Mayor of NYC targets Jews


prisonchaplain
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I'm not sure which is worse, Samaritan's Purse being kicked out of NYC or Gotham's mayor warning Jews they'll be rounded up if they don't obey orders. The latter was De Blasio's response to a pre-approved funeral for a Jewish rabbi. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2020/04/30/bill_de_blasio_isnt_an_anti-semite_buthe_is_an_idiot_509670.html

Edited by prisonchaplain
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From Haaretz, Israel News.

Bill de Blasio's Jewish community tweet was intemperate but he wasn't wrong

Quote

Not only does the Pavlovian reaction to brand any criticism of ultra-Orthodoxy as anti-Semitism (and yes, I’m very aware of the similarity to the criticism of Israeli policies = anti-Semitism debate here) insult the many diverse Jewish identities out there, it also plays in to the Haredi conceit that theirs is the "authentic Judaism," rather than what it actually is – a 200 year-old ideology which emerged in reaction to enlightenment and the emancipation of Jews in Central Europe.

Yes, our Haredi brothers and sisters are often the first ones among us to suffer from anti-Semitic attacks because of their identifiably Jewish appearance and we should all be there on the frontlines to protect them and never accept any physical or verbal violence which targets them. 

But how are we helping them right now by denying the clear fact that some of these Jewish communities have been blatantly defying the various distancing precautions which are there to protect them and the rest of us? No, not all of them, of course. But yes, disproportionately and as organized groups, they are. Protecting their lives from coronavirus is just as important as protecting them from anti-Semites. 

It may be behind a paywall though...which is unfortunate.  I'm not sure if people can get a free read of an article or not.  I can only quote 3 paragraphs (as is general for quoting an article or book academically or for theses types of purposes).

In essence it takes issue with the idea that De Blasio seems to have attacked ALL the Jewish community, when there are actually multiple Jewish Communities in any area where there are many Jewish people.  However, it also points out that the actions of the more conservative groups of the Jewish Community may not necessarily reflect all of their opinions, and the actions that some of them that disregard the social distancing and other ideas circulating today, do not have to be accepted by the rest of the Jewish Communities out there and can be criticized.

Note, however, that this is from NON-US individuals commenting on a US situation.  They have had a similar issue in their own area where more of the Orthodox groups are refusing to adhere to some of the guidelines set forth or are finding loopholes or ways to not conform to them legally as well.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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I’m not prepared to conclude from this incident that DeBlazio is anti-Semitic (except insofar as the general progressive hostility to Judeo-Christian morality might loosely be considered anti-Semitic).  His remarks were in the immediate aftermath of a gathering he thought problematic, the gathering happened to be of Jews; and it was natural to address them specifically before broadening his comments to the entire community.  
 

(I mean yeah, his ban on gathering is probably overkill, and I daresay his dear foul little authoritarian heart is absolutely delighted at the idea to micromanage the lives of his subjects generally.  But just because he and many of his proggie allies have made blood sport of deliberately misinterpreting and smearing decent people for the last forty years, doesn’t mean we should be responding in kind.  He’s not an anti-Semite, we know darned well he’s not an anti-Semite; and we’d look rather silly in front of knowledgeable Americans if we tried to explicitly or implicitly associate him with anti-semitism.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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The article agreed. The author said that DeBlazio, in a kind interpretation, was not anti-Semitic. He was an idiot. Here's the case:

1. New York City has more Jews than Jerusalem.

2. The mayor's office (granted, not the mayor personally) approved the funeral, beforehand.

3. "Round up the J***" is beyond the pale, in any environment--but especially in NYC.

4. The mayor gave the mildest of walk backs when called out.

5. DeBlazio is wealthy, educated, progressive … oh, come--he should have known better.

The bottom-line is that the mayor's political opponents are very ready to label the incident as anti-Semitic. It had bad optics, and the politicos like to say. In the language of the left, this may not be full-on Jew-hating, but it's way more than a microaggression.

Here's another take that gives a little more background on the mayor's perspective, as well as that of the Orthodox Jewish community:  https://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news/ny/mayor-de-blasio-addresses-social-distancing-treatment-of-the-jewish-community-again/2020/05/04/

The two main take-aways are that the mayor is not being accused of being anti-Semitic, yet Orthodox Jews do feel scapegoated at a time when anti-Semitic crimes are on the rise both in NY and worldwide.

Edited by prisonchaplain
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I was trying to find out more about the pre-funeral arrangements, and what the mayor's office knew. Despite having read that the mayor's office pre-approved the funeral, there were no other articles mentioning this aspect, and I began to doubt. It turns out there was some coordination with local law enforcement, that the event took place rather hurriedly, and that the crowding apparently become much more than was expected. None of this exonerates the mayor, but it does give some added context:  https://www.jta.org/2020/04/29/united-states/ny-police-helped-coordinate-the-brooklyn-funeral-that-drew-hundreds-of-orthodox-jews-but-they-admit-things-got-out-of-hand

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2 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

I was trying to find out more about the pre-funeral arrangements, and what the mayor's office knew. Despite having read that the mayor's office pre-approved the funeral, there were no other articles mentioning this aspect, and I began to doubt. It turns out there was some coordination with local law enforcement, that the event took place rather hurriedly, and that the crowding apparently become much more than was expected. None of this exonerates the mayor, but it does give some added context:  https://www.jta.org/2020/04/29/united-states/ny-police-helped-coordinate-the-brooklyn-funeral-that-drew-hundreds-of-orthodox-jews-but-they-admit-things-got-out-of-hand

The funeral was indeed planned to be within the limits put in place under New York City law, but a surge of mourners came and the organizers had no means of turning them back. 

As it is, de Blasio's tweet called out the entire Jewish community within the city rather than this small segment, which is why people presumed the worst. 

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