JTA – The images were striking, the mayor used strong words and the backlash was immediate.
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of Orthodox Jews gathered to pay their last respects to a Brooklyn rabbi, appearing to show an obvious rejection of social distancing rules. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has published a tweet aimed at the “Jewish community” claiming that “the time for warnings is over” and announcing that the police will arrest or question those who participate in rallies.
Jewish leaders, among others, lamented the mayor using terms targeting an entire community, which overwhelmingly complied with social distancing rules.
Bill de Blasio maintained his warnings about police action against social distancing offenders on Wednesday, but turned excuse for the tone of his tweets.
Rabbi Chaim Mertz’s funeral in Brooklyn on April 28, 2020 (photo credit: Reuven Blau / Twitter, via JTA)
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“I regret if I gave people the impression that I was denigrating them,” he said.
Some wonder if the police could have done more to stop the public procession before the crowds numbered in the hundreds or in the thousands.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio answers questions about handling a funeral in Brooklyn, April 29, 2020 (YouTube screenshot)
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Police Commissioner Dermot Shea admitted during a press conference that members of his department were in contact with leaders of the Hasidic community to find out “what to expect there” before the burial. This contact was initiated “within minutes” of the rabbi’s death.
“Plans have been drawn up, details have been considered…. contingency plans were in place, several officers were deployed in the unlikely event that large numbers of people came, and we thought that might be the case, ”said Dermot Shea. “But I think we’ve been pretty consistent, Mr. Mayor… that there shouldn’t be gatherings in New York like the one we saw last night.” “
Asking for more details on plans made by police with leaders of local communities, a spokeswoman declined to comment other than those the commissioner made at the press conference.
In a press release, Jacob Mertz, spokesperson for the congregation responsible for the funeral, said organizers have closed the streets for the funeral to allow mourners to participate while respecting distancing guidelines social.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out like that, and the New York police had to disperse the crowds,” the statement added. “Note that everyone complied with the orders of the police and that the overwhelming majority [des participants] wore masks. And yet the confusion and chaos gave rise to significant crowd movements ”.
He believes that the mayor’s words were understandable. “As we said, we thought the funeral procession could go according to the rules, and we apologize for the turn things have taken. It is painful to see the Jewish community being targeted in this way, and we apologize to all the Jewish people. “
“We know that the mayor reacted this way because he cared about the health and safety of our community and the whole city, and it was not ill-intentioned. We share this concern. Health and life take precedence over anything else, and we must all follow these rules, ”he continued.
A New York City police officer stands guard as hundreds gather in Brooklyn, New York, on April 28, 2020, to attend the funeral of Rabbi Chaim Mertz, who died of coronavirus. (Credit: Peter Gerber, via AP)
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Jacob Mertz did not say whether New York Police were involved in the blockade of streets, but a city spokeswoman told the New York Post Wednesday that no authorization had been issued for this burial.
David Greenfield, former member of the city council and director of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, said in a tweet that the police wanted to “collaborate with the Hasidic synagogue out of respect for their revered (and famous) rabbi so they literally barricaded the streets to this ‘burial respecting social distancing’ ”.
Rabbi Chaim Mertz (Facebook photo credit)
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“The Hasidic synagogue wanted to honor their revered rabbi so they misguidedly prepared a public funeral ‘respecting social distancing.’ They were so convinced they were going to be successful that they partnered up with the NYPD and even handed out masks ”.
A Twitter account called Satmar Headquarters, but not affiliated with an official organ of Williamsburg’s Satmar Hasidic community, claimed police approved the funeral and helped coordinate the procession.
“This funeral was originally approved and even organized by @NYPDnews 2 hours before the start, police brought trucks with gates and lights near Bedford Avenue and into the neighborhood. These are the services of @NYCMayor [maire de NYC] who initially approved it before going back ”on its decision, the tweet said.
Videos posted on social media show police officers urging participants to leave the roadway and walk on sidewalks.
“Go home, it’s over, there will be traffic in the streets”, asks a police officer in a video posted by Reuven Blau, reporter for The City.
Police response pic.twitter.com/KcVZYV9C2s
— Reuven Blau (@ReuvenBlau) April 29, 2020
In another video posted by Reuven Blau, we can see police roadblocks in the background, which suggests that the police have blocked the streets for the burial.
The nightly funeral, hastily organized in Jewish custom after the death of Rabbi Chaim Mertz on Tuesday afternoon, was announced on a poster made by the synagogue of Rabbi Tolath Yaakov.
Rabbi Chaim Mertz’s funeral in Brooklyn on April 28, 2020 (Credit: Peter Gerber, via AP)
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The poster included a map of the funeral procession’s route down Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and informed the public that anyone attending the funeral should wear a mask and stay two meters from each other. The mask-wearing instruction was repeated by Williamsburg’s Shomrim Group, a local patrol group led by Hasidic Jews, although videos from the scene clearly show some people without masks and within two meters of each other. .
“Everyone on the street should have a mask,” said a member of the Shomrim in a video from before the funeral.
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