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.
Needless to say this isn't the first time the Jewish community has been told the time for warnings has passed. But the fact that the warning was issued by the mayor of a city with more Jewish inhabitants than any other city in the world is chilling. After all, we are only a few months removed from a wave of violence directed against Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn as well as fatal attacks in nearby Monsey as well as across the Hudson in Jersey City. This wave of attacks culminated in a solidarity march and rally in early January which I attended. The attacks have subsided, but the hatred still exists. Mayor de Blasio's careless remarks only serve to give this hatred legitimacy and his non-apology apology doesn't help. I fear the violence will soon return and be worse than before.
Given how COVID-19 has hit New York City harder than any other in the world, I don't think a large funeral gathering by the Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is a good idea. But why did the NYPD try to accommodate the funeral?
Let's be honest. Had a gathering of this nature involved Muslims, African-Americans or the Chinese community (which has faced its share of hatred during the COVID-19 pandemic) do you think de Blasio would have used such inflammatory language? The fact de Blasio would single out Jews in this manner while ignoring the fact that Orthodox Jews in NYC have made a concerted effort to donate blood plasma demonstrates that he is a vile anti-Semite and is unworthy of the office he holds.
It's also hard to take de Blasio's admonition seriously when he was perfectly happy to have a photo-op with a large gathering of nurses as well as violate his city's own stay at home regulations in order to go to the gym.
Combine de Blasio's unwillingness to do what he demands of others on top of willfully promoting hatred against the NYC's 1.5 million Jews (of which I am one) I believe his immediate resignation is in order.
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