DIVERSITY WELCOME The New York City Council is the epitome of diversity and tolerance. Jewish council members like Chaim Deutsch (R) hope it stays that way (Photo: Official NYC council photo by William Alatriste)

J ust months before the September primaries for New York City Council at least two campaigns have been called out for their anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.

Candidate Thomas Lopez-Pierre a longtime political agitator and anti-Semite running in Upper Manhattan sent a recent e-mail to supporters urging them to donate to his fledgling campaign so he can both target incumbent Mark Levine and expose so-called Jewish control of New York City real estate. “I will use $100 000 in taxpayer’s money to mail voters: Protect Tenants from Greedy Jewish Landlords ” he said in an e-mail which also directed supporters to research Levine’s Jewish donors.

In the 43rd Council District in Brooklyn Democrat candidate Khader El-Yateem a Palestinian-American recently announced his support of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement. El-Yateem running to replace outgoing Councilman Vincent Gentile said in a video posted on his Facebook page last week: “It is an issue of justice. It is a nonviolent resistance against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.” The Bethlehem-born Lutheran minister is supported by controversial Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour a prominent anti-Israel figure and anti-Trump organizer.

City officials have rushed to denounce Lopez-Pierre and demand he apologize; at the same time he’s not viewed as a serious candidate who has any chance of taking his district. El-Yateem on the other hand could easily win the support of the sizeable Arab and Asian populations in his precinct in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which condemned Lopez-Pierre back in 2012 for similar statements said on Sunday said that it is “best not to focus on fringe candidates or extremists who espouse anti-Semitism.”