The disastrous press conference we all saw on Friday in Boro Park, is indicative of the entire fiasco that is Mayor DeBlasio and the NYC Health Department.
The Mayor’s office continued lack of real and meaningful engagement with community leaders, and the glaring absence of those recognized leaders at Friday’s disastrous press conference, allows disgruntled self-anointed malcontents to misrepresent themselves as the voice of the community. Make no mistake, Friday’s embarrassing actions – which turned into headline stories on every single NYC news outlet (see videos below) – are the direct result of the Mayors office pretending to work with community leaders — but actually ignoring them!
YWN reached out to NUMEROUS activists and community leaders in Boro Park & Midwood to inquire on whether they had been invited to or informed about the press conference. Unsurprisingly, not one was even aware of it until the mass media picked it up for all the wrong reasons.
One highly respected leader told YWN “had anyone of substance been informed or invited, the entire fiasco & embarrassment we all witnessed could have been avoided. Instead the media was fed by a carnival clown who represents himself only. The continued lack of communication and engagement is why the broader community simply doesn’t trust anything the Government says.”
Why the press conference was not held in front of a local hospital, a Hatzolah garage, with the health officials joined by every single prominent community leader, Orthodox Jewish elected official, and representatives from every single major Jewish organization, are questions we will never have the answers to.
Meanwhile, a leaked email from Rabbi David Zwiebel, Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel, addressed to the NYC Health Commissioner respectfully BLASTS the City Health Department, and we encourage our vast readership to read it:
Drs. Chokshi and Katz,
We appreciate your commitment at yesterday’s meeting to work with community and nonpublic school leaders to slow the spread of this virus in a joint and cooperative fashion.
As a follow up to that commitment, we have compiled the below, concrete steps the city and community leaders can take in that direction.
What we need from the city – generally:
- Real collaboration and transparency.
- Communication – why was an email of specific steps the city plans to take sent to reporters and not the community leaders it is supposedly collaborating with, and had on the phone just hours earlier? This surprised and angered many members on the call and in the community.
- Rebuilding trust. When the city shuts down a school that cooperated as much as one could ask for, on account of relatively few cases out of 2600 students, this destroys trust, disincentives testing, and sends a message that erodes hope of future cooperation in other schools and communities.
- Stop singling out Jewish schools and areas.
In other words, the city must decide if it wishes to work with us or not.
What we need from the city – specifically:
- The current written policy of “2 cases linked together, different classroom = close entire school” must end. So must related policies described here: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-year-20-21/return-to-school-2020/health-and-safety
- School closure must be based on transparent, reasonable, pre-agreed upon percentages of students testing positive. It is irrational to use absolute numbers in a one-size-fits-all approach. We will not accept some “secret sauce” of “we will investigate and use our judgment” to close down our private schools and cause havoc in our religious and personal lives. We must be allowed to collaborate by bringing in our own infectious disease doctors.
- The contact tracers we have worked with have often been unprofessional and, to be blunt, ignorant of our community. They are in dire need of cultural sensitivity training if there is any hope of them being effective. We will avail ourselves to provide that.
- Where necessary, individual, cohorted classrooms should be closed, not entire schools.
- Closing shuls should be a last resort measure.
From our end, we will do our best to encourage cooperation and best practices within the community. We just got off the phone with 200 rabbis and a panel of medical experts to discuss the situation and how it pertains to upcoming holidays. There are other, more concrete and pervasive steps we would like to take, after (figuratively) sitting down with you to make real progress on the above issues.
Our goals are the same. Please choose to work with us to achieve them.
We write on behalf of Agudah Israel of America, as a broad coalition of communities across the city. Given the comments heard on the call, we are confident that the other invitees would agree with these sentiments.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
Rabbi David Zwiebel
Executive Vice President
Avrohom Weinstock, Esq.
Chief of Staff and Associate Director of Education
Agudath Israel of America
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20 Responses
Personally, I think the ” carnival clown ” was very necessary. Unfortunately, in NYC these days it seems to be the only way. Jewish lives matter!!
Dear Rabbi Zwiebel,
First and foremost I would like to wish you and all Klal Yisroel a Gmar Chasimah Tova. May 5781 be a better year for Klal Yisroel and the world.
Whereas I totally agree with your letter to our “illustrious” mayor (the worst since Mayor Dinkins–probably Abe Beam and John Lindsay were better??), I also wish that Agudah would address our brothers and sisters in the mostly Jewish populated areas of NY and NJ. I recently went to a family wedding in NJ and only my immediate family were wearing masks–it was so bad that we ended up sitting at a table as a family together–yes men and women –just to stay away from everyone else. I walk around Flatbush, Midwood and Boro Park and 98% of the population are NOT wearing masks. I come home from grocery shopping at the ‘”frum” stores exhausted and stressed out. Why? Because I am trying to keep everyone away from me which at this time of the year is not an easy thing to do. Why isn’t Agudah making a concerted effort to address this population? If you have, I have not heard about it. You did make phone calls to us to make sure we did our census–why not this as well??? Stores, yeshivas, wedding halls and private people are just not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. No masks. No social distancing. I doubt that they are even washing their hands properly. We lost three men this weekend in Maimonides due to corona—ENOUGH!!!So get off the Mayor’s back–yes he’s a lowlife-we agree-but if we don’t take care of each other, who will?
May Hashem continue to bring you and Agudah continued success b’chol ma’aseh yideichem.
Wake up Rabbi Zweibel & Agudah:- As long as people on 13th Avenue & Williamsburg amongst other [so call3ed] Frumie neighborhoods, refuse to wear face masks & social distance, and Shuls continue to be as packed as ever, and even food stores have staff & customer with no face masks:- Nothing is going to change the perception nor the safety of these Jewish communities & Jewish neighborhoods.
So you Rabbi Zweibel & Agudah:- Implore & order every Jew[ess] icluidng Rabbis, to comply with wearing face masks out in public, including every Shul and everyone on 13th Avenue. When this happens, a lot of antisemitism will be averted.
Thank you Agudah for putting more vulnerable Jewish lives in danger, Erev Yom Kippur.
If two kids are tested positive in a Yeshiva, then there are probably much many more infected. Do you care about these kids grandparents?
The fact that we have politicians that are lowlifes doesn’t absolve us from our responsibilities. Do wether you agree if it’s necessary or not, wearing a mask is a fairly simple thing to do that every other demographic is doing in large numbers. Why are we the only ones who can’t be inconvenienced? What about the massive Bitul Torah and disruption to tefilah bitzibur that may insue due to people not willing to be inconvenienced? What about the colossal chilul Hashem now happening due to the perception that we don’t care about the health of the general public? All because people can’t be inconvenienced? On Erev Yom Kippur no less???
How ironic it is to lambast someone as a “circus clown” when so many of our community support the one currently in the White House.
You reap what you sow
Too bad those of us that voted against him are paying the price too
this is actually funny, who asked you to vote for this shoteh to begin with? how about a someone thats more normal views thats in accordance with the torah somewhat, gulianni was by far the best one. i wouldnt trust deblasio to clean my tiolets
The Carnival Clown must see da
The circus clown is not our great President Donald Trump. The clowns are the DemcRATs cuomo,Deblasio and Biden hiding in his basement.
The Carnival Clown must see das Torah. When this clown doesn’t agree with you he calls you a kapo or pig.
Hashem gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth.
I pray that he is taken away from the public spotlight- he does not represent humanity.
I G’mar chasima to all
Commenters 1&2, you are 100% right, BUT, these elected officials are persecuting us! The mayor wants to blame his failed mayorship on us. We are his scapegoat. The media loves a juicy story. Your points are right but this cruel husband of Charlayne McCray has to get off our backs. He must be exposed. Remember, the BLM movement and their protests, violent protests were all okay with him.
Liam who’s side are you on
sissel 613 – u make some valid points – but no 3 yidden died in miamonidies as reported in the post … fake news numerous machers checked out the story … i challenge you to post levaya info for the 3
The Judenrat said just get in the cattle car
Don’t understand some of these comments. The Agudah has issued about a dozen PUBLIC statements telling people to be more careful, most recently telling the community to mask up and social distance before Rosh Hashana, and before that they had something about simchas, and before that… https://agudah.org/yomim-noraim-reminders-statement-from-agudath-israel/ I get their daily emails and they keep hammering home the same thing TO THE COMMUNITY.
This was a PRIVATE LEAKED email to THE CITY. What do you expect it to say? It actually does say that they just had a call with “200 rabbis and a panel of medical experts… and how it pertains to upcoming holidays.” They are practically begging the department to let them do more and are asking de Blasio to work with them and not against them by turning people off, as they have been doing.
Two wrongs – that some people on the street don’t listen no matter what you say and government overreach – don’t make a right, and the Agudah has the unenviable job of trying to fight both wrongs.
Before you ask for what the City’s guidelines are, Id like to know what the Torah guidelines are. When it comes to worms in water, do we care what the NYC Health Dept says is ok, or do we follow a higher authority – our Torah and Mesorah. When it comes to abortion, do we follow the guidelines of NYC or our own? etc, etc!!
We should be machmir with issues of sakonas nifashos more than any secular govt agency is, not less. I have not seen any numbers or guidance from Aguda as to when they hold shuls or schools should be shut down, just obfuscation and avoidance of any guidelines and serious action to stop this mageifah. The govt sees and knows this, and thats why theyre coming after us.
You want to wear a mask? Wear one. No one is stopping you. You have no right to force me to wear one. You feel vulnerable? Stay home.
You have elderly people living in your house? Keep your kids home from school. Stop imposing your issues on those of us who are not interested in following your impositions on us.
I never voted for the clown and I’ve been vocal against his stupidity since before Day 1. His antics and his views on masks and other aspects of COVID-19 have indirectly (directly?) caused the deaths of tens of thousands of citizens (including many of our coreligionsts), far more than the Dufus of Albany.
Unfortunately, the members of the team behind the clown’s opponent may be even worse.
Don’t understand some of these comments. The Agudah has issued about a dozen PUBLIC statements telling people to be more careful, most recently telling the community to mask up and social distance before Rosh Hashana, and before that they had something about simchas, and before that… I get their daily emails and they keep hammering home the same thing TO THE COMMUNITY.
This was a PRIVATE LEAKED email to THE CITY. What do you expect it to say? It actually does say that they just had a call with “200 rabbis and a panel of medical experts… and how it pertains to upcoming holidays.” They are practically begging the department to let them do more and are asking de Blasio to work with them and not against them by turning people off, as they have been doing.
Two wrongs – that some people on the street don’t listen no matter what you say and government overreach – don’t make a right, and the Agudah has the unenviable job of trying to fight both wrongs.