NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio sparked controversy Tuesday evening after ordering the shutdown of a large Orthodox Jewish funeral in Brooklyn — and vowing to fine or arrest residents who continue to defy social distancing rules.
"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," de Blasio said in a tweet Tuesday night. "This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period."Photos that went viral on social media showed a large crowd of mourners gathered on the streets of Williamsburg, a Brooklyn neighborhood, for the funeral of a rabbi. Many were packed shoulder to shoulder, in defiance of rules imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.
De Blasio, who has historically been close to the Orthodox Jewish community, showed up on the scene in person to see the crowd dispersed.
His tweet drew backlash from critics who said he was singling out the Jewish community.
"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," Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a tweet. "This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever."
City Council Member Kalman Yeger said he, too, was upset by the tweet.
"Mr. Mayor, your words are unacceptable. To condemn our entire community over one group of people is something you would not do to any other ethnic group, and I know you long enough to know that you know this," Yeger said.
Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn have been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 17,000 New Yorkers.
"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," de Blasio said in another tweet.
"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."
Lis Smith, a political consultant who previously worked for de Blasio, accused him of "criminal incompetence."
"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?" she tweeted.