Metro

De Blasio blasted after criticizing Jewish community for Brooklyn funeral

Mayor Bill de Blasio has drawn outrage over his tweet slamming a huge funeral for a rabbi who died of COVID-19 in which he said he instructed police to make arrests if necessary – while organizers claimed Hizzoner had actually approved the gathering in the first place.

Hundreds of Orthodox Jews gathered Tuesday night in the streets near Rutledge Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg to pay their respects for the rabbi, identified by The Yeshiva World as Chaim Mertz.

“Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic,” de Blasio wrote on Twitter.

“When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus,” he said.

“My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed,” the mayor added. “I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”

1 of 11
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
Advertisement
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
Advertisement
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.
A crowd of people in Williamsburg at the funeral of a rabbi.Peter Gerber
Advertisement

On Wednesday, the NYPD reported no summonses or arrests from the funeral.

Late Tuesday, a tweet by Satmar Headquarters said the funeral had been approved by the mayor.

“2 hours b4 it started, PD brought trucks with barriers/tower lights to close off Bedford Avenue and the surrounding area. It’s the @NYCMayor ’s Dept who originally approved it before deciding to take it back,” it said.

On Wednesday, City Hall spokeswoman Olivia Lapeyrolerie told The Post: “There was no event permit issued for this gathering.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio
Mayor Bill de BlasioRichard Harbus

Anti-Defamation League head Jonathan Greenblatt blasted de Blasio for his comments.

“Hey @NYCMayor, there are 1mil+ Jewish people in #NYC. The few who don’t social distance should be called out — but generalizing against the whole population is outrageous especially when so many are scapegoating Jews,” he said in a tweet.

“This erodes the very unity our city needs now more than ever,” Greenblatt added.

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, recommended Wednesday that his organization formally censure the mayor.

“Last night, the Mayor painted the Jewish community as lawbreakers and unconcerned about the city’s public health. I agree with the Mayor that social distancing is vitally important — and last night’s gathering was not appropriate,” Lauder said in a statement.

“But to blame the entire Jewish community is the type of stereotyping that is dangerous and unacceptable at any time, and particularly pernicious while the world is gripped in fear and the worst among us are looking for scapegoats,” he said.

Lauder added: “Mayor de Blasio needs to realize that while he, like all of us, believes in the importance of social distancing, every time a leader like him stereotypes the ‘Jewish community,’ he feeds into the dangerous agenda of white supremacists and anti-Semites around the world. It needs to end.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also weighed in.

“Would DeBlasio have sent this identical tweet with the word ‘Jewish’ replaced by any other religious minority? If not, why not? Laws should be enforced neutrally w/o targeting religious faith. #ProtectFreeExercise,” he tweeted.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said: “I can’t imagine de Blasio saying this about any other community. It’s pretty amazing. And for the record, MANY of the leaders of the Jewish community have taken strong stands on social distancing.”

Twitter user Sofia Bitela wrote: “This is really a tone deaf and disgusting tweet by the mayor. First of all, the Haredi rarely intermingle outside of their community. How are they a threat to other New Yorkers?”

She added: “Second, they may the community closet to herd immunity in NYC or the US. Leave them alone.”

But others defended de Blasio amid the backlash, including his wife Chirlane McCray, who said his “response was directed at those who were not social distancing.”

“The last thing we need are more funerals. So I think that it is right for the mayor to take a strong stance,” the first lady said on CNN.

“Of course, you know most people are doing the right thing. And that’s, that’s, you know, we don’t mean to that to be extended to them,” she said. “It’s just those people who are not following the guidelines that have been laid down federally by the state and in the city, to keep people safe.”

Twitter user @SimonPhoenix wrote:  “The comments under this are full of idiots calling Bill de Blasio an anti-Semite. No you morons, this isn’t anti-semetism (sic). Parts of the Hasidic Jewish community in New York act as if they’re above the law here & always have. About time an NYC mayor had the balls to call them out.”

User John Montoya said he applauded the mayor and police.

“THIS IS SERIOUS , DEADLY I’D TELL YOU TO ASK 59,000+ AMERICANS BUT THEY CAN NO LONGER TELL YOU THIS IS NOT ABOUT JEWS THIS IS ABOUT HUMANS !!!!” he wrote.

Additional reporting by Julia Marsh and Lee Brown.