Ultra-orthodox Jewish New Yorkers protest new coronavirus restrictions as Cuomo threatens to close synagogues

Community activists call for ‘civil disobedience’ as state begins implementing limits on religious inst

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men surround and taunt a photographer during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Borough Park section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (REUTERS)

A group of more than 100 members from New York City’s ultra-Orthodox community staged a protest on Tuesday in Brooklyn against the state’s new coronavirus restrictions targeting zip codes deemed “red zones” by health officials.

The demonstration grew tense by nightfall as protestors set a fire in the streets, reportedly burning face masks and cardboard boxes, while chasing away deputy sheriffs from the scene.

Local news outlets also faced confrontations with the protestors, according to NBC New York, which covered the demonstrations as they went on into early Wednesday morning. No arrests associated with the protests have been made, according to police.

Ultra-Orthodox community activists and organisations have spoken out against the new restrictions limiting business activity in nine neighbourhoods throughout the state,  where officials have warned the spread of Covid-19 could be accelerating.

Those “red zones” have seen a Covid-19 positivity rate above 3% for seven consecutive days, with some zip codes including large Orthodox communities like Borough Park in Brooklyn.

The protestors said they were demonstrating in part against Governor Andrew Cuomo’s threats from a Monday news conference in which he said he would close religious institutions should their leaders refuse to comply with the new coronavirus restrictions.

“I have to say to the Orthodox community tomorrow, 'If you're not willing to live with these rules, then I'm going to close the synagogues,” the governor said at his press conference this week.

Heshy Tischler, a member of the ultra-Orthodox community who attended the protests, slammed the new restrictions while speaking at the protests on Tuesday night, according to New York Post.

The newspaper reported that Mr Tischler ripped up his face mask and told a crowd: “It’s called civil disobedience, we can fight back … Do not allow them to torture you or scare you.”

The new restrictions limit religious institutions like synagogues in red zones from holding gatherings of more than 10 people. Houses of worship may only operate at 25 percent, and all mass gatherings in those impacted zip codes were prohibited.

Some local religious leaders have called for calm as state officials sought to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections by limiting in-person activities at religious institutions, including David Ben Hooren, publisher of the popular weekly, The Jewish Voice.

“The Jewish community feels they’re being singled out and there’s some element of anti-Semitism,” Mr Hooren told the Associated Press in October. “Not that I agree with it, but that’s the sentiment in the street. Tensions are running high.”

Defending the city’s decision to begin implementing the new restrictions this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said New York was “at a crucial moment” in its fight against the novel virus.

“We have to bring everything we can to bear,” he said on Tuesday. “We have to be tough about it.”

The protests came after religious leaders met with Gov. Cuomo to discuss the new restrictions and how it may impact local communities.

However, David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Othodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America, described that meeting as “largely a one-way monologue” that “contained no mention of this new plan” in a statement reported by NBC New York.

The group suggested in its statement that officials were singling out religious practices with the new restrictions, which they called a “surprise” despite having spoken with the governor before the new guidelines were announced.