This must be said.

@NYGovCuomo and @NYCMayor De Blasio singling out Orthodox Jews as responsible for high COVID rates in NY is among the oldest, most well-established forms of anti-Semitism. Scapegoating.

No different than during the Black Plague, or the years leading up to the Holocaust, or countless similar incidents before and in-between.

A minority of Orthodox Jews who don't understand the science are inappropriately non-compliant with COVID health regulations. It's a problem, should be corrected, and Jewish leaders worldwide have repeatedly called for – at minimum – strict adherence to government guidelines.

The vast majority of Orthodox Jews take COVID very seriously.

Not just the very many MDs, PAs, NPs, RNs, RTs, and countless Orthodox Jewish medical professionals, who continue to fight COVID alongside their colleagues, yet are (bewilderingly) included in Cuomo’s and De Blasio’s indictment. The vast majority of all Orthodox Jews.

A group whose religion prioritizes protecting life, however frail, over almost all else. A group that voluntarily shut down synagogues in March, an unheard of phenomenon, before the government required it.

A group that voluntarily spent the meaningful holiday of Pesach/Passover alone, without coming together as a family despite centuries of tradition.

A group that organized to donate more convalescent plasma than any other group in this country when there was just a hint that it may be beneficial in COVID (h/t @LebovitsM).

Some, relatively few, members of that group have been making poor decisions, so all of them are now blamed for the COVID spikes.

In recent weeks, very many Orthodox Jewish areas in NY have not had a COVID spike, and many non-Jewish areas in NY have. Yet, the governor and mayor specifically, repeatedly, blame all Orthodox Jews.

In a city and state where anti-Semitism had been thriving already, our elected representatives stoke the flame.

In the 7 months that this pandemic has been raging in this country, countless regions with similarly variable adherence (and indefensible, inexcusable defiance) of health guidelines have seen spikes and declines in their COVID rates.

In all this time, I don’t know of any other ethnic or religious minority (or majority) group that has been blamed by the government for the COVID rates in their area. Not to mention an entire group based on the poor decisions of a minority of bad apples.

This is what singling out looks like. This is what anti-Semitism looks like. Politically palatable anti-Semitism, somehow.

It is absolutely appropriate, obligatory, for government to apply and enforce restrictions in areas with rising COVID rates or non-compliance with health regulations. But if your goal is to protect your constituents, you must apply this uniformly and non-discriminately.

If you single out one group among many (especially, but not necessarily, based on the actions of a minority within them), impose and/or enforce the rules discriminately, you only reinforce any pre-existing distrust of the government, and expose your own impartiality. /end

@bariweiss @ADL @NatanSharansky @simonwiesenthal @HillelNeuer @StopAntisemites @antisemitism @ymenken @BenjaminSales @YossiGestetner @DYShor @elliecohanim
@HikindDov @MZHemingway @IamShulem @bethanyshondark @ChaskelBennett @josh_hammer
@NYCGreenfield @politicalelle