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DC council member espoused antisemitic theory at least twice

Trayon White apologizes for alleging Rothschild family manipulates the weather for financial gain, but he's made similar comments before.
Council of the District of Columbia

A DC Council member was making news around the globe on Monday night.

In a Facebook video during last Friday's brief snow shower, Council member Trayon White (D-Ward 8) repeated a notorious conspiracy theory that Jewish bankers are manipulating the weather for financial gain.

The first term council member has deleted the video and apologized. But he espoused the same conspiracy theory a few weeks ago.

RELATED: Councilmember Trayon White talks violence in DC

"The Rothschilds control the World Bank," he said at a videotaped breakfast meeting with Mayor Muriel Bowser, the city administrator, and the president of the University of the District of Columbia, none of whom challenged him. "They pretty much control the federal government, as we all know," he continued.

The comments were first reported by The Washington Post.

Now that his comments have become international news, Mayor Bowser is out with a statement calling them "hurtful" and "wrong."

The video he deleted from his Facebook page had already been posted to YouTube.

"They keep talking about we're a resilient city." he said. "And that's a model based off Rothschilds controlling the climate. They create natural disasters, they can pay for it and own the cities. Be careful."

The Rothschilds are an old Jewish family from Germany. The patriarch and his sons earned a fortune in banking and finance. Even now, they're at the center of anti-Semetic conspiracy theories spread on Russian TV. Nazi propagandists scapegoated the Rothschilds too.

"I don't want to make light of anything I said, but it was made in light," White said in an exclusive interview for Off Script with Bruce Johnson. "I don't believe it. It was totally unacceptable....I'm not well versed on Jewish traditions. I'm deeply apologetic. That's not who I am."

The council member spent the day meeting with Jewish leaders.

"It's an excellent teachable moment. And we're looking forward to moving forward together," said Rabbi Batya Glazer of the Jewish Community Relations Council," after talking with White.

"We were surprised, obviously. And disappointed. Especially because it didn't seem like the Trayon White we know and have worked with for years," said Rebecca Ennen of the progressive activist group Jews United for Justice.

A survey by the Anti-Defamation League found anti-Semitic incidents nearly doubled last year, both in D.C. and around the country. That's the sharpest increase since the League started keeping track nearly 40 years ago.

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