It looks like when it comes to threatening government crackdowns on anyone thwarting the state’s social distancing mandates, Bill De Blasio is singling out one community in particular for forced compliance: Jews.
In a poorly-received tweet blasted out late Tuesday night, the New York City mayor, who’s come under fire recently for putting his own wife in charge of the city’s “coronavirus racial equality task force,” targeted the local Jewish community for allegedly not abiding by the restrictions, saying he’ll have local police arrest those who don’t comply with bans on group gatherings.
“My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed,” de Blasio said. “I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.”
My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed. I have instructed the NYPD to proceed immediately to summons or even arrest those who gather in large groups. This is about stopping this disease and saving lives. Period.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
De Blasio's tweet comes after NYC police dispersed a large gathering of Hasidic Jews who had come together for a funeral this week - an act that the mayor said "will not be tolerated" during the state's shutdown.
Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic. When I heard, I went there myself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. And what I saw WILL NOT be tolerated so long as we are fighting the Coronavirus
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) April 29, 2020
Of course, his statement drew more than a few comparisons to one particularly foul dictator who, at one tragic point in human history, used police brutality to round up Jews, starting with those who refused to comply with new state mandates against businesses, religious gatherings and social groups.