De Blasio Criticized for Threat to Arrest Jewish Citizens Who Attend Large Gatherings

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is being criticized for his tweeted threat to have Jewish citizens of the city arrested for attending large gatherings.

The gatherers attended the funeral to mourn the death of Rabbi Chaim Mertz.

https://twitter.com/ReuvenBlau/status/1255290725744418816

De Blasio took to Twitter late Tuesday to voice his disapproval of a large funeral gathering that took place in Williamsburg, New York.

With the tweet, he made it clear large gatherings will not be tolerated amid the coronavirus pandemic. The mayor also threatened to arrest those who ignore his order.

"Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Williamsburg tonite: a large funeral gathering in the middle of this pandemic," de Blasio tweeted. "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."

https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1255308172178358273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

He also included a stern message to the Jewish community, saying, "My message to the Jewish community, and all communities, is this simple: the time for warnings has passed."

He continued, "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."

https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1255311102445064192

Almost immediately after sharing the tweet, de Blasio was met with criticism.

The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council of Hudson Valley fired back with a reference to the events that unfolded earlier in the day, also drawing large crowds that apparently failed to practice social distancing.

After President Donald Trump announced the Thunderbird and Blue Angels' flyover, large crowds turned out to capture images of the scene.

https://twitter.com/OJPAC/status/1255311468679106560

https://twitter.com/JGreenblattADL/status/1255347180451307520?s=20

https://twitter.com/KalmanYeger/status/1255341177307627521?s=20

https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1255331169555677191?s=20

Another Twitter user shared footage from Central Park, noting the repeated violation of social distancing guidelines there and accused de Blasio of targeting Jews.

Over the last few weeks, photos have captured crowds flocking to the park. The user argues that de Blasio had not expressed concerns about New Yorkers in the park.

Something absolutely unacceptable happened in Central Park: A large group of people gathered in Central Park. When #NYC Mayor #BillDeblasio heard about it, he went there himself to ensure the crowd was dispersed. Upon arrival, he saw that it's not #Jews so he left right away. pic.twitter.com/y0pVACJjAl

— Dovi Stern (@DoviSternNYC) April 29, 2020

De Blasio also declared large gatherings would only lead to more deaths.

"We have lost so many these last two months + I understand the instinct to gather to mourn. But large gatherings will only lead to more deaths [and] more families in mourning" de Blasio said. "We will not allow this. I have instructed the NYPD to have one standard for this whole city: zero tolerance."

The NYPD confirmed no arrests were made.

https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1255311102445064192

As of Wednesday morning, the state of New York has over 300,000 coronavirus cases, including 162,000 cases in New York City alone.