In a recent interview clip circulating widely on X, Rabbi Manis Friedman – a prominent Chabad-Lubavitch figure and author – issues a direct admonition to “American Gentiles.” Speaking on the perils of rising anti-Semitism in the U.S., Friedman argues that nations which “turn on” Jews inevitably face precipitous decline, framing it not as divine retribution but as a “biological” inevitability tied to historical patterns.
The video features Friedman responding to an interviewer who references his prior warnings to American Jews, pivoting instead to a broader caution for non-Jews.
Key excerpts from the transcript:
“The minute your country is taken over by anti-Semitism, the minute you start to be a country that is not blessing Israel but cursing Israel, you have begun the process of shrinking away from your empire. That has happened. I don’t think that’s theological; that’s biological. Every empire that turned on Jewish people shrank back to its smallness.”
Friedman cites historical examples to support his thesis:
“If it’s the Germans and if it’s the Austrians, if it’s the Dutch and the Spanish, and certainly a much more recent history, if it’s the British who had a giant empire – gigantic, ginormous empire – but when they turned on the Jews, within just a few years, they became the little island that they are today.”
He expresses interest in a “PhD thesis tracking throughout history the meccas of Jewish diaspora and then the precipitous downfall immediately following them turning against the Jews,” pointing to locations like Yemen (once a “cultural mecca for Jews”) and Lithuania (elevated by Jewish “God, smartness, and innovation”). Expulsions, he claims, left shadows:
“Go to Vienna today – I’ve been to [it], very very nice city, a shadow, a memory of great times past. They keep it nicely, but it doesn’t have the power the Jews bring.”
Addressing figures like Nick Fuentes explicitly, Friedman challenges the notion of a “Jew-free” America:
“If Fuentes is coming out saying, ‘Get the blank outta here,’ I hear it. We have a place – Baruch Hashem, thank God, we have our homeland back… But for you, Fuentes, do you really think what you’re offering is a great offer for America when you cleanse America from Jews? America will be a blessed country? Biologically, historically speaking…”
The rabbi extends the warning to urban centers:
“Good luck. Let’s see what happens to your great New York City without us.”
He ties it to broader eschatology:
“Who will stand with Israel? The nations are to be judged… Within a span of a few hundred years, we went from the Babylonian to the Persian, the Greek, and Roman Empire. We’re still here.”
The remarks come amid heightened U.S. debates over Israel support, immigration, and cultural shifts, with Friedman’s Chabad affiliation underscoring ties to influential Jewish networks. The clip’s rapid spread on X highlights ongoing tensions, with replies ranging from mockery (“Those lifeless, beady eyes”) to counter-claims (“Every country that existed without Jews were arguably better and more peaceful”).
Friedman’s views align with longstanding Zionist narratives positing Jewish contributions as indispensable to host nations’ prosperity, a perspective echoed in his books like Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore? and lectures on Jewish exceptionalism.
Full transcript of the video:
Interviewer: You’ve issued a stark warning to American Jews.
Rabbi (Manis Friedman): I want to make a warning to somebody else, and that’s American Gentiles. The minute your country is taken over by anti-Semitism, the minute you start to be a country that is not blessing Israel but cursing Israel, you have begun the process of shrinking away from your empire. That has happened. I don’t think that’s theological; that’s biological. Every empire that turned on Jewish people shrank back to its smallness. If it’s the Germans and if it’s the Austrians, if it’s the Dutch and the Spanish, and certainly a much more recent history, if it’s the British who had a giant empire-gigantic, ginormous empire-but when they turned on the Jews, within just a few years, they became the little island that they are today.
I really wanted to do a PhD thesis tracking throughout history the meccas of Jewish diaspora and then the precipitous downfall immediately following them turning against the Jews. And then I think that’s what we need to do—shrinking in your nation. Okay, if Fuentes is coming out saying, “Get the blank outta here,” I hear it. We have a place—Baruch Hashem, thank God, we have our homeland back. Hashem has made great miracles. But for you, Fuentes, do you really think what you’re offering is a great offer for America when you cleanse America from Jews? America will be a blessed country? Biologically, historically speaking…
So that’s for you, America. You’re throwing out—vomiting—listening to this guy. It has been done before in all those places. Look at these great cities. Yemen used to be a cultural mecca for Jews. And look at Lithuania—they were once important because they brought God, smartness, and innovation, and political innovation, cultural. You kick them out. Go to Vienna today—I’ve been to [it], very very nice city, a shadow, a memory of great times past. They keep it nicely, but it doesn’t have the power the Jews bring. He’s gonna arrest…
Globalize, as we say. Good luck. Let’s see what happens to your great New York City without us. And I think that there is another aspect of it, which is: Who will stand with Israel? The nations are to be judged. We know when we’re kicked out of America. In the whole thing is done. Within a span of a few hundred years, we went from the Babylonian to the Persian, the Greek, and Roman Empire. We’re still here. As Rabbi Berelwine says, if we…
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