New York, NY, January 26, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today said it was deeply troubled by remarks made by Lawrence Garvey, Chairman of the Rockland County GOP committee, who ignored the offensive premise of a Facebook post singling out the county’s Orthodox Jewish community.

The initial Facebook post, published by the Rockland County Republican Party on January 22, accuses its Jewish community of widespread “abusive treatment of women,” including forced marriages, compulsory dress norms, and withholding education and healthcare. The post also maligns the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle as “the most egregious example of women’s oppression in our entire country.”

Immediately following the Facebook post, ADL connected with Mr. Garvey who assured the League that it would be removed. Since the removal, Mr. Garvey claimed that “the post speaks for itself,” and that reportedly, it was not factually inaccurate.

“While we initially praised the act of taking down the Facebook post, we are outraged by Lawrence Garvey’s follow up statements, which are deeply troubling,” said Evan Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “The Facebook post made broad sweeping negative generalizations about the Jewish community in Rockland. As a community leader, Mr. Garvey must do a better job of understanding the weight of his public voice and use that voice to model tolerance, pluralism, and respect. The post does not help build bridges – it only widens the gap and puts a serious damper on community relations.

“County Chairman Lawrence Garvey should apologize and make clear that this is not the type of discourse that should be taking place,” Mr. Bernstein said.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.  Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_NY