COVID-19: New York mayor orders arrest of Jews to break up large gathering of mourners

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, has ordered the New York Police Department to arrest the Jews other citizens caught gathering in large groups amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The crowd had gathered for a rabbi’s funeral in Brooklyn on Tuesday, against the social distance measures put in place to curb the coronavirus spread.

He disclosed this in a tweet after efforts he said had been employed to appeal to the religious leaders and their followers appeared to have failed.

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

Hundreds of people turned up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Tuesday tonight to honor Rabbi Chaim Mertz who recently passed away due to coronavirus-related complications. The NYPD quickly arrived on the scene to break up the mourners who were flouting the city’s social distancing guidelines.

After the incident, the Newsweek said de Blasio warned the Jewish community against future large gatherings amid the pandemic. “My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed,” the mayor tweeted on Tuesday evening. “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.”

De Blasio asserted that officials will not allow these types of gatherings, even for a funeral. “Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite [sic]: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,” the mayor tweeted. “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.”

“I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance,” he added.

***Brooklyn, NY: The funeral was held for Rabbi Chaim Mertz who died from coronavirus***

New Yorker Darren Goldner took video of the moment he scolded the Mayor saying: ‘Seriously, you guys have a park. You live in park. You don’t need to non-essentially travel to Brooklyn. Come on you won’t even open roads for people of all backgrounds. I’m not going to give it a break. This is selfish behavior’

***New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray were heckled by locals as they walked through Prospect Park in Brooklyn on Saturday, despite living 11 miles away in a Manhattan park***

Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York: Others noted the crowds that gathered earlier Tuesday to watch a flyover by the Navy´s Blue Angels and the Air Force´s Thunderbirds to honor health-care workers but were not similarly treated by officials

NYC: ‘Only bigots have a problem when a few 100 Hasidim do what thousands of people in the same city have done the same day (not social distance).’ the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council tweeted

***Domino Park, Brooklyn, NYC: Pilots from the US Navy joined forces with the Air Force for a dazzling display over New York City***

Freddi Goldstein, a spokesperson for de Blasio’s office, later confirmed that the mayor was at the scene with law enforcement to break up the funeral. “I empathize with the desire to mourn those we’ve lost, but this is absolutely unacceptable. The Mayor is on the scene and the NYPD is breaking this up,” Goldstein tweeted, alongside images depicting a large crowd of mourners gathered on the street. Most were wearing black clothing for the funeral.

Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio came under attack for singling out the Jewish community for breaking social distancing – when he travels 11 miles from his home to go for a walk in Prospect park, after saying he had instructed police to arrest mourners at funerals and anyone gathering in large groups in a new ‘zero tolerance’ approach to stop the spread of coronavirus.