As photos and video posted on social media show, the funeral of a New York City rabbi who died after contracting COVID-19 was attended by hundreds of mask-wearing Orthodox Jewish mourners gathered in a few blocks in the Williamsburg section in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
In a series of much-criticized social media posts, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) revealed that he drove over to the event to oversee its dispersal himself and unloaded on the Jewish community, warning that such defiance of social distancing mandates “WILL NOT be tolerated” and that he has ordered police to “summons or even arrest” those who attend such events.
The event that sparked de Blasio’s emphatic reprimand was a funeral that took place in a predominately Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, video and photos of which have circulated on social media:
Scenes like this can set the process of reopening back weeks. Worse off, it risks more funerals. @NYPDnews is gonna have to camp out of every corner as long as people refuse to listen… pic.twitter.com/09kAk8pY64
— Menashe Shapiro (@menasheshapiro) April 29, 2020
Tipster says this is the Williamsburg funeral today of Rabbi Chaim Mertz who died from COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/wsTvCrlzpb
— Reuven Blau (@ReuvenBlau) April 29, 2020
— Reuven Blau (@ReuvenBlau) April 29, 2020
De Blasio responded on Twitter in a series of incensed posts. “Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,” the Democratic mayor tweeted in the first of three tweets hammering the Orthodox Jews for gathering for the funeral (posts below). “When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus.”
“My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed,” he wrote in the second post. “I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”
The mayor concluded by stating that while he understands the need to mourn, he has ordered police to have a “zero tolerance” policy on violating the government’s mandates. “We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths + more families in mourning,” he wrote. “We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance.”
De Blasio’s singling out of the Jewish community has been met with strong backlash, including from Chaim Deutsch, a City Council member who represents a largely Orthodox Jewish area of Brooklyn.
“What???” Deutsch wrote in a series of posts. “This has to be a joke. Did the Mayor of NYC really just single out one specific ethnic community (a community that has been the target of increasing hate crimes in HIS city) as being noncompliant?? Has he been to a park lately? (What am I saying – of course he has!)”
“Obviously everyone should be social distancing and being extremely careful – and almost everyone has been! With data trending in a positive direction, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel IF – and only IF – people continue to be vigilant,” he added. “But singling out one community is ridiculous. Every neighborhood has people who are being non-compliant. To speak to an entire ethnic group as though we are all flagrantly violating precautions is offensive, it’s stereotyping, and it’s inviting antisemitism. I’m truly stunned.”
Others, including Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro, have likewise slammed de Blasio for singling out the Jewish community.
De Blasio’s tweets below:
We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths + more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths + more families in mourning. We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020