New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that there would be “consequences” after the Orthodox-Jewish community’s protests against lockdowns in their respective neighborhoods.
The latest measures from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) closed schools and restricted the number of people gathering in houses of worship. Cuomo’s restrictions, which he applied to which he applied to nine ZIP codes that have seen recent spikes in COVID-19 cases, are primarily Chasidic areas. In his presentation explaining the restrictions, Cuomo featured a photo of a mass gathering of Chasidic Jews from 2006; his senior adviser Rich Azzopardi tweeted that the photo was a “staff error.”
Some of the protesters burned masks and blocked a bus, according to Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), and one Chasidic Jew was assaulted after he reportedly was accused of being a “snitch” for recording a video of the protest.
“The NYPD (New York Police Department) will not tolerate people doing harm to others,” de Blasio said during an Oct. 7 press briefing. “There will be no tolerance for setting fires. If anyone commits an act of assault, of course there will be consequences.”
The NYPD did not issue any arrests or summons for protests on Oct. 6, but on Oct. 5, the NYPD broke up a gathering of Jews celebrating Sukkot in the streets. A video of them doing so went viral on Twitter, prompting President Donald Trump to share a tweet from actor James Woods calling de Blasio “an anti-Semitic thug.”
“What does this grim picture remind you of?” Trump tweeted. “I am the only thing in the Radical Left’s way! VOTE.”
Wow, what does this grim picture remind you of? I am the only thing in the Radical Left’s way! VOTE https://t.co/gnlvm4swFv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
