Weiner being a win at any cost Democrat

More heat on Weiner over ‘Jazeera’ cash

By SALLY GOLDENBERG

Oy! Jewish leaders are kvetching over Anthony Weiner’s accepting campaign cash from a lobbyist for Al Jazeera — Osama bin Laden’s favorite TV network.

City Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn), who has endorsed former city Comptroller Bill Thompson’s mayoral bid, called on rival candidate Weiner to return the $4,950 donation to lobbyist John Merrigan.

“Al Jazeera and its lobbyists are no friends to New York City or our Jewish community, and Anthony shouldn’t accept their support,” Fidler said. “They have spread hate and lies against Jews, not only here in New York but across the world. The right thing to do is to give this money back. Anthony should do exactly that.”

Although Weiner is the only Jew in the crowded Democratic field for mayor, and often touts his support of Israel, Thompson is aggressively courting the Orthodox Jewish community.

Assemblyman Alan Maisel, a Brooklyn Democrat who has endorsed Thompson, also chastised Weiner for taking the contribution from Merrigan, who has done extensive work with the network accused of being anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-United States.

Bin Laden often leaked his propaganda tapes to the Qatar-based network, which aired several of his taped messages just months after 9/11.

“Anthony Weiner should know better than to accept contributions from friends [at] Al Jazeera, which has been a voice for terrorists and spewed hatred against Jews and the state of Israel,” Maisel said. “They have echoed and attempted to legitimize hate speech about wiping Israel off the map. It’s disgraceful.

“While I respect Anthony, he has done wrong by accepting this terror-tainted money. Now he should do the right thing: return it.”

Shea Rubenstein, president of the Jewish Community Council of Marine Park, echoed the call.

“Our community has always promoted tolerance, and I have known Anthony Weiner as a congressman who has upheld that value.

“That’s why I am deeply saddened and concerned that he would accept money from a lobbyist for Al Jazeera,” said Rubenstein, who has not made an endorsement in the race.

“I hope that Anthony will do the right thing by returning this money and maintain sensitivity to Jewish people and families across the city.”

Weiner declined to comment.

Earlier in the week he also offended some in the Jewish community when he compared the NYPD use of stop and frisk to Nazi tactics in 1938 Germany during a church speech on Staten Island.

Weiner insisted he was not making a direct correlation but wanted to point out that “we do need to understand that we have a right to our constitutional rights.”