Is Sea World targeting Jews?
That’s the question thousands of Jews are asking tonight.
YWN received more than a dozen emails on Wednesday, all stating that they watched employees of Sea World kicking Orthodox Jews out of the facilities for not properly wearing masks. But all of them claimed that they witnessed them turning a blind eye to hundreds of non-Jews who were doing the same.
One person told YWN “We were in Sea World today, and were kicked out for not wearing a mask. Mind you the whole park is not masking and one member of our group of 6 people pulled their mask down to get a drink. We were embarrassed and escorted out as hundreds of people passed us not masking. The only answer is, we were kicked for being Jewish. Sad day at Sea World.”
Another person told YWN “I was there today. There were people of all ethnicities not wearing masks and staff constantly reminded. It was glaringly obvious that some of the staff only targeted and reminded Frum (Orthodox) Jews about it. On a separate note, there were too many kosher wrappers that I noticed littered all around.”
Yet another person told YWN “I felt they were unfairly targeting Jews when there were many other violators. I heard them threatening someone that they would escort him out of the park, when there were many unmasked people around. Also, there were way too many people there for the capacity of the rides with the social distancing changes in the park (like every other row empty…). They couldn’t handle the crowd. It was over 90 degrees and the water fountains and misters were turned off.”
And another email to YWN “Hi I was in Sea World today. Plain anti seimtisem on display. There were thousands not in masks. Only Jews thrown out. A huge chutzpah. Calling lawyers won’t help. We should boycott them. A side note, it was PACKED beyond capacity. It’s a joke that they make it as if they care about social distancing. Save your money people and stay away!”
YWN was not going to publish anything, but then Yeshiva of Miami, which booked and sold hundreds upon hundreds of tickets for tomorrow at Sea World, sent out the following email to everyone who purchased tickets:
Dear Friends,
This is a very difficult email for me to write. Unfortunately, SeaWorld informed us that they are cancelling all group tickets, including ours, for tomorrow. The reason that they gave is that they had difficulty enforcing their mask policy amongst the various groups that were in Sea World today. Yeshiva of Miami prides ourselves on our complete transparency and communication when it comes to our customers. We are therefore sharing all the details with you, although it may be too lengthy. Please feel free to skip to the end of this email if you want to!
There were about 6 groups in Sea World today, all of which were Jewish groups. Our shared experiences were not great.
I have been in touch with quite a number of the participants today and many of them shared that they felt unfairly singled out regarding masks today.
I have had hundreds of pictures sent to me by our SeaWorld guests today showing very flagrant mask violations by many people that were clearly not in our group.
I spent about 4 hours today on the phone with SeaWorld explaining how our guests felt unfairly singled out today, and how this colored their Sea World experience.
I offered alternative ways to make this work. I explained that tomorrow the weather would be cooler and mask wearing would be less challenging.
I offered to them that I would ask each participant to sign a “Mask Contract” and I would offer a full refund to anyone who didn’t agree to sign that contract.
I spoke to our attorney who explained that as a private entity, especially during covid, SeaWorld is allowed to make this choice and we don’t have much legal recourse.
I literally tried everything. Sea World was not willing to budge.
Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we are forced to cancel our group trip for tomorrow. We will be giving a full refund to everyone. The refunds will be processed after Pesach. Please be patient because it may take a few days to get to all the refunds.
We realize we are disappointing many people and that you now have to tell your family that your plans for tomorrow have been cancelled. We feel terrible and hope you realize that this literally hurts us more than it hurts you, on many levels. You are welcome to buy tickets directly from Sea World and enter through the main entrance. I will caution you that I have heard from many of today’s participants that it was very crowded and that many of the rides that were supposed to be open, were actually closed, leading to unreasonably long lines. Additionally, many of the shows were operating at 25% capacity and unless you were waiting in line for an hour beforehand, you couldn’t be guaranteed a seat at the show. In general, people that went today did not seem to have the best experiences, so take this into advisement when deciding if you want to purchase full price tickets for tomorrow.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or anything else. I will try to respond as quickly as possible.
Yeshiva of Miami
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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44 Responses
Actually a piece of good news out of Orlando. Hahsne is sending these people a message, try and run away from yiddishkeit for pesach, ill send you reminders that you’re in galus
I think that all those mean-spirited Ruach employees wee fired and found a new job at this Olam HaYam (or is it Zee Velt?)
If the complaints are true, I would like to thank the management for going an extra mile to protect health of their yeshivish visitors, as well as protecting their neshomos from bitul Torah and pegum due to viewing non-kosher orcas and witnessing tzaar baalei hayim, as well as keeping their precious money from a ridiculous expense that they can now donate to the Yeshiva of Miami.
Tizku b’ Mitzvos.
I was at sea world today. It was a disaster. There was a line for over an hour just to see the penguins! All rides were at least 60+ minute wait. The sea world employees were nowhere to found and were not helpful at all. I don’t understand how sea world allowed so many tickets to be sold. You had to wait an hour plus just to watch any show. In my opinion yeshiva of miami or any group should not have been able to sell unlimited amount of tickets. Those are not going to go tomorrow consider yourself lucky.
Oh please!!! I love Jews but we need to finally admit that we DON’T follow the rules the way we are asked to…. I’d bet you that if they have videos, we would see EVERY group of Frum ppl with masks on their chins, under their noses……. I’ve been on a few flights over the past few weeks…. guess who were the ONLY ppl with their masks under their noses……. yup… the Jewish looking people….
Enough of the antisemitic excuses…. follow the rules COMPLETELY (and stop leaving the kosher wrappers everywhere…). We NEED to show that we ARE the chosen ppl!!!
I’m sorry to say that frum jews do, in fact, have a hard time wearing masks and wearing them correctly. I have tried and tried in shul to ask, beg, plead for bochurim and adult males to wear masks, correctly, with little success. It’s our own fault we are getting kicked out of parks and planes. Stop pointing to others. We are supposed to be setting a good example. Just. Follow. The. Stupid. Rules.
Hashem is screaming “Yidden, you don’t belong in a not tznius place”
Does anyone still not get the message?
Anti-semitism is the way Hashem lets us know he doesn’t approve of our actions.
This is par for the course in golus.
In Eretz Yisroel, under the rule of secular Jews, we experience even worse antisemism than we experience here.
Don’t know about sea world but was in universal today. Everyone was wearing masks. The only people that consistently weren’t were Jews. Most were.
Sorry. Not buying it. Show responsibility.
@BaltimoreMaven: That’s what happens when you get busy with masks. Don’t have any mask rules and everyone will be happy. In the multiple crowded Shuls in my neighborhood you can have a coughing fit and no one will be worried. NO evidence that any more people got sick or died from this approach. Yes there was an opening up process with social distancing and masks, but all good things come to an end. Spoiler alert: generally speaking you can’t have the virus twice (there’s more data on this than on vaccine induced immunity).
That said, I do take even mindless mask rules very seriously in a non-Jewish setting, because they take it very seriously and I don’t wish to cause a Chillul Hashem. But to those of you who are walking around at 1AM on a completely empty street, or in a car with your windows tightly shut, with TWO masks snugly fitted over your nose and mouth, know that all you get is a rash.
SHOW US ALL THE PICTURES!
To be Melamed Zechus on Jews not Masking in public attractions (no to say it’s right), people must understand that many Jewish communities are very dense and were hit extremely fast and hard in the beginning AND ARE NOW IN THE POSITION THE WHOLE COUNTRY HOPES TO BE IN A FEW MONTHS, I.E. MOSTLY IMMUNE. Therefore there is very little masking in those communities lately. That’s why they seem to have a much harder time following those rules. My point here is that THEY ARE NOT MORE CARELESS than the rest of the world ethically as far as spreading the virus is concerned, only a little more out of touch with the way the current situation is perceived by the general public due to the reasons I described. That said, EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST AS COMPLIANT as the general public when you are at a public venue where masking is expected, and if you aren’t you can’t complain when you’re singled out.
OUT OF TOWNERS We love all of you but please don’t write an uninformed mindless response about your Covid minyan with 10 people and registration required, as you haven’t been in my neighborhood in March 2020 where hundreds of people on my block and backyard alone were infected, with some being on oxygen or bedridden for weeks (and seeing people being taken out by Hatzalah fully dressed and conscious, only to see a picture of them on YWN or Hamodia etc. 2 weeks later…) Two or three months later everything gradually opened up. Although there has been some upticks in cases possibly due to unnecessary complacency and people returning from summer vacations etc. the situation is definitely very different than the general population (possibly evidenced by the fact that after the reopening, there were no Covid related hospital transports by Hatzalah of Borough Park for the first 3-4 months despite tens of thousands going to Shul with practically no restrictions or masks).
Maybe if we began to listen to the doctors who are literally begging us to wear masks then this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. Why do we think we know more than actual DOCTORS?! It would be nice if SeaWorld would say, “so many people don’t wear masks but the Jews always do!”
Can we honestly say we follow Covid rules as well as our non-Jewish neighbours? I think not.
Apart from that, why is visiting an attraction known for cruelty to animals a valid Chol Hamoed activity?
First of all I definitely agree to the point that frum jews (Wich I love with my whole hart)are very bad at following rules. (Even though we should not be following the rules of the goyim. We should just to keep hatred lower).
However even so, there is still definitely anti-semitism. And they always want us out of the parks & planes etc. Now they just have am excuse.
2nd of all the more the jews start being together with the גוים the more they hate us. That’s what happened in מצרים & all the way down to world war 2 when there was big time anti-semitism and it turned out really good bad for us רחמנה לצלן. And unfortunately us mixing with the גוים is happening now more and more. So yes, there’s big time anti-semitism but how can we complain we are in גלות (because of our עבירות) and that’s just how it goes in גלות. and we are not helping ourselves in terms of
anti-semitism.
!!!א גוט מועד
“Others don’t do it either…” is not an excuse for Yidden – we are in Golus and have to behave above the “others”!
When we ourselves are mechalel shem shamayim by flouting rules, that provides the anti-semites with ammunition for discriminating against us.
*************************Be quiet not everything is anti semitism STOP
Please stop using “golus” as an excuse for when Jews are penalized for not following the rules. Guess what? There are laws in Israel too and when you break those, you also get punished!! What will be the excuse then? If all Jews just followed the rules without being oiberchachomim, thinking they don’t have to listen to the “goyishe kep”, these things wouldn’t happen.
By the way – even if we WEREN’T in golus you’d have to follow the laws!
When are people going to learn? I go out with my family I tell them even if others don’t wear masks properly you should we’re yidden and we will be targeted not because of the mask but because who we are, don’t give them an excuse and then cry antisemitism.
@Saul – those who wish to not wear masks can stay home. At least stay out of our shuls where we do follow the rules. And either stay out of public places or wear a mask. I don’t buy the Berditchiver angle, sorry. If that were true people would mask up when asked rather than ignore the request or argue. And as an aside, many people who do choose to wear masks in NY and NJ are ridiculed. That is acceptable??
Here’s a crazy thought: If people just obeyed the rules, they wouldn’t have any issues with these places. Why is that so hard to do?
We daven “וקבצינו יחד מארבע כנפות הארץ”
It doesn’t have to only mean that Hashem will magically bring us back to ארץ ישראל. It can also mean that Hashem will give us the opportunity to come to ארץ ישראל from the four corners of the earth!
Fellow Yidden, we have that opportunity – use it! Yidden belong in Eretz Yisrael not in Orlando Florida!
If a place tells you to muzzle your face, just don’t go there! If you like most frum Jews and right wing people all over the world do not believe in muzzling, and understand the detrimental effects it has on scosiety, it is important to deny yourself some fun but to live according to your convictions. We need to be tge light on the world. It is shocking how many people here still believe masks save lives. Didn’t you notice everyone around here dropped masks and social distancing back in April of last year? Apparently Dr. Faucis words are more convincing to you that actual reality in front of your eyes.
If any of the people ‘performing’ in the second picture of this article are female, I ask why is it not ossur De’Oraysoh to go to Sea World to watch these shows???!!! -(On chol hamoed noch!!!!!)
How can a Yeshivah be selling tickets to such an event???? Can a yeshivah sell tickets to a treif eating event? So how can they sell tickets to a ‘treif seeing’ event????
No one should have to be reminded to wear a mask or follow rules, have the seichel and consideration to do it.
To all of those who say people do not get the virus twice, this is not true.
The world is suffering from the pandemic, with deaths and economic loss.The workers don’t want to lose their jobs by getting sick or needing to quarantine. The park seems to have realized they made a mistake by booking so many people. Hope they get refunded.
When the primary defense is that “Well some goyim also weren’t wearing masks” that explains a lot.
@5TResident. Firstly the fact that we must listen to the israeli law is also the same golus. The ציונים that run israel are worse then גוים.
So now that we are in golus, for our own sake We gotta listen to the goyish laws just so it doesn’t cause more hatred then there already is. And now they finally have an excuse for they’re
anti-semitism.
Now if we wer not in golus we would only have to listen to Hashems laws and not the goyish ones and we would not have to worry about hatred.
So now using the word “golus” for this situation is in fact very fit!!
Covid is a hoax they want you to walk around with a lick on your mouth like animals.
Yes, there may have been antisemitism involved but why don’t we just wear masks. It’s so easy and their asking us to do it. I don’t care if they target jews. If we just did our part and worn our masks (which is extremely easy), none of this would have happened. It might be considered a chillul hashem to not wear a mask, so I don’t see why not to.
I think I now have a new understanding of:
ויקוצו, מפני בני ישראל. ויעבידו מצריים את-בני ישראל, “בפ-רך” ייי
Why the **** are ye Jews or anyone who cares about Tzar Baalei Chaim going to Sea World anyways?
The Anheuser-Busch family does not need nor want your support during Pesach to make up for your lack of beer purchases.
I think I now have a new understanding of:
ויקוצו, מפני בני ישראל. ויעבידו מצריים את-בני ישראל, “בפ-רך” י
Midrash: During troubled-times the Jews in beautiful sunny Goshen (today Orlando) were simply not content in chillaxing by their secluded homes away from the gentile masses. They spread out to all forms of entertainment in the house of theatres and Egyptian entertainment. …we all know the havdalah that happened next.
2nd: Why are Jews or anyone who cares about Tzar Baalei Chaim going to Sea World anyways?
The Anheuser-Busch family does not need nor want your support during Pesach to make up for your lack of beer purchases.
I was with my family at the Bronx Zoo yesterday, Wednesday. Many people were masked up properly, including most frum people I saw. However, there were also others all over walking around with masks pulled low- not just frum Jews (unless the Orientals, Blacks and Hispanics were undercover Members of the Tribe.) The zoo staff would periodically appear asking/reminding all to “cover up as per the agreement”- and then the masks would once again dip right after they left. The highlight for me was watching a Latino woman arguing with one staff member about how rediculous it is to have to mask up outside; it’s thrilling to see that not all people in this country are walking around like mindless sheep!
5TResident: Galus is actually the reason Jews are singled out for non-compliance even when they aren’t the only ones breaking the rules. This is because Hashem wants to remind us that we aren’t the same as everyone in the sense that “if they’re breaking the rules, we’re the same so we’ll do it too”, so he sends these situations to remind us that as much as we try to blend in, we’re all in a constantly spinning centrifuge.
@5TResident: “There are laws in Israel too…” Israel no less of a golus than US if anything it’s more…
i am not condoning breaking the rules, and i think that many Yidden do keep the rules, but if there is indeed a phenomenon of Yidden ignoring rules, it is because of a long history to being forced to so.
There is a famous story about an older man filling in a form to get compensation from Germany (the Claims Conference?) He filled in something inaccurately and the German girl said something about Jews lying.
The younger man who was escorting the gentleman went livid.
YOU are the ones who trained him to lie! He shouted at the German.
YOU forced him to lie about his age or he would have been sent to the left.
YOU forced him to steal form the kitchen to save himself from starvation.
YOU forced him to evade work so that he could recuperate from illness before resuming back-breaking labor…..
Over the centuries Yidden have been forbidden to learn Torah, practice Bris Mila, shecht animals, keep Shabbos, open shops and run businesses etc. etc. etc. They also taxed the Jewish communities exorbitant taxes etc.
The authorities were in effect forcing Yidden to run black markets to survive financially, they forced them to evade tax, they were forcing them to raise and shecht animals behind the backs (and therefore they had to avoid payinig taxes). they were training them to teach and practice Torah in bunkers, cellars, caves etc. at different stages throughout history. Is it any wonder that [to an extent] we naturally ignore laws?
From Romans, to the Spanish, to the Germans and everybody in between – we have had to break the rules and work clandestinely to survive physically and spiritually.
Now we have to internalize the fact that America is generally a Medina Shel Chessed (as Rav Shach said) and now we must keep the laws and rules, [even if some of them make no sense].
We must do it, but if it takes a few generations for the message to sink in, that is still pretty fast after 2 millennia of having to break rules.
PS [The US learnt this from the Prohibition, making rules that can’t be kept, just increases crime. We, don’t need alcohol, and we also are 99.9% honest, and never ever turn to violent crime. The comparison is limited to the fact that over-strict rules can have an opposite effect.]
As the saying goes – when yidden don’t make kiddush, the goyim make havdalah
Seriously!? A shaila of golus? You balei taava go to SeaWorld like American goyim and wonder why you det kicked out you guys are snapped there is a new yiddeshkeit that these people practice if they would look at their life they will see it has nothing to do with torah BARUCH HASHEM THEY LEARNED THEIR LESSON
It is a sad state of affairs that many now define antisemitism as poorly behaving Jews being singled out for their poor behavior. I don’t know how one can call himself frum, but not be concerned with creating a chilul hashem.
Saul: you seem to be arguing two inconsistent positions:
1. NO evidence that any more people got sick or died from this approach
2. many Jewish communities are very dense and were hit extremely fast and hard in the beginning… I.E. MOSTLY IMMUNE.
so, you obviously admit that Jewish communities were sick early on. As there were multiple cases and tragic prominent deaths recently, it proves that there was no herd immunity early on. “Dense” is not a good excuse for not being careful, just the opposite.
If you really care about your fellow Jews who think that they have herd immunity – do antibody testing in your shul and see where you are. If they do have herd thru uncareful exposure, and not vaccines, you may want to consider whether Hashem will accept the prayers of a minyan responsible for deaths and not even thinking of teshuva. My quick estimate, for example, death rates per person in Lakewood township are 2x over their neighbors, or 4x if counting per person over 65. This comes up to a couple of hundred people …
This is not a conclusive analysis, but it is consistent with numbers I saw elsewhere.
So, again, thank you Sea World, you might have saved several Jewish lives.
90 degrees? The pritzus must have been geferlach. Totally agree HKBH was sending us a message he doesn’t want us going to such places
I was at a chol hamoed shiur at which Rav Brevda zzk”l worked himself into tears bemoaning the corruption of what chol hamoed and YT in general has become. He said it would be better to go to work and to open schools. I took it as him referring to the EY scene, where the yetzer horah for gashmius and thrills is mostly kept at bay.