrote of the Republicans’ meeting with the Chassidic Jews.
“This disgusting post is insulting to Jewish people and every person of faith,” wrote Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). “Meeting with religious leaders is critical to understanding the needs of our communities.”
“This antisemitic rhetoric is deeply concerning,” he added. (By deleting his original tweet, Jones also automatically deleted responses appended to it.)
“Mondaire Jones’ totally normal response to McCarthy news,” wrote Seth Mandel, executive editor of The Washington Examiner magazine, with apparent sarcasm.
“Love to watch the news today and then say ‘hey that reminds me of that time he met with those Jews,’” wrote Stephen Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator.
“This is what mainstreaming antisemitism looks like,” posted Dovid Margolin, senior editor of Chabad.org, in response to Jones.
Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District in Upstate New York, wrote of Jones that someone “who wants to represent these Jews in the United States Congress is insulting them instead of seeking their vote.”
Jones had found “the most antisemitic way to celebrate the defeat of Speaker McCarthy,” he added.
According to a public poll from May, Lawler leads Jones by 50% to 48%, and according to the Federal Election Commission, Lawler has raised $1.75 million and has a little less than $1.5 million on hand as of June 30, the most recent public filing, compared to nearly $4,700 for Jones.
