In their lawsuit, rabbis, leaders of synagogues and the national Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel had argued that Governor Andrew Cuomo was singling out Jews during the weeklong Sukkot holiday and this weekend’s Simchat Torah holiday, which marks the annual cycle of reading the Torah.
“That targeting of a religious minority on the eve of its holidays is reason enough to reject all of defendant’s arguments and allow plaintiffs to celebrate their holidays this weekend as they have for over 2,000 years,” the groups argued in a Friday court filing.
*A federal judge refused on Friday to block New York’s plan to temporarily limit the size of religious gatherings in COVID-19 hot spots.
US District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto issued the ruling after an emergency hearing in a lawsuit brought by rabbis and synagogues, arguing the restrictions were unconstitutional. They had sought to have enforcement delayed until at least after the Jewish holidays this weekend.
The rules limit indoor prayer services to 10 people in areas where the virus is spreading fastest. In other areas within hot spots, indoor religious services are capped at 25 people.
Ruling from the bench, the judge said the state had an interest in protecting public safety.
“And a mass gathering is not less dangerous simply because it is religious in nature,” reads Cuomo’s filing. “Moreover, the right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community… to communicable disease.”
23 comments:
https://twitter.com/LakewoodNewsNet/status/1315485091204919302
I sat on Gov. Murphy's head to pressure him - literally - to not shut down Lakewood's yeshivos. Finally, when I threatened to fart, he panicked & gave in!
So there is still hope! Chotsh, there is somewhere where we can continue our avoidas hakoidesh of getting everyone infected!
What a chutzpa that some of the 45's chassidim are complaining to reporters that the Rebbe putting on a mask that brought public shkoyach from de Blasio & homo Mitch Katz was all a huge act.
They angrily complain not only no one wears a mask when inside, but the Rebbe who is infected made himself shaliach tzibbur on Hoshana Rabba.
https://bp24-live.s3.amazonaws.com/news/42080875-1601658767.jpeg
& here he is warning parents to make sure their kids don't answer questions about inner goings on posed by "inshi delo maali" aka reporters or "moysrim"
The point is that they have always gotten their way. Agudath Israel cannot believe that protecting public health and safety is more important than public drinking, fressing, and consuming taxpayer money. They thought that this was a Democracy of the Fressers by the Fressers and for the Fressers!
Although Yeshiva of Spring Valley lucked out that both of their buildings are just outside the Red zone, they are still in the Yellow zone that requires testing. That's why their chieftan Shmuel Kaminetzky is allowing them to stay closed this week while putting on an act that they care about public health. The real reason for the 'voluntary' closure you see is because Cuomo wasn't too bright when requiring only 20% of students be tested. So this is part of the Agudah "regrouping", that YSV needs a little time to figure out how to game the tests to hide infections.
What's wrong with this moron Yanky Kanievsky?
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/288809
Doesn't he know that you need a 10 second delay on a camera so that when R' Chaim blacks out unconscious from the virus, no one sees the footage jerking to cover it up?
At least Belz has their act together
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/288797
The Belzer Rebbe criticized the guidelines for closing synagogues and yeshivas. "There are rabbis who want to please the authorities ..."
Due to the District Court Judge denying the Agudah an emergency injunction regarding religious restrictions in New York State, Yeshiva Derech Ayson of Far Rockaway will have no minyanim this Shemini Atzeres-Simchas Torah.
The announcement was made by the rosh yeshiva, Rav Yechiel Yitzchok Perr.
As reported earlier, Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv, in Lawrence, will likewise be closed.
Rav Perr, in making his announcement, remarked, “***Those individuals whose shortsightedness brought us to this sad turn of events should understand that if they continue, they will cause the indefinite shutdown of the yeshivos in our community. This will be a tragedy far greater than the one we are experiencing now.”
The mitzvah of simchas Yom Tov, Rav Perr said, still applies, and everyone is “mechuyov to find ways of being joyful at this time.”
*** those individuals being the Philly-led Agudah Fressers & their partners in crime the Satmar-led non-Agudah Hungarians.
the Flatbush plaintiffs are Agudah Fresser proxies whose fishy backgrounds were dissected on UOJ at the time of the original filing
https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NY-Final-Amended-Complaint-and-Exhibits.pdf
(Jack Sterne of Gov. Cuomo's office tells WNYC, on Saturday a federal judge denied the Thomas More application, which was an expansion of a previous injunction filed in June against Cuomo's restrictions on outdoor religious gatherings and/or to limit indoor religious gatherings at less than 50% capacity.)
On Friday, the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based advocacy firm representing plaintiffs including 2 Catholic priests & 4 Orthodox observers, filed for a temporary restraining order on Cuomo’s executive orders. The governor placed restrictions on houses of worship in "red zones" - where the virus spread the fastest - are not allowed more than 10 people in attendance until infections decline. All but 2 plaintiffs live in Brooklyn & are affected by Cuomo’s zones.
“The new filing alleges Cuomo & other officials are now singling out religious gatherings for special burdens without any evidence religious gatherings, and not countless other exempted gatherings, are unique sources of spreading COVID,” the firm said in a press release.
“The governor’s new ‘Cluster Action Initiative’ is completely arbitrary & astounding abuse of power, just when we thought it couldn’t get worse,” said Chris Ferrara, one of the firm's lawyers, in the release. “It's blatant violation of free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, including the right to be free from explicit & brazen religious discrimination.” The application was filed in Federal court in the Northern District of New York.
Even though Rav Stern shlita does not want the K-12 yeshivos to open this week in the middle of an infection surge, he is being manipulated by "junior" & Schloss, who in their Agudah-Mania, have chronically not been telling the rosh yeshiva the whole story. They hide details when speaking to him & then put out supposed pesokim of the rosh yeshiva.
The lunatic in Philly told Torah Umesorah that yeshivos not opening this week may use Zoom. And Rav Stern already said Zoom is fine in this scenario. But because "junior" & Schloss have to be "holier than the Pope" in their hislahavus to infect all, they weaseled out of their own previous guarantees and are not allowing Zoom this week. Their motivation, in line with Agudah pro-infection doctrine, is to make life miserable for the kids to learn anything remotely so that they & the parents will itch to come back to the virus incubator classrooms. If they have Zoom they will not be in any rush to return to mass virus spread.
Interessant that WNYC (now the owner of Gothamist) broke the Thomas More story. On Simchas Torah night, many of the Agudah-Satmar batlonim were still dreying zich in riot mode on 13th Ave despite that plenty of places had hakofos available for them that the hypocrites supposedly protest the lack of. When a WNYC crew showed up mitten hakofos to check out the 13th Ave scene, they were in a matter of words threatened by the mob that if they don't immediately scram, they will be removed on ambulance stretchers.
Belsky's grandfather Wilhelm must be a historically revered figure of these chayos. Vehamayvin yovin!
Dear Mr. Park:
You have a gezunte kup :-)
Haredi pioneer's intense frustration at disobedience bringing hatred on his community
Yehuda Meshi-Zahav hauls COVID deceased, but warnings of his gory work fall on deaf ears.
His ZAKA medic-rescue nonprofit helped 1800 Diaspora Jews killed by the virus to eternal rest in Israel. He also personally retrieves Israelis who die.
He's astounded nothing convinces the Haredi slice that's insistently noncooperative.
Meshi-Zahav spoke of Simhat Torah, held despite Haredim catching the virus out of proportion. Hospitals are heavily Haredi populated & some get breathing support at home, without knowledge of authorities.
“Others see, we 12% infect 80+% & you 'steal' the breathing machines. The hatred is terrible, but people see continuous song, dance, public prayer, simchot & protests. Some Haredim play down the danger despite it devastating Jews worldwide. Counting 17 bodies a day, I understand the impact. But it doesn’t change attitudes.”
Born of poor leadership
It’s a misconception that Haredi refusal to follow virus rules is driven by disrespect to others. It stems from misguided desire for religious routine at all cost. Strong leadership could fix it, insist to save life is above all.
Large parts of the Haredi community carefully follow virus rules, rabbis encourage it. High virus rates aren't disobedience alone, but largely also circumstance: large families & cramped conditions.
A notable minority spread infection. “We’re in the same boat. It affects everyone.”
Of particular concern: Haredi disobedience is international. New York Haredim visibly diss rules, angrily protest.
It plays to anti-Semites. “If Jews say so, of course others will. People think Jewish means you spread virus"
Normally full of suggestions to heal rifts, he's out of ideas.
Arrested many times at anti-Zionist riots, Meshi-Zahav set up ZAKA as a moderate after a 1989 terror attack, deciding Israelis should unite. He became an advocate for coexistence.
Compliance is strong by Sfardim & many non-Hasidim. Disobedience is strong by Hasidim led by authoritarian Rebbes.
Authority means danger falls on deaf ears. “Admor speaks, you don’t think. Groups, mostly Hasidic, say ‘our obligation is Torah life’ & if it can’t continue sans infection? They get infected"
“The Rebbe has more weight than a doctor. Go to the Rebbe before an operation & the decision follows. So when Rebbes talk virus, people follow”
In extremist Neturei Karta where he was raised, the virus is “Zionist.” To shut shtibelach is an affront to all that's holy. Mea Shearim shtibelach & prayer continue at all cost.”
Giving no credence to such view during a pandemic, he thinks Israel should've been smarter approaching Haredim to preempt disobedience.
Be “smart, not right,” empathize with a point of view that challenges rules. “People went thru Shoah & upheld faith. It's in the soul to keep religion. It's hilul Hashem, but people need to understand the values, it’s not disrespect to others.”
ZAKA sent cars with loudspeakers to announce the danger, in Hebrew & Yiddish, because the govt failed to get the message out.
He thinks the state could've influenced Rebbes early, before their opinions set in stone.
“Sit, talk. If the Admor insists herd immunity, they should've made them a private enclave"
Similarly for Rosh Hashanah in Uman: “They believe if no Uman the whole year is broken. I came from where everything's black & white, everything negative is Zionist & Zionists stop Messiah." But reached the opinion that Orthodoxy, which he still observes, urges unity of Jews.
“Today, I worry about hatred in society. The virus will pass. Get past division. Without unity we can't manage.”
Police shut down a number of yeshivas in Beitar Illit that opened their doors to students Monday in contravention of the lockdown.
Several yeshivas connected to Slonim & Nadvorna Hasidic dynasties in the city opened in violation of restrictions to mitigate spread of coronavirus, Channel 12 reports.
Police fined principals NIS 5,000 ($1,500) for violating the lockdown.
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch responded saying, “If true, it's a disgrace. The police should close them down.”
A possible source of confusion as to when schools were to open was the Sunday flip-flopping of prominent Haredi Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who initially called for yeshivas to open Monday & then reversed his order hours later.
According to Channel 13, in Beitar Illit, parents were told to ignore “secular authorities” specifically issuing warnings against opening yeshivas.
Critics accused police of reluctance to crack down on Haredim, while others accuse officers of excessive force vs Haredim & anti-government demonstrators.
This is where the Belzer has been hiding
A widespread network of volunteers in Haredi areas reportedly secretly treated 1000s of virus patients in their homes for the past months, without authorities’ knowledge.
The initiative began in anti-Zionist sects to avoid Israeli hospitals, but spread to the entire Haredi community, Channel 12 reported Sunday.
Organizers of the private initiative argue they provide better treatment than the establishment.
170 people treated by the secret network are in serious condition & 2,000+ serious patients received underground treatment over the past 6 months. Organizers claim only 15 patients ended up in hospitals, of whom just 3 died.
The network said among those who received home treatment are several Haredi leaders, including the Belz Hasidic Rebbe.
Footage from initiative HQ in Mea Shearim shows much medical equipment & test kits. Organizers tell the network they have 220 oxygen concentrators in several towns.
“We only provide initial consult & immediately send oxygen saturation level & blood pressure,” said Yitzhak Markovich of Hasdei Amram org. “A doctor & nurse come to homes to take blood & we transfer the samples to legal labs working with us.”
Markovich showed a list of 170 patients in current need of equipment, adding the state doesn't know about them & 330 others in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Ashdod, Modiin Illit & Elad.
He assesses the 170 would be deemed by hospitals as in serious condition, which means Israel has 1,000 serious COVID patients, not 824 as reported Sunday by the Health Ministry.
He said doctors decide when hospitalization can't be avoided.
Channel 12 filmed a volunteer visiting several elderly in serious condition, including a man, 76, who was visited 3-4x a day by health workers, couldn't speak & had trouble breathing for days.
He refused to go to hospital. His family claims it's very dangerous & treatment there is lacking, due to overload & because he'd be separated from them.
Channel 12 said the man was ultimately taken to hospital against his will after he deteriorated. He died hours later.
Doctors in the project, all from established medical institutions, refuse to be named.
One said, “I treat human beings. Our goal is not to help circumvent law, but to help. There's no issue of a ‘state within a state.'”
Haredim think differently.
“There's autonomy, so what? Did we steal? Is there danger? We help. People recover & almost no one dies, so say what you want, I see saving lives.”
7,000 Israelis have at home oxygen devices belonging to Yad Sarah medical aid, Director-General Moshe Cohen told Army Radio, enabling home hospitalization.
Cohen argues without Yad Sarah, the health system would be overwhelmed. Yad Sarah provides medical equipment to many Haredim.
Health Ministry figures published Sunday put Israelis confirmed to have the virus since the start at 290,493, including 59,854 active. The death toll rose to 1,980.
824 serious patients are in hospitals, including 230 ventilator. 303 are moderate & the rest mild or no symptoms.
888 cases were confirmed Saturday out of 12,238 tests, a rate of 7.3%.
Testing levels are significantly low on weekends. Weekdays, up to 60,000 tests are carried out every day, resulting in 1000s of new daily cases.
The leader of Belz Hasidim was secretly treated for coronavirus at home by medical teams from Hadassah Hospital Jerusalem, after he refused hospitalization.
According to a report in Haaretz - stridently denied by the hospital - Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach received round-the-clock treatment from a doctor & Hadassah team 2 months ago when he was critical with COVID.
Treatment started after Rokeach, who ordered followers ignore virus restrictions, refused to be hospitalized. All equipment was brought to his home bedroom, effectively converted to a ICU, the report said.
Rokeach contracted the virus 11 days after a mass wedding for his grandson, held in violation of rules. Reports then said he was rushed to Hadassah, but the hospital denied it
On Sunday, Channel 12 revealed a widespread Haredi network secretly treats 1000s of patients at home, without authorities’ knowledge.
Haaretz suggests state-run institutions may also have taken part in the initiative.
Hadassah denies the report as “fake news, false from beginning to end.” According to the statement, Hadassah did not provide treatment or supplies to Rokeach & didn't build a ICU in his home. The hospital calls on Haaretz to publish an apology & take down its article.
Jews in several cities held large celebrations to mark Simchat Torah Saturday, in contravention of lockdown.
And 1000s flocked beaches, breaking rules to outlaw seaside.
Videos Saturday eve show celebrations at Haredi shuls & elsewhere to mark the end of Simchat Torah.
Celebrated with hakafot en masse, holding Torahs & dancing, round 2 of hakafot with live music is held nighttime at the end of the holiday.
Mea Shearim celebrations at several shuls / yeshivas, had little police interference, Ynet reports.
Video outside Toldot Aharon Jerusalem shows dozens enter where celebrations take place.
According to Kan, guards limited entry to members of the sect.
Kan also published video at an area shul of dozens crowded together, few masks.
Geula police clashed dispersing a shul, some hurled citrons at police, Ynet reports.
Police arrest 2 at a neighborhood shul, but left without shutting festivities.
Dozens of buses ferry Haredim in & out of Jerusalem, despite a ban to travel more than 1 KM from home. Bus signs read: “protest vs religious persecution,” though rules forbid travel to protest. Haredim previously used the guise of protest to travel for Rosh Hashanah.
Modiin Ilit police publish video of officers dispersing shuls & tweet several tickets were issued for masks.
Police broke up gatherings in Beitar Illit.
Video of Tiberias also shows mass gathering.
There's loud criticism of Haredim not adhering to guidelines & continuing mass gatherings, despite high levels of transmission.
Israel’s chief rabbis implored Israelis to refrain praying indoors & kissing Torahs.
However, some Hasidic rabbis continue gatherings, creating a rift in the Haredi world.
Rabbi Issachar Dov Rokach, head of Belz Hassidim, said Saturday that adherence to virus rules should not come at expense of Jewish life.
“Shverra tzeiten we'll overcome with God’s help,” Rokach said. “Some think requirements of authorities be satisfied, as if it's Torah. We need Torah life as usual.”
Rules allow outdoor parks in 1 KM, but exclude beaches.
Still, 1000s visited beaches Sat. Police fine, even handcuff 1 who refused to ID herself.
Pictures show most at beaches keep their distance, but without masks. Most experts believe outdoor spaces to be much safer than in, though still risk of virus spread.
Israeli ministers ordered beaches closed after lawmakers insisted it not right to visit the sea but not shul.
“Ok to sit in a crowded yeshiva, but on sand is forbidden. Totally stupid!” one beach-goer told Ynet, mocking uneven enforcement.
According to Haaretz, police take a soft approach enforcing rules on Haredim & turn a blind eye to illegal shuls.
Haredim account for disproportionate virus cases across the country.
Current lockdown began pre-Rosh Hashanah & tightened later, marked by police-Haredi clashes & police clashing with protesters calling for Netanyahu to resign.
GENEVA, Switzerland — The World Health Organization chief warned Monday against suggestions by some to just allow Covid-19 to spread in the hope of achieving so-called herd immunity, saying this was “unethical.”
NEW YORK — The heads of two prominent Jewish organizations backing opposing parties in the US on Monday issued a joint condemnation of recent attacks by extremists in Brooklyn against a local journalist in their community who warned of the dangers of coronavirus.
“As leaders of organizations who don’t agree on much, we come together to speak in one voice condemning unconscionable violence & threats targeting journalist Jacob Kornbluh,” Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director Halie Soifer & Republican Jewish Coalition head Matt Brooks said in a statement.
“We're unified in outrage & deep concern about the violence & incitement directed at Jacob. We stand with Jacob, condemn those threatening violence & call for this vilification of a respected journalist to immediately end,” they added.
Kornbluh, a Boro Park resident, reported on rising infections in ultra-Orthodox areas, and behaviors, including infrequent mask-wearing, fueling the rise.
Kornbluh was attacked trying to cover a Tues protest organized by activist Heshy Tischler vs lockdown instituted by Gov Cuomo, to curb the virus.
Tischler confronted Kornbluh & in a video of what unfolded, the rabble rouser screams at the reporter, as a mob falls in behind him. “Everybody scream ‘Moser,’” Tischler yells at Kornbluh, a term for he who informs on other Jews to secular authorities, a charge Jewish legal texts say merits the death penalty.
In a Tweet shortly after the incident, Kornbluh said he'd been punched, kicked & spat on by the mob.
Tischler, eccentric leader of the anti-lockdown movement, was arrested late Sunday for inciting riot & unlawful imprisonment. It's not clear if any in Tischler's mob who struck Kornbluh have been identified & arrested.
Shortly after his arrest — until wee hours of the morning — an angry mob of Tischler supporters gathered outside Kornbluh’s home, heckling him when a pre-emptive wall of NYPD officers blocked egress to the apartment building.
An account belonging to a Tischler supporter tweeted out Kornbluh’s address, which then spread like wildfire to the mob on Twitter, WhatsApp groups & other social media.
In one video posted by a “Tischler fan” on Twitter, rioters are heard shouting, “Shame on you.”
Footage also showed the crowd again calling the reporter a “moser.”
A man was also yelling via megaphone in menacing tone, “Good morning, Jacob, we’re waiting for you.”
Some of the crowd, all maskless, danced & celebrated, as police kept a watchful eye.
The assault on Kornbluh was not the only time last week’s protests against virus restrictions turned ugly.
On Tues night, the ultra-Orthodox mob burned face masks on 13th Ave & chased a WNYC reporter out of the area while dealing him several physical blows.
2 a.m. Wed morning, a man taking video of the protest was beaten unconcious with makeshift weapons. He was taken to hospital on a stretcher.
Thurs night an ABC News crew started coming under attack when they were rescued & given safe passage out by police.
Saturday night a WNYC crew was given the option to immediately leave or be dealt life threatening physical force.
Is this Jacob Fuchs putz any relation to Margo's fraudster pals of Platinum ponzi infamy?
(AFP) — In ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn on Friday, community members vowed to defy govt attempts to restrict them over virus concerns.
Boro Park saw angry protests by Hasidim this week after Gov Cuomo announced he shut down the neighborhood to stem a 2nd wave of COVID.
The controversy turned political with right-wing figures stoking demonstrations & claiming they're targeted by the Democrats for their support of President Trump.
On the final day of Sukkot Friday, Cuomo’s deadline for religious sites capped at 10 people & non-essential businesses to close, they were defiant.
“He doesn’t understand our whole life is praying & studying bible. We have to do what we have to do,” said grey-haired Moses, declining to give his surname outside Anshei Sfard synagogue.
A few blocks away on 13th Ave, where demonstrators lit fires & chanted “Jewish Lives Matter” on Tues night, 50-year-old Abraham said the community would keep open religious schools & places of worship.
“What’s Cuomo going to do? Bring his sheriffs down & close every synagogue? There are 500 here,” he said, also declining to give his full name.
Boro Park is a large area of Brooklyn declared a “red zone” by Cuomo & Mayor de Blasio, after positive cases soared above the 3% threshold.
Citywide on Thurs, the rate was 1.16% but in Boro Park 8.7% of tests came back positive.
Many neighborhoods recording high rates include large Orthodox communities, where residents recently celebrated Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur.
Cuomo said targeted shutdowns are necessary to stop virus spread, blaming the surge on let-up in social distancing.
He & de Blasio insist shutdowns are based on data & science but Orthodox Jews say they're being unfairly discriminated against.
“As always they pick the easy target, which is the Jew,” 40-year-old Jacob Fuchs said, accusing Cuomo of anti-Semitism.
Other residents accuse New York Democratics of double standards allowing Black Lives Matter protests & other large gatherings.
“We don’t go to parties in New Jersey & play beach ball,” said Josef, an elderly Hasidic Jew who declined to give his surname.
Boro Park residents believe there's a main reason they're targeted — their politics.
“90+% vote for Trump exactly where the red zone is. They're trying to stop us voting,” said a middle-aged man who declined to give his name.
Instrumental in this week’s demonstrations is city council candidate Heshy Tischler.
He addressed protesters & called for flags emblazoned with “Cuomo Hates Jews” & “Cuomo Killed Thousands,” reference to 33,000 in New York state who died from COVID.
On Friday, he posted a video on Twitter saying he expects to be arrested Monday for inciting violence after a Jewish reporter covering the protests was attacked.
Cuomo accused Trump’s campaign of “fomenting the ultra-Orthodox in Brooklyn.”
“Some of those people will die. What’s the Trump campaign saying? Play politics. It’s disgusting,” he said Friday.
Later, a federal judge ruled Cuomo’s lockdown is lawful, dismissing a claim from Orthodox organizations it violates free exercise of their religion.
“COVID crosses racial, religious & economic lines,” said Judge Kiyo Matsumoto.
Cuomo received backing from the liberal Jewish Agenda network which released a statement signed by 450 rabbis supporting the “data-driven, geographic approach.”
Back in Boro Park, the majority of non-essential businesses appear to obey the order to close. However, AFP saw municipal inspectors shut a lingerie shop.
Most residents wore masks as they walked between wood sukka shelters, carrying palm fronds to commemorate the years Israelites spent in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.
Those not wearing masks were offered them by city-commissioned agents.
United Torah Judaism / Agudah leader MK Yaakov Litzman is set to return to govt weeks after resigning as housing minister to protest the lockdown.
Litzman held talks Sunday with PM Netanyahu & reps from Shas to find a way to return.
It was agreed Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen of Shas be "promoted" to minister in Finance & also to housing minister.
Litzman would then be appointed as deputy housing minister but would be the de facto minister.
The strange workaround is aimed at the number of ministers & deputies allotted each party under the agreement between Likud and Blue & White. Litzman asked Blue & White to be minister under their allotment but was rebuffed. Cohen will not have ministerial voting rights.
Blue & White currently has a minister fewer than its allocation, after Asaf Zamir quit as tourism minister saying he'd lost confidence in the government.
Sources close to Litzman say the deal's agreed to by all parties but still needs approval by the cabinet & Knesset.
Litzman — former health minister — long threatened to resign if lockdown was approved & also emptily threatened UTJ could bolt the coalition. He quit on Sept 13, but his party who were displeased by his action, did not.
Litzman accuses virus czar Ronni Gamzu of planning for months to impose lockdown on Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur while avoiding the move during the summer.
Litzman decried the lockdown would prevent worshipers, including 10,000s who don’t go to synagogue during the year, from attending the most important Jewish service.
Litzman, who was infected with coronavirus in April when health minister & caught attending prayers of more than 10 men despite a ban on such gatherings, said he opposed lockdown “in all forums”
“Unfortunately, it's proven I was right & the decision to impose lockdown during Tishrei was pre-made while taking unnecessary risk & causing a rise in infections,” he wrote.
He also claims Netanyahu violated an agreement synagogues remain open under more lenient restrictions than imposed.
Netanyahu said at the time he was “very saddened” at the decision, but added: “I respect Yaakov Litzman & I also respect his decision.”
Litzman’s likely return comes amid growing tension between the general public & Haredim amid reports of deep divisions in top Haredi leadership over how to deal with the virus.
Another dividend for pro-virus Ner Yisroel: exactly how sick with the virus is Rabbi Yissacher Frand?
A leader of protests against virus restrictions in Brooklyn was ordered Monday to stay away from a journalist who was beaten by a crowd.
Judge Edwin Novillo told Heshy Tischler, who's charged with inciting riot & unlawful imprisonment, he's subject to arrest again if he has any contact — or has someone else get in contact, including via social media — with journalist Jacob Kornbluh.
Tischler, a City Council candidate in Boro Park, was arrested in connection with Oct. 7 street riots.
Video shows a mob, egged on by Tischler, surrounding, jostling & taunting Kornbluh, who reports on resistance to social distancing in the neighborhood. Tischler, not wearing a mask, is seen screaming in Kornbluh’s face. Kornbluh, who is also Orthodox, was repeatedly struck during the incident.
Tischler called his arrest a “political stunt” on Twitter. He believes his interactions with Kornbluh are protected by the First Amendment.
In another act of intimidation, several dozen men gathered outside Kornbluh’s apt late Sunday to protest Tischler’s arrest.
On Monday during the hearing, Tischler attorney Abraham Hoschander protested against the judge implementing the order of protection, saying he “poses no danger whatsoever.”
Lawyers Mindy Meyer, center, and Abraham Hoschander, right, representing Heshy Tischler. (AP Photo)
Tischler was released on his own recognizance & ordered to return to court April 27.
Large protests erupted in Boro Park last week after Gov. Cuomo announced restrictions on schools, businesses & worship where infections increased.
The majority of areas facing lockdown are home to large Orthodox Jewish populations. The spike in cases coincide with back-to-back Jewish holidays in late Sept.
Cuomo said Sunday cluster areas contain 2.8% of the state population, yet have 17.6% of all positive cases this past week.
The Gov urged people in those areas to abide by the restrictions even though the rules ban gatherings in synagogues.
Tischler led the opposition, cutting chains off playgrounds after they were ordered closed & disrupting a news conference by the city hospital system.
Sholom Kaminetzky (5:21 PM):
His grandson was wearing the mask far below the nose! Now we know from whom Rabbi Chaim caught the KungFu Lung Flu.
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