Summer Camps Shuttered for 2020: Statement by Agudath Israel
Agudath Israel of America expresses its deep disappointment in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his administration for shuttering overnight camps for tens of thousands of children.The news, released in a late Friday news dump in the form of a statement by State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, will be a blow to the physical, socioemotional, and psychological well-being of children who have already endured forced quarantine for nearly three months, as well as their religious development.
Especially troubling about this development is the fact that it comes at a time when cases of COVID-19 in NY have plummeted for six consecutive weeks. Further, among the nearly 8 million COVID-19 cases worldwide there have been few cases, and even fewer serious cases, among children.
In an effort to minimize risk of infection in a summer camp setting, Agudath Israel and the Association of Jewish Camp Operators (AJCO) had proactively commissioned leading infectious disease doctors around the country to create rigorous, safe camping protocols for the COVID-19 era.
Agudath Israel then brought this proposal to the Governor’s office and intensively advocated for this cause.
The proposal included, among other safety measures, rigorously testing children at multiple points before and during the summer and submitting documentation attesting to this. No positive cases would enter camp, and the camps would then completely lock down in a “protective bubble.”
Yet despite the strong support of this proposal by internationally renowned medical experts, Commissioner Zucker rejected it out of hand.
This is not the only troubling use of Governor Cuomo’s executive authority, and we have noted this before. Governmental power has also been used as a sword against religion, instead of the shield the Founding Fathers intended it to be.
For example, all religious services in New York City are still strictly limited to 10 individuals per building. This cap is irrespective of the size of the building, number of floors in the building, and the wearing of PPE or implementation of social distancing. Nor is there any additional latitude afforded for outdoor services.
In contrast, horse racing has no fixed upper limit on the number allowed to participate, up to 50% of maximum room capacity. Similarly, professional sports training is allowed statewide where occupancy is below 50% of maximum occupancy, with no arbitrary numerical ceiling. As of June 26th, outdoor graduations are allowed for up to 150 people. And it is no secret that mass protests of far greater than 150 people have been implicitly allowed. Yet Orthodox Jews cannot pray outside in numbers greater than 10.
We respect that Governor Cuomo is forced to make difficult decisions in these difficult times. But his mantra has been to follow the data, follow the science, and follow the law.
Sadly, his decisions regarding overnight summer camps and religious practices fall far short of this ideal.
In light of today’s development, Agudath Israel and other summer camp representatives will consider whatever remaining options may be available to them.
9 comments:
Rabbi Dr. Glatt knows that if he criticizes the Agudah he will attract all kinds of vicious badmouthing led by the programmed robots from Philly. So he amusingly praises the Agudah for calling for mask wearing while shlogging up in the politest way possible their "bubble" shtuss that they got from a Christian sect who have a similar crazed, misguided 'religious' agenda to open the camps. Rabbi Glatt points out that the only bubble format that has had some success (but still not 100% safe) is the one instituted in New Zealand, Germany & 2 Canadian Provinces that allows for 2 mishpochos who know each other to form their own bubble together if they are mutually sure the other is not infected. It goes unsaid that certainly the Agudah-Christian stupidity of suddenly bubblizing 100s or even 1000s of people is a reckless fantasy that Rebbi Akiva Eiger calls shfichus domim.
The Willy kids who were sent erev Shabbos as brainwashed guinea pigs to protest in the streets against Cuomo not opening camps were also given signs to be moyche to open yeshivos too. But the illiterate adult ferd in charge of the signs had them produced as "Education Masters" instead of "Education Matters"
!זיין געזונט אין סדר צו באַצאָלן דיין רעכענונג
Dr.Howard Zucker said it best - "I know what goes on in the Catskill's summer camps.(Kind of in code)
https://nypost.com/2020/06/14/cuomo-threatens-to-shut-down-manhattan-hamptons-over-social-distancing/
"Where will all molesters go"
Pedophile Nosson Dovid Rabinowich, the Munkatcher's 1st cousin vos ruft zich der Partzover Rebbe, has led tours to almost every State in the US, along with most countries in the world. He must have a list of hot spots to share with the Fressers while he's harbored by Rabbi Korb at the big shul on 11th Ave in Boro Park.
After UOJ had NDR's Pesach program shut down where NDR had 100s of underage victims to choose from, NDR's been organizing getaways in the Niagara Falls area where he doesn't publicize his name. One of his selling points is that he takes you to an area kever of some Rebbe who was buried around there in the early 1900s.
Ich hob gehert NDR squealed vee a cornered chazir when UOJ did the public a service with the Pesach program.
https://youtu.be/c2_i8sacYPM
create a problem like all the overeating at the Fresser Convention & then have one of your machers show up as the Knight in shining armor to profit off the fix
As opposed to the Agudah Fressers itching to be makriv your kids to the anti-vaxx Moilech, in re-opening ceremonies overseen by High Priest Shmuel Kaminetzky, these medical experts would wait a year OR MORE before allowing schools to open:
“We do not know much about long-term effects of Covid in children. However, we know that the virus impacts all organs. We'll learn more in the future. The long term course in children who survive may not be benign, including those children who are asymptomatic.”
- Edwin Trevathan, Vanderbilt University
“There's insufficient information at this time to give a good answer. Before allowing children to return to school, I'd want to know more about Kawasaki syndrome in children infected, the transmissibility from asymptomatic individuals & severity of outcomes by age.”
- Claudia Salinas, Eli Lilly & Co
“I think information about a Kawasaki-like illness is concerning & needs to be explored prior to opening”
- Melissa Sharp, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
“Until we know more about risk of exposure, transmission & multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, I’ll be keeping my kids home infinitely.”
- Kate Duchowny, University of California, San Francisco
“We don't understand enough about long term consequences of Covid infection in children.”
- Alicia Riley, University of California, San Francisco
“I worry for my grandchildren in Texas where social distancing isn't taken seriously. I wouldn't want them ill with inflammatory symptoms seen in children.”
- Candace Ayars, A. T. Still University
“Depends on availability of a vaccine, especially since children & young adults are at risk of lethal infections.”
- Sandra Melnick Seitz, National Institutes of Health
“I don't feel comfortable sending children to school, camp or day care until there's a vaccine or zero community spread.”
- Megan Harvey, Springfield College
“If I had children, I wouldn't send them until vaccinated, or when there's a highly effective, widely available & affordable treatment that's safe.”
- Nancy Sloan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“I don’t have children at home, but my advice would be wait for effective treatment / vaccine. It's hard for children to maintain safe distance or to wear a mask.”
- Robert J. McCarter, George Washington University
“If I did have children, I'd protect them as long as I could, knowing that social distance & PPE at schools isn't realistic. My preference would be wait for a safe vaccine, and I realize this would be very challenging.”
- Joseph Wagner, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine
“Need vaccine or treatment first.”
- Lindsey Powers Happ, George Washington University
“Not until a large proportion has received a vaccine.”
- Alison Simmons, University of Toronto
“When everybody is vaccinated.”
- Emanuela Taioli, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai
“When there's a reliable vaccine.”
- Shervin Churchill, University of Washington
“When vaccines for Covid are available.”
- Sylvia Lin, University of Pittsburgh
“I would worry about teachers.”
- Lisa Herrinton, Kaiser Permanente
“I think it would be really stupid to reopen schools in September, given the present course of things. Really. Stupid.”
- Carl Phillips, Epiphi Consulting
“I wouldn't send them to school, camp or day care for summer 2020, and I'd have strong reservations sending them back in the fall.”
- Tara Jenson, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
“Schools & camps are probably the most worrisome given the mode of transmission & social interaction of students.”
- Yvette Cozier, Boston University
“I don’t have kids, but I wouldn't send a child to school, camp, etc, if social distancing & masking couldn't be maintained.”
- Veronica Pear, University of California, Davis and Berkeley
See camp Agudas atributes;
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=B/LKfwohW4GEDUKmYnprTA==&system=prod
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