The issue here is multi-dimensional and this Boro Park Mob mentality is what we are dealing with now. It's never ok to beat down other jews who disagree with you or ANYONE for that matter. Don't give credibility to the Orthodox or Ultra Orthodox communities just because you agree that mask wearing is not working or infringes on your non-existant religious rights. Plenty of jewish communities outside of Brooklyn, Queens, and Lakewood are celebrating Sukkos but responsibly so WEAR THE DAMN MASK. Daven in open air courtyards or spaces but keep socially distant.
I don't want to become ill or die for anyone and I don't want to be that person like Trump who becomes a super-spreader.
Orthodox Borough Park Residents Burn Masks, Beat Dissenters Over COVID Lockdown BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ OCT. 7, 2020 9:35 A.M. =E2=80=A2 390 COMMENTS -dissenters-over-covid-lockdown?mc_cid=3D72d946df97&mc_eid=3D97197781db#com= ments> [image: An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough Park earlier Wednesday morning] An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough Park earlier Wednesday morning PROVIDED TO GOTHAMIST
Hundreds of members of Brooklyn's Orthodox community stormed the streets and synagogues of Borough Park on Tuesday night to protest new coronavirus restrictions friday> imposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Pledging "war" on officials and public health guidance, demonstrators clad in black religious garb set fires along 13th Avenue and tossed masks into the flames. They chased away NYC Sheriff's Deputies while shouting "Jewish Lives Matter," video shows, and attacked a photojournalist yc-video-shows/> attempting to capture the scene.
Another Orthodox man, who'd opposed the anti-mask crowd, was deemed a "snitch" and reportedly hospitalized after a mob of protesters beat him with rocks. His brother, Mordy Getz, told Gothamist that he was "severely" injured and knocked unconscious, but was doing better as of Wednesday morning.
This is a Hasidic counter-protestor who called out people in his community today for protesting wearing masks.
He was beaten with rocks and is now in critical condition.
The group was led and instigated by -at-JustEnoughHeshy (who called the= m his "soldiers") and -at-KalmanYeger . pic.twitter.com/3Men26htez =E2=80=94 Elad Nehorai (-at-PopChassid) October 7, 2020 5Etfw>
Boro Park uprising against -at-andrewcuomo -at-nycmayor has begun. People starting fires in the street. So not normal. pic.twitter.com/AB5BpfeyvF =E2=80=94 NYCPHOTOG (-at-nycphotog) October 7, 2020 Etfw>
There is a mask burning going on in Boro Park, Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/HKebbFp3pr =E2=80=94 Yaakov Pollak (-at-Yanky_Pollak) October 7, 2020 c%5Etfw>
Here is the horrific moment a reporter got assaulted by a crowd in Borough Park tonight pic.twitter.com/r0kpnJm3uc =E2=80=94 Martin Samoylov (-at-martin_samoylov) October 7, 2020 wsrc%5Etfw>
Police said there were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators.
The violent scene played out hours after Cuomo announced a tiered system of lockdowns friday> in neighborhoods with spiking infection rates. Across swaths of Central Brooklyn and Queens, schools and non-essential businesses will be forced to close, and houses of worship must limit capacity to ten people at a time.
Officials in Borough Park vowed to defy the restrictions on religious observance.
"I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," City Councilman Kalman Yeger, who represents the neighborhood, told protesters on Tuesday. "They're wrong, let them try."
Councilman -at-KalmanYeger joins the protest o= n #13thAve tfw> pic.twitter.com/9G2RzkL9oG =E2=80=94 Boro Park News (-at-BoroPark24) October 7, 2020 5Etfw>
Community resident Heshy Tischler tells protesters in the presence of an NYPD inspector: =E2=80=9CYou are my soldiers. We are at war.=E2=80=9D pic.twitter.com/9sneRVxrf3 =E2=80=94 Jacob Kornbluh (-at-jacobkornbluh) October 7, 2020 rc%5Etfw>
Residents in Borough Park have largely flouted public health rules on masks and gatherings irus-covid-orthoodox>, even as the positivity rate in the area has surpassed 8 percent, the highest in the five boroughs.
"Nobody here has the virus," said a woman walking in Borough Park with her children on Tuesday, adding that lockdowns were politically motivated by Democrats. "The president got the virus, he recovered. There are medicines now."
The overnight protest was organized by Heshy Tischler, an anti-mask activist and radio host who last month interrupted a public health briefing scream-racial-epithets>. He told the crowd on Tuesday that such demonstrations would take place nightly until the ban on gatherings was lifted. "You are my soldiers," he said. "We are at war." As he spoke, other demonstrators could be heard chanting "Donald Trump."
Shulim Leifer, a Hasidic man and former Borough Park resident, said the community was plagued by right-wing misinformation about the virus.
"What we witnessed is a community that is so lacking in responsible leadership that thugs and criminals like Heshy Tischler carry the day," Leifer told Gothamist on Wednesday morning. "This isn't who we're supposed to be."
*Additional reporting by Gwynne Hogan.*
On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 8:09 PM Ruben Safir wrote:
> algemeiner.com > New York Times Flunks Again in Coverage of Jews and Coronavirus > by Ira Stoll > 5-6 minutes > > A taxi passes by in front of The New York Times head office, Feb. 7, > 2013. Photo: Reuters / Carlo Allegri / File. > > Double standards. Factual errors. Disproportionate coverage and lack of > context. Conflicting information. > > The problems that consistently afflict New York Times coverage of Jews > and Judaism, particularly Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism, are > flaring again amid the newspaper=E2=80=99s coverage of New York=E2=80=99s= latest > coronavirus outbreak. > > A New York Times column this week by Ginia Bellafante faulted the > =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community for being ill-informed. =E2=80=9CThe = city needs to do a > better job at getting information to an insular community that already > believes it has herd immunity,=E2=80=9D a subheadline over the column sai= d. > > The column begins: > > =E2=80=9CDO NOT test your child for Covid.=E2=80=9D > > So began a text that recently circulated on the messaging platform > WhatsApp, among yeshiva parents in Brooklyn=E2=80=99s Orthodox Jewish com= munity. > > A few paragraphs later, the Times column says, =E2=80=9Cmany large Hasidi= c > families live in small, cramped apartments, typically without internet > access and often with just a landline.=E2=80=9D > > The end of the column includes the paragraph, =E2=80=9CIn a community tha= t > prizes seclusion and remains averse to technology, information has a > tendency to spread very slowly.=E2=80=9D > > So which is it =E2=80=94 landline only and technology averse? Or texting = on > WhatsApp? The Times columnist can=E2=80=99t seem to make up her mind abou= t which > broad-brush stereotype to deploy in describing Orthodox Jews. > > The same column reports: > > Governor Cuomo and his health commissioner, Howard A. Zucker, have > also been talking to religious leaders =E2=80=A6One crucial message that = has yet > to be received, Dr. Zucker said, is that herd immunity is a myth in > these communities. Many in this part of Brooklyn believe that because > the Orthodox were hit so hard by the virus this spring, they must have > already been sick, and that the crisis has passed. This, according to > public health officials, is simply not true. > > Well, where could this =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community have possibly = gotten this > =E2=80=9Cmyth=E2=80=9D of herd immunity from? > > Quite possibly from The New York Times itself, which in a July 10 news > article reported: > > According to antibody test results from CityMD that were shared with > The New York Times, some neighborhoods were so exposed to the virus > during the peak of the epidemic in March and April that they might have > some protection during a second wave. > > =E2=80=9CSome communities might have herd immunity,=E2=80=9D said Dr.= Daniel Frogel, > a senior vice president for operations at CityMD, which plays a key role > in the city=E2=80=99s testing program=E2=80=A6 While stopping short of pr= edicting that > those neighborhoods would be protected against a major new outbreak of > the virus =E2=80=94 a phenomenon known as herd immunity =E2=80=94 several > epidemiologists said that the different levels of antibody prevalence > across the city are likely to play a role in what happens next, assuming > that antibodies do in fact offer significant protection against future > infection. > > =E2=80=9CIn the future, the infection rate should really be lower in > minority communities,=E2=80=9D said Kitaw Demissie, an epidemiologist and= the > dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in > Brooklyn. > > A Times news article headlined =E2=80=9CBacklash Grows in Orthodox Jewish= Areas > Over Virus Crackdown by Cuomo=E2=80=9D carries a correction: =E2=80=9CAn = earlier version > of this article misstated the title of Simcha Felder. He is a state > senator, not a state assemblyman.=E2=80=9D > > The Times news article describes the protesters against Cuomo and de > Blasio as a =E2=80=9Cangry=E2=80=9D and a =E2=80=9Cmob,=E2=80=9D terms th= e Times has largely avoided > using to refer to Black Lives Matter protesters, whom the newspaper has > repeatedly described as =E2=80=9Cmostly peaceful.=E2=80=9D > > Three paragraphs of the Times article report =E2=80=9Cthe anger was not l= imited > to the Orthodox Jewish community. The Roman Catholic Diocese of > Brooklyn, which has 1.5 million followers and 210 churches in Brooklyn > and Queens, said it was taken by surprise by the governor=E2=80=99s > announcement. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn condemned the new > rules as =E2=80=98outrageous=E2=80=99 in a statement on Tuesday night.=E2= =80=9D > > =E2=80=9CThe religious freedom of our parishioners is being unjustly atta= cked,=E2=80=9D > DiMarzio is quoted as saying. > > One wonders why the Catholics are three paragraphs in the middle of a > long story and headline about the Jews, rather than the Jews being three > paragraphs in the middle of a long story and headline about the > Catholics. Maybe the idea of Catholics as spreaders of disease just > doesn=E2=80=99t resonant as much for New York Times editors? As a libel = against > Jews, though, it has a long, sordid history at the Times, of which this > is just the latest sad chapter. > > Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor > of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, > can be found here. > > -- > So many immigrant groups have swept through our town > that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological > proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998 > http://www.mrbrklyn.com > DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002 > > http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software > http://www.brooklyn-living.com > > Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, > but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013 > _______________________________________________ > Hangout mailing list > Hangout-at-nylxs.com > http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout >
adline ember-view" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-b= ottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">t:normal">The issue here is multi-dimensional and this Boro Park Mob mental= ity is what we are dealing with now. It's never ok to beat down<= /h1>
other jews who disagree with you or ANYONE for th= at matter. Don't give credibility to the Orthodox or Ultra Orthodox com= munities
just because you agree that mask= wearing is not working or infringes on your non-existant religious rights.= Plenty of jewish communities outside
of = Brooklyn, Queens, and Lakewood are celebrating Sukkos=C2=A0but responsibly = so WEAR THE DAMN MASK. Daven in open air courtyards or spaces but keep soci= ally distant.
I don't want to become il= l or die for anyone and I don't=C2=A0want to be that person like Trump = who becomes a super-spreader.
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">:border-box">An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough P= ark earlier Wednesday morning=C2=A0yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;text-transform:uppercase;line-height:1.8;lette= r-spacing:1px">PROVIDED TO GOTHAMIST
border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">= Another Orthodox man, who'd opposed the anti-mask crowd, was deemed a &= quot;snitch" and reportedly hospitalized after a mob of protesters bea= t him with rocks. His brother, Mordy Getz, told Gothamist that he was "= ;severely" injured and knocked unconscious, but was doing better as of= Wednesday morning.
-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">Police said there= were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators.
ox-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;pad= ding:0px">The violent scene played out hours after Cuomo announced a=C2=A0<= a href=3D"https://gothamist.com/news/cuomo-orders-zoned-shutdowns-ny-covid-= hotspots-friday" rel=3D"noopener" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:bor= der-box;border-bottom:none;text-underline-position:under">tiered system of = lockdowns=C2=A0in neighborhoods with spiking infection rates. Across sw= aths of Central Brooklyn and Queens, schools and non-essential businesses w= ill be forced to close, and houses of worship must limit capacity to ten pe= ople at a time.
n-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">Officials in Borough Park vowed t= o defy the restrictions on religious observance.
border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">= "I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," Cit= y Councilman Kalman Yeger, who represents the neighborhood, told protesters= on Tuesday. "They're wrong, let them try."
:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">"Nobody here has t= he virus," said a woman walking in Borough Park with her children on T= uesday, adding that lockdowns were politically motivated by Democrats. &quo= t;The president got the virus, he recovered. There are medicines now."=
argin-left:0px;padding:0px">Shulim Leifer, a Hasidic man and former Borough= Park resident, said the community was plagued by right-wing misinformation= about the virus.
gin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">"What we witnessed is a co= mmunity that is so lacking in responsible leadership that thugs and crimina= ls like Heshy Tischler carry the day," Leifer told Gothamist on Wednes= day morning. "This isn't who we're supposed to be."
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-l= eft:0px;padding:0px">Additional reportin= g by Gwynne Hogan.
New York Times Flunks Again in Coverage of Jews and Coronavirus
by Ira Stoll
5-6 minutes
A taxi passes by in front of The New York Times head office, Feb. 7,
2013. Photo: Reuters / Carlo Allegri / File.
Double standards. Factual errors. Disproportionate coverage and lack of
context. Conflicting information.
The problems that consistently afflict New York Times coverage of Jews
and Judaism, particularly Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism, are
flaring again amid the newspaper=E2=80=99s coverage of New York=E2=80=99s l= atest
coronavirus outbreak.
A New York Times column this week by Ginia Bellafante faulted the
=E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community for being ill-informed. =E2=80=9CThe ci= ty needs to do a
better job at getting information to an insular community that already
believes it has herd immunity,=E2=80=9D a subheadline over the column said.=
The column begins:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CDO NOT test your child for Covid.=E2=80=9D
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 So began a text that recently circulated on the messaging pla= tform
WhatsApp, among yeshiva parents in Brooklyn=E2=80=99s Orthodox Jewish commu= nity.
A few paragraphs later, the Times column says, =E2=80=9Cmany large Hasidic<= br> families live in small, cramped apartments, typically without internet
access and often with just a landline.=E2=80=9D
The end of the column includes the paragraph, =E2=80=9CIn a community that<= br> prizes seclusion and remains averse to technology, information has a
tendency to spread very slowly.=E2=80=9D
So which is it =E2=80=94 landline only and technology averse? Or texting on=
WhatsApp? The Times columnist can=E2=80=99t seem to make up her mind about = which
broad-brush stereotype to deploy in describing Orthodox Jews.
The same column reports:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 Governor Cuomo and his health commissioner, Howard A. Zucker,= have
also been talking to religious leaders =E2=80=A6One crucial message that ha= s yet
to be received, Dr. Zucker said, is that herd immunity is a myth in
these communities. Many in this part of Brooklyn believe that because
the Orthodox were hit so hard by the virus this spring, they must have
already been sick, and that the crisis has passed. This, according to
public health officials, is simply not true.
Well, where could this =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community have possibly go= tten this
=E2=80=9Cmyth=E2=80=9D of herd immunity from?
Quite possibly from The New York Times itself, which in a July 10 news
article reported:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 According to antibody test results from CityMD that were shar= ed with
The New York Times, some neighborhoods were so exposed to the virus
during the peak of the epidemic in March and April that they might have
some protection during a second wave.
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CSome communities might have herd immunity,=E2=80=9D = said Dr. Daniel Frogel,
a senior vice president for operations at CityMD, which plays a key role> in the city=E2=80=99s testing program=E2=80=A6 While stopping short of pred= icting that
those neighborhoods would be protected against a major new outbreak of
the virus =E2=80=94 a phenomenon known as herd immunity =E2=80=94 severalr> epidemiologists said that the different levels of antibody prevalence
across the city are likely to play a role in what happens next, assuming> that antibodies do in fact offer significant protection against future
infection.
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CIn the future, the infection rate should really be l= ower in
minority communities,=E2=80=9D said Kitaw Demissie, an epidemiologist and t= he
dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in
Brooklyn.
A Times news article headlined =E2=80=9CBacklash Grows in Orthodox Jewish A= reas
Over Virus Crackdown by Cuomo=E2=80=9D carries a correction: =E2=80=9CAn ea= rlier version
of this article misstated the title of Simcha Felder. He is a state
senator, not a state assemblyman.=E2=80=9D
The Times news article describes the protesters against Cuomo and de
Blasio as a =E2=80=9Cangry=E2=80=9D and a =E2=80=9Cmob,=E2=80=9D terms the = Times has largely avoided
using to refer to Black Lives Matter protesters, whom the newspaper has
repeatedly described as =E2=80=9Cmostly peaceful.=E2=80=9D
Three paragraphs of the Times article report =E2=80=9Cthe anger was not lim= ited
to the Orthodox Jewish community. The Roman Catholic Diocese of
Brooklyn, which has 1.5 million followers and 210 churches in Brooklyn
and Queens, said it was taken by surprise by the governor=E2=80=99s
announcement. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn condemned the new
rules as =E2=80=98outrageous=E2=80=99 in a statement on Tuesday night.=E2= =80=9D
=E2=80=9CThe religious freedom of our parishioners is being unjustly attack= ed,=E2=80=9D
DiMarzio is quoted as saying.
One wonders why the Catholics are three paragraphs in the middle of a
long story and headline about the Jews, rather than the Jews being three> paragraphs in the middle of a long story and headline about the
Catholics. Maybe the idea of Catholics as spreaders of disease just
doesn=E2=80=99t resonant as much for New York Times editors?=C2=A0 As a lib= el against
Jews, though, it has a long, sordid history at the Times, of which this
is just the latest sad chapter.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor
of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature,> can be found here.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
The issue here is multi-dimensional and this Boro Park Mob mentality is what we are dealing with now. It's never ok to beat down other jews who disagree with you or ANYONE for that matter. Don't give credibility to the Orthodox or Ultra Orthodox communities just because you agree that mask wearing is not working or infringes on your non-existant religious rights. Plenty of jewish communities outside of Brooklyn, Queens, and Lakewood are celebrating Sukkos but responsibly so WEAR THE DAMN MASK. Daven in open air courtyards or spaces but keep socially distant.
I don't want to become ill or die for anyone and I don't want to be that person like Trump who becomes a super-spreader.
Orthodox Borough Park Residents Burn Masks, Beat Dissenters Over COVID Lockdown BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ OCT. 7, 2020 9:35 A.M. =E2=80=A2 390 COMMENTS -dissenters-over-covid-lockdown?mc_cid=3D72d946df97&mc_eid=3D97197781db#com= ments> [image: An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough Park earlier Wednesday morning] An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough Park earlier Wednesday morning PROVIDED TO GOTHAMIST
Hundreds of members of Brooklyn's Orthodox community stormed the streets and synagogues of Borough Park on Tuesday night to protest new coronavirus restrictions friday> imposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Pledging "war" on officials and public health guidance, demonstrators clad in black religious garb set fires along 13th Avenue and tossed masks into the flames. They chased away NYC Sheriff's Deputies while shouting "Jewish Lives Matter," video shows, and attacked a photojournalist yc-video-shows/> attempting to capture the scene.
Another Orthodox man, who'd opposed the anti-mask crowd, was deemed a "snitch" and reportedly hospitalized after a mob of protesters beat him with rocks. His brother, Mordy Getz, told Gothamist that he was "severely" injured and knocked unconscious, but was doing better as of Wednesday morning.
This is a Hasidic counter-protestor who called out people in his community today for protesting wearing masks.
He was beaten with rocks and is now in critical condition.
The group was led and instigated by -at-JustEnoughHeshy (who called the= m his "soldiers") and -at-KalmanYeger . pic.twitter.com/3Men26htez =E2=80=94 Elad Nehorai (-at-PopChassid) October 7, 2020 5Etfw>
Boro Park uprising against -at-andrewcuomo -at-nycmayor has begun. People starting fires in the street. So not normal. pic.twitter.com/AB5BpfeyvF =E2=80=94 NYCPHOTOG (-at-nycphotog) October 7, 2020 Etfw>
There is a mask burning going on in Boro Park, Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/HKebbFp3pr =E2=80=94 Yaakov Pollak (-at-Yanky_Pollak) October 7, 2020 c%5Etfw>
Here is the horrific moment a reporter got assaulted by a crowd in Borough Park tonight pic.twitter.com/r0kpnJm3uc =E2=80=94 Martin Samoylov (-at-martin_samoylov) October 7, 2020 wsrc%5Etfw>
Police said there were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators.
The violent scene played out hours after Cuomo announced a tiered system of lockdowns friday> in neighborhoods with spiking infection rates. Across swaths of Central Brooklyn and Queens, schools and non-essential businesses will be forced to close, and houses of worship must limit capacity to ten people at a time.
Officials in Borough Park vowed to defy the restrictions on religious observance.
"I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," City Councilman Kalman Yeger, who represents the neighborhood, told protesters on Tuesday. "They're wrong, let them try."
Councilman -at-KalmanYeger joins the protest o= n #13thAve tfw> pic.twitter.com/9G2RzkL9oG =E2=80=94 Boro Park News (-at-BoroPark24) October 7, 2020 5Etfw>
Community resident Heshy Tischler tells protesters in the presence of an NYPD inspector: =E2=80=9CYou are my soldiers. We are at war.=E2=80=9D pic.twitter.com/9sneRVxrf3 =E2=80=94 Jacob Kornbluh (-at-jacobkornbluh) October 7, 2020 rc%5Etfw>
Residents in Borough Park have largely flouted public health rules on masks and gatherings irus-covid-orthoodox>, even as the positivity rate in the area has surpassed 8 percent, the highest in the five boroughs.
"Nobody here has the virus," said a woman walking in Borough Park with her children on Tuesday, adding that lockdowns were politically motivated by Democrats. "The president got the virus, he recovered. There are medicines now."
The overnight protest was organized by Heshy Tischler, an anti-mask activist and radio host who last month interrupted a public health briefing scream-racial-epithets>. He told the crowd on Tuesday that such demonstrations would take place nightly until the ban on gatherings was lifted. "You are my soldiers," he said. "We are at war." As he spoke, other demonstrators could be heard chanting "Donald Trump."
Shulim Leifer, a Hasidic man and former Borough Park resident, said the community was plagued by right-wing misinformation about the virus.
"What we witnessed is a community that is so lacking in responsible leadership that thugs and criminals like Heshy Tischler carry the day," Leifer told Gothamist on Wednesday morning. "This isn't who we're supposed to be."
*Additional reporting by Gwynne Hogan.*
On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 8:09 PM Ruben Safir wrote:
> algemeiner.com > New York Times Flunks Again in Coverage of Jews and Coronavirus > by Ira Stoll > 5-6 minutes > > A taxi passes by in front of The New York Times head office, Feb. 7, > 2013. Photo: Reuters / Carlo Allegri / File. > > Double standards. Factual errors. Disproportionate coverage and lack of > context. Conflicting information. > > The problems that consistently afflict New York Times coverage of Jews > and Judaism, particularly Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism, are > flaring again amid the newspaper=E2=80=99s coverage of New York=E2=80=99s= latest > coronavirus outbreak. > > A New York Times column this week by Ginia Bellafante faulted the > =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community for being ill-informed. =E2=80=9CThe = city needs to do a > better job at getting information to an insular community that already > believes it has herd immunity,=E2=80=9D a subheadline over the column sai= d. > > The column begins: > > =E2=80=9CDO NOT test your child for Covid.=E2=80=9D > > So began a text that recently circulated on the messaging platform > WhatsApp, among yeshiva parents in Brooklyn=E2=80=99s Orthodox Jewish com= munity. > > A few paragraphs later, the Times column says, =E2=80=9Cmany large Hasidi= c > families live in small, cramped apartments, typically without internet > access and often with just a landline.=E2=80=9D > > The end of the column includes the paragraph, =E2=80=9CIn a community tha= t > prizes seclusion and remains averse to technology, information has a > tendency to spread very slowly.=E2=80=9D > > So which is it =E2=80=94 landline only and technology averse? Or texting = on > WhatsApp? The Times columnist can=E2=80=99t seem to make up her mind abou= t which > broad-brush stereotype to deploy in describing Orthodox Jews. > > The same column reports: > > Governor Cuomo and his health commissioner, Howard A. Zucker, have > also been talking to religious leaders =E2=80=A6One crucial message that = has yet > to be received, Dr. Zucker said, is that herd immunity is a myth in > these communities. Many in this part of Brooklyn believe that because > the Orthodox were hit so hard by the virus this spring, they must have > already been sick, and that the crisis has passed. This, according to > public health officials, is simply not true. > > Well, where could this =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community have possibly = gotten this > =E2=80=9Cmyth=E2=80=9D of herd immunity from? > > Quite possibly from The New York Times itself, which in a July 10 news > article reported: > > According to antibody test results from CityMD that were shared with > The New York Times, some neighborhoods were so exposed to the virus > during the peak of the epidemic in March and April that they might have > some protection during a second wave. > > =E2=80=9CSome communities might have herd immunity,=E2=80=9D said Dr.= Daniel Frogel, > a senior vice president for operations at CityMD, which plays a key role > in the city=E2=80=99s testing program=E2=80=A6 While stopping short of pr= edicting that > those neighborhoods would be protected against a major new outbreak of > the virus =E2=80=94 a phenomenon known as herd immunity =E2=80=94 several > epidemiologists said that the different levels of antibody prevalence > across the city are likely to play a role in what happens next, assuming > that antibodies do in fact offer significant protection against future > infection. > > =E2=80=9CIn the future, the infection rate should really be lower in > minority communities,=E2=80=9D said Kitaw Demissie, an epidemiologist and= the > dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in > Brooklyn. > > A Times news article headlined =E2=80=9CBacklash Grows in Orthodox Jewish= Areas > Over Virus Crackdown by Cuomo=E2=80=9D carries a correction: =E2=80=9CAn = earlier version > of this article misstated the title of Simcha Felder. He is a state > senator, not a state assemblyman.=E2=80=9D > > The Times news article describes the protesters against Cuomo and de > Blasio as a =E2=80=9Cangry=E2=80=9D and a =E2=80=9Cmob,=E2=80=9D terms th= e Times has largely avoided > using to refer to Black Lives Matter protesters, whom the newspaper has > repeatedly described as =E2=80=9Cmostly peaceful.=E2=80=9D > > Three paragraphs of the Times article report =E2=80=9Cthe anger was not l= imited > to the Orthodox Jewish community. The Roman Catholic Diocese of > Brooklyn, which has 1.5 million followers and 210 churches in Brooklyn > and Queens, said it was taken by surprise by the governor=E2=80=99s > announcement. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn condemned the new > rules as =E2=80=98outrageous=E2=80=99 in a statement on Tuesday night.=E2= =80=9D > > =E2=80=9CThe religious freedom of our parishioners is being unjustly atta= cked,=E2=80=9D > DiMarzio is quoted as saying. > > One wonders why the Catholics are three paragraphs in the middle of a > long story and headline about the Jews, rather than the Jews being three > paragraphs in the middle of a long story and headline about the > Catholics. Maybe the idea of Catholics as spreaders of disease just > doesn=E2=80=99t resonant as much for New York Times editors? As a libel = against > Jews, though, it has a long, sordid history at the Times, of which this > is just the latest sad chapter. > > Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor > of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature, > can be found here. > > -- > So many immigrant groups have swept through our town > that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological > proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998 > http://www.mrbrklyn.com > DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002 > > http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software > http://www.brooklyn-living.com > > Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, > but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013 > _______________________________________________ > Hangout mailing list > Hangout-at-nylxs.com > http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout >
adline ember-view" style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-b= ottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">t:normal">The issue here is multi-dimensional and this Boro Park Mob mental= ity is what we are dealing with now. It's never ok to beat down<= /h1>
other jews who disagree with you or ANYONE for th= at matter. Don't give credibility to the Orthodox or Ultra Orthodox com= munities
just because you agree that mask= wearing is not working or infringes on your non-existant religious rights.= Plenty of jewish communities outside
of = Brooklyn, Queens, and Lakewood are celebrating Sukkos=C2=A0but responsibly = so WEAR THE DAMN MASK. Daven in open air courtyards or spaces but keep soci= ally distant.
I don't want to become il= l or die for anyone and I don't=C2=A0want to be that person like Trump = who becomes a super-spreader.
=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">:border-box">An Orthodox man tossing a mask into a street fire in Borough P= ark earlier Wednesday morning=C2=A0yle=3D"box-sizing:border-box;text-transform:uppercase;line-height:1.8;lette= r-spacing:1px">PROVIDED TO GOTHAMIST
border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">= Another Orthodox man, who'd opposed the anti-mask crowd, was deemed a &= quot;snitch" and reportedly hospitalized after a mob of protesters bea= t him with rocks. His brother, Mordy Getz, told Gothamist that he was "= ;severely" injured and knocked unconscious, but was doing better as of= Wednesday morning.
-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">Police said there= were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators.
ox-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;pad= ding:0px">The violent scene played out hours after Cuomo announced a=C2=A0<= a href=3D"https://gothamist.com/news/cuomo-orders-zoned-shutdowns-ny-covid-= hotspots-friday" rel=3D"noopener" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"box-sizing:bor= der-box;border-bottom:none;text-underline-position:under">tiered system of = lockdowns=C2=A0in neighborhoods with spiking infection rates. Across sw= aths of Central Brooklyn and Queens, schools and non-essential businesses w= ill be forced to close, and houses of worship must limit capacity to ten pe= ople at a time.
n-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">Officials in Borough Park vowed t= o defy the restrictions on religious observance.
border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">= "I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," Cit= y Councilman Kalman Yeger, who represents the neighborhood, told protesters= on Tuesday. "They're wrong, let them try."
:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">"Nobody here has t= he virus," said a woman walking in Borough Park with her children on T= uesday, adding that lockdowns were politically motivated by Democrats. &quo= t;The president got the virus, he recovered. There are medicines now."=
argin-left:0px;padding:0px">Shulim Leifer, a Hasidic man and former Borough= Park resident, said the community was plagued by right-wing misinformation= about the virus.
gin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding:0px">"What we witnessed is a co= mmunity that is so lacking in responsible leadership that thugs and crimina= ls like Heshy Tischler carry the day," Leifer told Gothamist on Wednes= day morning. "This isn't who we're supposed to be."
style=3D"box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-l= eft:0px;padding:0px">Additional reportin= g by Gwynne Hogan.
New York Times Flunks Again in Coverage of Jews and Coronavirus
by Ira Stoll
5-6 minutes
A taxi passes by in front of The New York Times head office, Feb. 7,
2013. Photo: Reuters / Carlo Allegri / File.
Double standards. Factual errors. Disproportionate coverage and lack of
context. Conflicting information.
The problems that consistently afflict New York Times coverage of Jews
and Judaism, particularly Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism, are
flaring again amid the newspaper=E2=80=99s coverage of New York=E2=80=99s l= atest
coronavirus outbreak.
A New York Times column this week by Ginia Bellafante faulted the
=E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community for being ill-informed. =E2=80=9CThe ci= ty needs to do a
better job at getting information to an insular community that already
believes it has herd immunity,=E2=80=9D a subheadline over the column said.=
The column begins:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CDO NOT test your child for Covid.=E2=80=9D
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 So began a text that recently circulated on the messaging pla= tform
WhatsApp, among yeshiva parents in Brooklyn=E2=80=99s Orthodox Jewish commu= nity.
A few paragraphs later, the Times column says, =E2=80=9Cmany large Hasidic<= br> families live in small, cramped apartments, typically without internet
access and often with just a landline.=E2=80=9D
The end of the column includes the paragraph, =E2=80=9CIn a community that<= br> prizes seclusion and remains averse to technology, information has a
tendency to spread very slowly.=E2=80=9D
So which is it =E2=80=94 landline only and technology averse? Or texting on=
WhatsApp? The Times columnist can=E2=80=99t seem to make up her mind about = which
broad-brush stereotype to deploy in describing Orthodox Jews.
The same column reports:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 Governor Cuomo and his health commissioner, Howard A. Zucker,= have
also been talking to religious leaders =E2=80=A6One crucial message that ha= s yet
to be received, Dr. Zucker said, is that herd immunity is a myth in
these communities. Many in this part of Brooklyn believe that because
the Orthodox were hit so hard by the virus this spring, they must have
already been sick, and that the crisis has passed. This, according to
public health officials, is simply not true.
Well, where could this =E2=80=9Cinsular=E2=80=9D community have possibly go= tten this
=E2=80=9Cmyth=E2=80=9D of herd immunity from?
Quite possibly from The New York Times itself, which in a July 10 news
article reported:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 According to antibody test results from CityMD that were shar= ed with
The New York Times, some neighborhoods were so exposed to the virus
during the peak of the epidemic in March and April that they might have
some protection during a second wave.
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CSome communities might have herd immunity,=E2=80=9D = said Dr. Daniel Frogel,
a senior vice president for operations at CityMD, which plays a key role> in the city=E2=80=99s testing program=E2=80=A6 While stopping short of pred= icting that
those neighborhoods would be protected against a major new outbreak of
the virus =E2=80=94 a phenomenon known as herd immunity =E2=80=94 severalr> epidemiologists said that the different levels of antibody prevalence
across the city are likely to play a role in what happens next, assuming> that antibodies do in fact offer significant protection against future
infection.
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =E2=80=9CIn the future, the infection rate should really be l= ower in
minority communities,=E2=80=9D said Kitaw Demissie, an epidemiologist and t= he
dean of the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in
Brooklyn.
A Times news article headlined =E2=80=9CBacklash Grows in Orthodox Jewish A= reas
Over Virus Crackdown by Cuomo=E2=80=9D carries a correction: =E2=80=9CAn ea= rlier version
of this article misstated the title of Simcha Felder. He is a state
senator, not a state assemblyman.=E2=80=9D
The Times news article describes the protesters against Cuomo and de
Blasio as a =E2=80=9Cangry=E2=80=9D and a =E2=80=9Cmob,=E2=80=9D terms the = Times has largely avoided
using to refer to Black Lives Matter protesters, whom the newspaper has
repeatedly described as =E2=80=9Cmostly peaceful.=E2=80=9D
Three paragraphs of the Times article report =E2=80=9Cthe anger was not lim= ited
to the Orthodox Jewish community. The Roman Catholic Diocese of
Brooklyn, which has 1.5 million followers and 210 churches in Brooklyn
and Queens, said it was taken by surprise by the governor=E2=80=99s
announcement. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn condemned the new
rules as =E2=80=98outrageous=E2=80=99 in a statement on Tuesday night.=E2= =80=9D
=E2=80=9CThe religious freedom of our parishioners is being unjustly attack= ed,=E2=80=9D
DiMarzio is quoted as saying.
One wonders why the Catholics are three paragraphs in the middle of a
long story and headline about the Jews, rather than the Jews being three> paragraphs in the middle of a long story and headline about the
Catholics. Maybe the idea of Catholics as spreaders of disease just
doesn=E2=80=99t resonant as much for New York Times editors?=C2=A0 As a lib= el against
Jews, though, it has a long, sordid history at the Times, of which this
is just the latest sad chapter.
Ira Stoll was managing editor of The Forward and North American editor
of The Jerusalem Post. His media critique, a regular Algemeiner feature,> can be found here.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
