A new report details the depths of Democratic presidential candidate and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr’s antisemitic and xenophobic views amid his recent remarks that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” in a way that protects Jewish people.
The Congressional Integrity Project, an organisation that has criticised House Republicans’ investigations into the Biden administration, released a report detailing the depths of Mr Kennedy’s antisemitic and xenophobic remarks.
“Kennedy embraces virtually every conspiracy theory in existence,” the report said. “His horrific antisemitic and xenophobic views are simply beyond the pale, and he has frequently met with and promoted antisemitic conspiracy theorists.”
The report notes how in 2022, Mr Kennedy compared vaccine mandates in the United States to Nazi Germany and said Anne Frank was safer under Nazi rule than an unvaccinated person.
The report also highlighted his longstanding partnership with Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam who has a long history of antisemitism, noting how Mr Farrakhan said he and Mr Kennedy, a son of the late Sen Robert F Kennedy Sr and nephew of former president John F Kennedy, discussed “a vaccine that is designed to affect Black males.” Mr Kennedy for his part called Mr Farrakhan “a truly great partner in this battle.”
Similarly, in 2021, Mr Kennedy released a documentary called Medical Racism, which warned communities of colour about supposedly “sinister” vaccination campaigns. Similarly, in 2017, according to the report, Mr Kennedy said that “science and anecdotal evidence suggest that Africans and African Americans may be particularly vulnerable to vaccine injuries including autism,” claims that are empircally untrue.
The Guardian first surfaced the report from the Congressional Integrity Project.
Mr Kennedy rose to prominence as one of the leading promoters of the idea that a correlation existed between the Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In that capacity, the report details how he started a debunked conspiracy theory that the Gates Foundation paralyzed 496,000 children in India during a polio vaccine trial.
He also traveled to American Samoa to spread his anti-vaccine propaganda, which led to a measles outbreak and at least 32 deaths.
“Named a ‘super-spreader-in-chief’ of medical misinformation, Kennedy is considered among the most influential anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists,” the report said. “Before he was temporarily banned from Instagram, one study found his influence exceeded even former President Trump’s posts featuring medical misinformation.”
The report comes after Mr Kennedy spoke at a press event on 11 July and said that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people,” and added that “The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”
Despite video footage of his remarks, Mr Kennedy said in a statement: “I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out — during an off-the-record conversation — that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews.”
The comments warranted a swift condemnation from many leaders, including members of the Kennedy family such as his sister Kerry Kennedy and his nephew, former congressman Joe Kennedy.
Still, Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), invited Mr Kennedy to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to testify about “federal government’s role in censoring Americans” on Thursday.
Mr Kennedy’s press team denied that he was antisemitic, citing his interview with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, as well as upcoming event where he will discuss fighting antisemitismn and supporting Israel. They also sent a statement he made in response to the report from The New York Post.
““The New York Post story is mistaken,” he said. I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was engineered to ‘spare Jews,” and I unequivocally reject this disgusting and outlandish conspiracy theory.”
The Republican invitation comes as Republicans have sought to criticise Democrats on antisemitism after Rep Pramila Jayapal said that Israel was a “racist state,” which she later clarified.
On Tuesday, the House in response voted on a resolution saying that Israel “is not a racist or apartheid state,” while rejecting “all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia” and reaffirming US support for Israel. The resolution passed 412 to 9.
