A viral video circulating online in recent days has ignited backlash across New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities, with critics accusing its creator of trafficking in crude antisemitic tropes to drive engagement.

The video targets Kiryas Joel, a predominantly Chasidic village in Orange County, and was posted by an online influencer who framed the community as dependent on public assistance. The video relies on selective footage and inflammatory language to cast Orthodox Jews as grifters — a depiction mirroring long-standing antisemitic stereotypes.

The same individual posted a follow-up message on social media soliciting tips about Lakewood, New Jersey, home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish populations in the country.

Jewish social media figure “Clappy” released a video rebuttal on Friday slamming the deliberate hit job against Kiryas Joel and warning that such rhetoric risks normalizing harassment and hostility toward Orthodox Jews.

Behind the scenes, local community leaders in Monsey and Kiryas Joel circulated a letter in Yiddish urging residents to avoid engaging with individuals filming in the area. The guidance advises community members to walk away from cameras rather than respond, arguing that confrontation often feeds narratives that are later distorted online.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)