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Coronavirus in New York: controversy and scandal in the "Little Orthodox" neighborhood due to the mass funeral of a rabbi

2020-04-29T17:56:31.229Z


The event angered Mayor Bill de Blasio, who came in person to disperse people. In response, he received harsh criticism.


The New York Times

04/29/2020 - 14:25

  • Clarín.com
  • World

Mayor Bill de Blasio lashed out at Hasidic residents of Williamsburg in Brooklyn (the neighborhood of the Jewish Orthodox community that became famous with the Netflix series Little Orthodox -ndelaR- ) Tuesday night after personally supervising the dispersal of a crowd of hundreds of people who had gathered for the funeral of a rabbi who died of coronavirus.

In a series of tweets, de Blasio denounced the meeting, which the police dissolved, and warned "the Jewish community and all communities" that any violation of the social distancing guidelines to stop the spread of the virus could lead to a citation or an arrest.

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"Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonight: a large funeral meeting in the midst of this pandemic," the mayor said in a publication. “When I heard, I went to make sure that the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated while we are fighting the Coronavirus. "

Authorities have dispersed several well-attended religious gatherings since restrictions on such events were enacted in the face of the outbreak. The suspended events included weddings and funerals in New York neighborhoods with large Jewish populations.

But Tuesday's episode, which, according to Yeshiva World, involved Rabbi Chaim Mertz's funeral, appeared to be the first time that the mayor has been directly involved in a dispersal.

"My message to the Jewish community, and to all communities, is that simple: the time for warnings has passed," added the mayor in a subsequent publication.

“I have instructed the New York police to immediately proceed to summon or even arrest those who gather in large groups. It is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period. "Hasidic groups and leaders  reacted with outrage to the mayor's warning.

Chaim Deutsch, a member of the City Council representing a section of Brooklyn with a large Orthodox Jewish population, reacted with anger and disbelief on Twitter, writing: "This has to be a joke."

Deutsch wrote: “Did the Mayor of New York target a single specific ethnic community (a community that has been the target of hate crimes in YOUR city) for not complying? Have you been in a park lately? (What am I saying? Of course I am!) But targeting a community is ridiculous, "he added in another post.

“Each neighborhood has people who do not meet the requirements. Talking to an entire ethnic group as if we were all flagrantly violating precautions is offensive, it is a stereotype and invites anti-Semitism. I'm really stunned. "

the military passage of pilots of the Blue Angels of the Navy and the Thunderbirds of the Air Force in honor of the health workers./ AFP

Others noted the size of the crowds that had gathered earlier that day across the region to watch the military passing of pilots of the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds in honor of health workers.

Photos posted on social media showed crowds gathering on city streets and in parks to watch planes pass by; many seemed to be standing together without masks.

The Jewish Orthodox Council on Public Affairs said in a tweet that "people were unable to distance themselves socially at a funeral the same day that thousands of New Yorkers were unable to distance themselves for 45 minutes to see the passage of aircraft."

A formation of Thunderbirds and Blue Angels fly over New York City, / Xinhua

The group criticized the mayor for making a statement about "the Jewish community" based on the actions of a few hundred people in a neighborhood. He said the mayor had not made similar comments about other groups, adding that hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews live in the New York area.

"It is unacceptable that the videos of some people in this community who do not achieve social distance are news and are news in a generalized way (" Orthodox / Hasidic Jews ")," the group said in a tweet.

De Blasio's press secretary, Freddi Goldstein, questioned the suggestion that the mayor's comments reflect a double standard in applying the rules of social distancing.

"The mayor has been one of the strongest supporters of the Jewish community since his early days in public service," Goldstein said in a statement. “There were thousands of people gathered today (by Tuesday), putting their lives and the lives of others at risk. It is your responsibility for all New Yorkers to speak. "

Johns Hopkins University Infographic: Clarín

The pandemic has hit New York's Hasidic residents with devastating force, sickening and killing people at a rate that local leaders and public health data suggest may exceed other ethnic and religious groups.

Hundreds of Hasidics have died from the virus, community leaders said, including influential religious figures such as Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, who led the Hasidic Novominsker dynasty and Agudath Israel of America, an ultra-Orthodox umbrella organization.

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Johns Hopkins University Infographic: Clarín

Most of the Orthodox Jewish leaders who have died in the midst of the pandemic have not had large crowds at their funerals , but some have wept at large public gatherings such as the one on Tuesday in Williamsburg.

The persistence of such events has attracted wide media coverage. It has also generated deep concern among Hasidic groups, who feel that they are being targeted for shame and worry about anti-Semitism. And in any case, they argue, public health violations in their neighborhoods put them above all in danger.

A police spokeswoman said officers were at the funeral but had made no arrests. Videos posted on social media showed that members of the neighborhood's Hasidic security patrol, known as shomrim , were also there.

Gatherings of any size have been banned in New York State for more than a month as part of extensive orders issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The Police Department has assigned hundreds of officers to enforce social distancing rules, responding to overcrowding calls in stores, parks, and other gathering spaces.

By Liam Stack c.2020 The New York Times Company

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-04-29

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