New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner got into an argument with a man who lashed out at him for being "married to an Arab" on Wednesday, CNN reported Thursday.
The confrontation happened inside a bakery in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood. It began with a man yelling out to Weiner, who simply came into purchase cookies and iced coffee, "You're a real scumbag."
Anthony Weiner then refuted quickly by voicing out a general sentiment, "Very nice, that's a charming guy right there." The heckler - later identified as Saul Kessler - responded, "Married to an Arab."
Kessler was apparently referring to Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, an Arab woman who works for Hilary Clinton. Abedin's late father was an Islamic scholar from India while her mother was a sociologist in Pakistan. Weiner is Jewish just like most of the people inside the bakery.
The Mayoral democratic candidate then answered back with, "Very nice, in front of children... That is charming" to which Kessler retorted with "You are disgusting, disgusting."
Apparently Weiner quickly replied, "It takes one to know one, jackass!"
Face-to-face, Kessler began to accuse Weiner of doing "disgusting things, and you have the nerve to even walk around in public" referencing to the sexually suggestive images of Weiner as well as his illicit relationships with women over the internet.
On the other hand, an agitated Weiner refuted, "And you're a perfect person? You're my judge? What rabbi taught you that?"
Meanwhile, Kessler implored the mayoral candidate to "think about your wife, how could you take the person you're most closest (sic) to... and betray her?"
Weiner then denounced Kessler for acting as though he were superior, saying, he doesn't "have the moral authority to judge me."
The argument went on for a couple of minutes until Weiner finally decided to leave the bakery, and was even spotted brushing off the confrontation, saying, "He has every right to (challenge me). It's America."
During his campaign, a video of the confrontation was released, and Weiner even told the reporters that the incident was "just some enthusiastic exchange with a voter."
"Look, you're allowed to say stuff to me," Anthony Weiner said. "But if you're going to say vile things about me and my family, you should expect that I'm going to go back at you. Hecklers don't get a chance to necessarily get the last word if they cross the line."
CNN contacted Kessler later in the day, and the Jew admitted that he called out to Weiner for being "married to an Arab."
"It's just a certain feeling I have as a Jew," said the 51-year-old real estate manager. "And my attitude is that -- not all Arabs -- but, in general, ... they want to kill every Jew."
He added that a Jewish person marrying into such as family: "It's like betrayal.
