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RETALIATION IN WILLIAMSBURG: NYPD Gives Nearly 100 Summonses, Visits Open Shuls


The NYPD is out in full force in Williamsburg on Thursday morning, and community activists are attributing it to the Levaya of the Tola’as Yaakov Rebbe earlier this week which turned into a national story. As YWN reported, Mayor Deblasio showed up at the Levaya and after witnessing all social distancing rules broken, he went on a Twitter rant. Deblasio came under fierce attack from news outlets and elected officials around the county for singling out the Jewish community by name.

Deblasio tried explaining himself on Wednesday morning, but One NYPD Liaison, Moshe Weiser, who publicly spoke to and was quoted by dozens of media outlets on Wednesday, pointed fingers directly at the NYPD and claimed that police knew in advance of the Levaya plans. In fact, media outlets were provided with photos of police meeting with community activists prior to the Levaya. In reality, the police were ‘thrown under the bus’.

The retaliation came fast and furious.

Social media exploded with photos and videos of the NYPD all over the streets, and a high-credible source confirms to YWN that as of noon, a whopping 75 tickets were already issued to people not wearing masks and not following social distancing rules.

Additional, the NYPD visited many Shuls that were open – including the Satmar (Kiryas Yoel) Bais Medrash on Hooper Street. Viral images showed officers inside the Bais Medrash, as people inside were sitting at tables and learning. Police also visited the Satmar (Williamsburg) Bais Medrash on Rodney Street.

It should be noted that Police said there was proper social distancing in the Satmar Bais Medrash and no summonses were given for that.

As YWN was publishing this (12:30PM), the NYPD was at another Shul on Harrison Avenue.

NYPD Commissioner Demot Shea responded on Thursday in a TV interview. As the NY Post reported:

“he (Shea)said: “There is no way a large assemblage like that is supposed to happen,” Shea said on the program. “I think every New Yorker knows that. What we did is plan, knowing that in the event of this happening — which it did — we have a little bit of a history here. Some similar things have happened before — so [it’s] the difference between planning and approving. The best plans we put in place in a short period of time.”

“Shea made the comments after it emerged that Moses Weiser, a longtime liaison between the Satmar community and the NYPD, said Wednesday that he “personally spoke” with Capt. Mark Vazquez, commanding officer of the 90th Precinct, which covers Williamsburg, ahead of the gathering.”

YWN notes that the NYPD had already started this crackdown on Wednesday night, as can be seen in the videos below. Additionally, the NYPD was on streets of Boro Park warning pedestrians on their loudspeakers to “go home”.

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(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)



12 Responses

  1. B”H at last the NYPD is taking action and showing those in the Jewish community that if they live in New York the police will ensure that the law is obeyed. If it takes endless summonses and fines so be it. Shame the police in Israel are so afraid of the haredim.

  2. “Retaliation” is absolutely the wrong word to use, because it incorrectly implies victimhood. NYPD isn’t being vengeful against those breaking the law — they are enforcing state laws pertaining to pikuach nefesh, laws which are consistent with Jewish law.

    Individuals willfully breaking social distancing laws are not victims. They merit zero sympathy and are fully accountable under both state and Jewish law.

  3. If the police have any tickets left, they can go to Boro Park and find another large bunch of people not wearing masks or social distancing.
    (Can anyone figure out why the infection rate is so high in Williamsburg and Boro Park?)

  4. Are you guys blind to see the blatant anti-semitism of this and the funeral the other day? Most people recover from corona just fine. High risk people (aged 60+ and other high risk (respiratory, cardio, and weak immune systems) people should stay isolated during flu season and during the corona season. Also, people who live with someone high risk should also isolate. They should not be doing to supermarkets, but should have food delivered to their home. If nature had run its course, like in other flu seasons, or in the way, people would have gotten it and herd immunity would have occurred. The epidemic would be over as enough people would have gotten the disease, become immune, and virtually no one would get infected in the future. The lockdown started when the infections were starting to peak, so we will probably have to have another lockdown and another round of economic terrorism next fall/winter.
    Respiratory diseases worsen when one stays indoors. Hence, we don’t see flu epidemics in the summer. The lockdown has deaths caused by suicides, maltrition, and fear of the virus to increase and these number of deaths are probably higher than those caused by the virus. People who need acute medical attention have not gone to the hospital because of fear of getting the virus.

  5. Silentmoishe asks – in his last sentence, in parentheses – a question that needs an answer. I don’t have one but there are 2 possibilities: (i) Some people there are not wearing masks and not social-distancing, or (ii) Hashem is mad at them.

  6. Silentmoishe asks – in his last sentence, in parentheses – a question that needs an answer. I don’t have one but there are at least 2 possibilities: (i) Some people there are not wearing masks and not social-distancing, or (ii) Hashem is mad at them.

  7. (Can anyone figure out why the infection rate is so high in Williamsburg and Boro Park?)

    It’s no higher than in non-Jewish neighborhoods with similar living conditions. The worst-affected neighborhood in NYC is, ironically, Corona, where I doubt there are any Jews at all. We have large families in small spaces, and we have larger social circles than most people, and depend on public transit. Until a week after Purim we were in close contact with a lot of people. We rode the subways and buses, and we now know that the subways — not the shuls! — have been the major vector for spreading it.

  8. אין מצווה באה על ידי עבירה
    you can not do a mitzvah while doing a sin.
    even sofeck Pekuach nefesh pushes off mitzvahs.
    Idiots who think they are doing mitzvahs while possibly causing others to become sick or even die are idiots.
    Rabbis should come out in mass to educate the foolish idiots of the seriousness of their stupid actions.

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