New York Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his decision to break up the massive funeral of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who died of COVID-19, but said he regretted the language he used
NEW YORK - New York police broke up a massive crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jews who took part in a rabbi’s funeral in defiance of a statewide coronavirus shutdown, and the mayor walked back comments on the gathering that some Jewish leaders called discriminatory.
A Jewish congregation had worked with police on a plan to close streets so the funeral could adhere to social-distancing rules, said Mitchell Silber, executive director at the Community Security Initiative, a program to protect Jewish institutions. Some Jewish leaders criticized de Blasio, who wrote on Twitter late on Tuesday that he had instructed the city’s police department to “summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups.”
The criticism was for de Blasio’s having addressed the tweet to “the Jewish community, and all communities.” Rabbi Mark Dratch, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America representing Orthodox rabbis, said he was concerned the comments could encourage anti-Semitism.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NY Rep. Max Rose: New York is a ‘community filled with heroes’Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) tells Lawrence O’Donnell about his experience working with the National Guard and health care professionals to build a Covid-19 hospital on Staten Island.
Read more »
New York death rate is declining slowly but 'still disgustingly high,' governor saysNew York's death rate is declining slowly but 'still disgustingly high,' governor says. Follow live updates:
Read more »
New York coronavirus hospitalizations drop to month low, governor saysNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that new hospitalizations for the novel coronavirus dropped to a one-month low and laid out a plan to employ thousands of case investigators under criteria for reopening his state.
Read more »
Navy hospital ship will leave New York City on ThursdayThe USNS Comfort, a hospital ship that was docked in New York City, will depart on Thursday, according to the US military. The Comfort will return to Virginia, where it will wait for 'future tasking for Covid-19 operations in support of FEMA.'
Read more »
There Is No Road Map to Reopen New York RestaurantsNew York restaurants are facing two different challenges: how to survive the way things are, and how to prophesy the way things might be
Read more »
New York City plans to move 1,000 homeless people out of shelters into hotels each weekNew York City plans to move an additional 1,000 homeless individuals out of shelters and into hotels each week.
Read more »