New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio faced backlash and accusations of anti-Semitism after he vowed to have the police arrest Jewish people violating social distancing guidelines.
On Tuesday night, de Blasio tweeted about a large funeral that took place in the city. In the series of tweets, he singled out the Jewish community as being responsible for large gatherings in the city.
“Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,” de Blasio wrote. “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 continued. “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.”
He added, “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.”
Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. 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
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@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 Bill de Blasio (@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 Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
His message was heavily criticized. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote, “Hey @NYCMayor, there are 1mil+ Jewish people in #NYC. The few who don’t social distance should be called out — but generalizing against the whole population is outrageous especially when so many are scapegoating Jews. This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever.”
Hey @NYCMayor, there are 1mil+ Jewish people in #NYC. The few who don’t social distance should be called out — but generalizing against the whole population is outrageous especially when so many are scapegoating Jews. This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever. https://t.co/jcYO9QQred
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 29, 2020
Several others joined in criticizing de Blasio. Many highlighted other instances of crowding that the mayor could have mentioned, while others accused him of anti-Semitism.
NYC has been a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution and death for decades and more.
How on earth does the mayor of NYC single them out for persecution in the middle of a pandemic?
Words do not exist to describe the criminal incompetence at City Hall. https://t.co/1bc2IoBcJt
— Lis Smith (@Lis_Smith) April 29, 2020
Wow, this is a real tweet, huh? I guess the next logical step after crashing and burning on your own coronavirus response is to pin the consequences of that failure on the Jews, but I didn’t think de Blasio was the type. https://t.co/A0446g8Y0S
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) April 29, 2020
let me help you. I went to central park today. I saw such crowds as it would he after the marathon. I was wondering who will enforce any rules but then I remembered that it wasn’t a Jewish Funeral so…
— Yoely Lebovits (@Badchen) April 29, 2020
“The Jewish community”?
Are you kidding me? We are not a monolith, and neither are the specific communities you are calling out.
This is disgusting and antisemitic, and especially dangerous considering the recent uptick in antisemitic attacks.
— Elad Nehorai (@PopChassid) April 29, 2020
New York has seen an uptick in anti-Semitic hate crimes over the past year, especially against the Orthodox communities. In January, the city hosted a march against anti-Semitism to bring awareness to the problem.
As of Tuesday, New York had 295,106 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22,912 related deaths.
