Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who was in Zagreb, Croatia, on July 15, knew that something was going on because his phone was “exploding” with messages. But it wasn’t until later that night—a Saturday and so, Shabbat—when he checked his phone that he learned that Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had made a statement for which he was being accused of antisemitism.
Kennedy, who comes from the prominent U.S. political family, had mentioned a scholarly study at a fundraising event in New York. The study noted, he said, that Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people are most immune to the COVID-19 virus. RFK Jr., as he is known, to JNS in a lengthy interview that he meant no offense and considers himself a great lover of Israel and Jews. “I am going to be careful to make sure that I don’t do anything like that in the future,” said Kennedy.
