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I’m not chasidic. But my friends are. You can’t understand what shutting down synagogues in middle of a Jewish holiday means. Maybe you are not as religious. Fair. Literally, the only reason these folks came to America was to practice their religion in peace. 1/
It’s easy to vilify a group you don’t understand. So just a few facts: when NYC finally came to Boro Park last week, the community really tried to accommodate them. However, by singling out Chasidim they feel attacked when they are one of 20 (!) communities with spikes in NYC. 2/
For example, some synagogues can hold 5,000 people. Others can only hold 50. The rule is the same: only 10 in each. Some schools spent hundreds of thousand of dollars following new rules and city now shutting them down without a SINGLE covid case. 3/
We literally bend over backwards to accommodate every ethnicity in New York - as we should! It’s odd that government has singled out Chasidim and rather than work with this insular group, they are vilifying, threatening and spreading misinformation about them. 4/
For example, if the Mayor or Governor would’ve picked up the phone and called chasidic rabbis during their high holidays they certainly would’ve worked with them. Instead they crafted rules that they must know are impossible to follow. That sets up these communities to fail. 5/
It’s odd that the very same people who literally visited the home of these exact rabbis when they needed votes, suddenly have no idea how to reach out to them during a crisis. 6/
So many in the Chasidic community are now convinced that they are being targeted by government because they are a religious minority. Even worse, it seems to them like they’re being blamed for a verified second wave in 19 OTHER NYC neighborhoods. 7/
