Jewish, Catholic groups sue New York state amid crackdown on church gatherings and schools – NBC New York

0


[ad_1]

Three Rockland County Jewish congregations are suing New York State and Governor Andrew Cuomo, claiming he had embarked on a “series of anti-Semitic discrimination” with a recent crackdown on religious gatherings to reduce infection rate by the state’s coronavirus.

The Manhattan federal lawsuit filed Wednesday night accused the Democrat of making negative, false and discriminatory statements about Orthodox Jewish community as he imposed new coronavirus measures to counter the rising infection rate of the State in so-called “red zone” areas.

Cuomo’s statements and actions have been painful for residents of an area north of New York where a man invaded a Hanukkah celebration in December and stabbed or slashed five people, according to the lawsuit. Grafton Thomas awaits trial after pleading not guilty.

Andrew Siff and Myles Miller report the “cooling” of COVID hot spots in New York City, as Jewish leaders file lawsuit against the state after religious gatherings are closed.

The attack occurred in Monsey – near the New Jersey state border about 35 miles north of New York City – where two congregations in the retrial are based.

The state said six coronavirus clusters in areas comprising 2.8% of the state’s population have emerged in Brooklyn and Queens, as well as in Broome, Orange and Rockland counties, requiring the closure of nonessential schools and businesses and limits to gatherings.

The new measures announced on October 6 made it possible to temporarily limit the size of religious gatherings in COVID-19 hotspots to 25% of their capacity, or a maximum of 10 people.

The limits have resulted in several federal lawsuits, including two in Brooklyn and one in Albany.

The latest lawsuit said Cuomo’s order was “blatantly anti-Semitic, creating color-coded ‘hotspot’ areas based on religious observance and directed to particular Jewish communities. “

The lawsuit said his action “not only blatantly contradicts scientific evidence” and a court order limiting what action the state can take. It also “specifically selects the Orthodox Jewish community in what turned out to be the latest extension of Governor Cuomo’s anti-Semitic discrimination streak,” the lawsuit added.

Cuomo, who said he had “respect and love” for the Orthodox community, told reporters on Thursday he was not targeting Orthodox Jewish communities. He said the red zones are based on the addresses of residences where more people are testing positive for COVID-19.

He blamed the local government’s lack of enforcement on some members of the Orthodox Jewish community who have not complied with COVID-19 collection restrictions since the spring. He noted that places of worship can at least open in red zones, where non-essential businesses cannot.

NBC New York’s Tracie Strahan reports.

“The majority of the ultra-Orthodox groups I have spoken with have been cooperative,” he said. “There are a relatively small number who are not cooperating, and just think they should be exempt from these government operations.”

Cuomo also said it appears the spread of new infections in the clusters where he has placed restrictions has leveled off somewhat, although it remains higher than in the rest of the state. And the number of New Yorkers hospitalized with the virus fell slightly, to 897 patients on Wednesday.

The lawsuit comes nearly a week after an Albany federal judge cited the state’s interest in protecting public safety by ruling in favor of the governor in a lawsuit filed by rabbis and synagogues that argued that the restrictions were unconstitutional.

In this lawsuit, brought by rabbis, synagogues leaders and the national Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel, Cuomo’s lawyers argued in court documents that “the right to freely practice one’s religion does not include the freedom to practice one’s religion. exposing the community… to a communicable disease ”.

Those sentiments were echoed Thursday when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the governor’s decisions hours before a hearing in a lawsuit in which the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn fought restrictions.

He said the state was trying to stop a “full-fledged second wave” like those happening around the world.

“We can’t let that happen here. So if for a few weeks we ask people to do something exceptional to help prevent a problem from developing and preventing it from spreading, I think that’s right. And I think the court will understand, ”he said.

In this lawsuit filed by the Diocese of Brooklyn, the churches argue they never violated the governor’s decrees, but are now being punished for the actions of others. The lawsuit was expedited after Cuomo threatened to withhold funds from establishments that violate foreclosure orders.

“It has nothing to do with religion or the party. It just depends on where the cases are,” Cuomo said.

During the trial hearing on Thursday afternoon, the attorney for the churches said there was no evidence of the spread of COVID cases in Catholic churches, nor evidence of the spread of known clustered cases in the churches. Orthodox communities to Catholic churches.

No decision came from the judge, but he asked the governor’s representative to provide him with a written statement by 10 a.m. on Friday to provide updates regarding the timing of the red zone restrictions.

The lawsuit comes as 28 Catholic churches in Brooklyn and Queens are subject to new restrictions, including limiting the number of parishioners inside. Churches have said the measures are unfair, given that adjustments such as disinfection stations, remote headquarters and Holy Communion changes have already been made.

“Our churches can accommodate between 500 and 1,000 people. What is the reason for this number 10?” Bishop Kieran Harrington asked. He argues that the governor’s restrictions are a violation of the First Amendment – and instead of the government imposing new rules, the old ones simply need to be enforced.

“It is the responsibility of civilian officials. If there is a law on wearing a mask, the government should enforce the law. What the government should not do is restrict my First Amendment rights because d ‘others don’t follow the law,’ Harrington said.

[ad_2]

Share.

Comments are closed.