Jewish leaders say COVID rules discriminate
NEW YORK >> Three Rockland County Jewish congregations are suing New York state and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying he engaged in a “streak of a nt i- S em it ic di scr i mination” with a recent crackdown on religious gatherings to reduce the state’s coronavirus infection rate.
T he Manhattan federal court lawsuit filed late Wednesday accused the Democrat of making negative, false, and discriminatory statements about the Jewish Orthodox communit y as he imposed new coronavirus measures to counter the state’s rising infection rate in so- called “red zone” areas.
C uomo’s st atement s and actions were painful for residents in an area north of New York City where a man invaded a Hanukkah celebration in December and stabbed or slashed five people, the lawsuit said. Grafton Thomas awaits trial after pleading not guilty.
The attack occurred in Monsey — near the New Jersey state line about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of New York City — where two congregations in the new lawsuit are based.
The state said six coronavirus clusters in areas comprising 2.8% of the state’s population have appeared in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Broome, Orange and Rockland counties, necessitating the closing of schools and nonessential businesses and limits on gatherings.
The new measures announced Oct. 6 have resulted in tempora r ily limiting the size of religious gatherings in the COVID-19 hot spots to 25% capacity, or a maximum of 10 people.
The limits prompted several federal lawsuits, including two in Brooklyn and one in Albany.
The latest lawsuit said Cuomo’s order was “blatantly anti- Semitic, creat ing relig ious- observance based color coded ‘ hot- spot’ zones directed towards particular Jewish communities.”
T he lawsuit said his a c t ion “not on ly flagrantly f lies directly in the face of scientific evidence” and a court order limiting what measures the state can take. It also “specifically singles out the Or thodox Jew ish communit y in what has proven to be the latest extension of Governor Cuomo’s streak of anti- Semitic discrimination,” the lawsuit added.
Cuomo, who has said he has “respect and love” for the Orthodox community, told repor ters Thursday that he was not targeting Orthodox Jewish communities. He said red zones are based on addresses of residences where more individuals are testing positive for