Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 19, 2020

Chris McKenna|Times Herald-Record

KIRYAS JOEL - The images published online on Sunday showed a religious mass gathering with no coronavirus precautions: hundreds of men and boys crowded together in prayer in Kiryas Joel's main synagogue, with no signs that any were wearing masks.

The photos, posted on an Israeli website and tweeted by a Satmar Hasidic Twitter account,were taken inside Congregation Yetev Lev on the first day of selichot, penitential prayers said during the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year that begins this Friday.

"Plainly, this is very concerning," Dr. Irina Gelman, Orange County's health commissioner, said Monday after seeing the pictures. Gelman said the Health Department will discuss the gathering with the State Police, as it has done at other times during the COVID-19 pandemic "when incidents such as this have arisen."

Confirmed coronavirus cases have subsided in Orange County since late May, rarely exceeding 20 positive tests per day and sometimes numbering in single digits. But Gelman pointed out that infectious disease experts warn of a potential second wave of infections and deaths this fall, compounded by flu season.

"Hence it is instrumental not to have any mass gatherings, and continue adhering to all recommended prevention and safety measures such as wearing masks, social distancing, as well as washing hands frequently," Gelman said by email.

David Ekstein, president of Congregation Yetev Lev, referred a reporter to the congregation's attorney, Richard Mahon II, when contacted about the synagogue gathering.

Mahon, partner in the firm Catania, Mahon & Rider in the Town of Newburgh, said by email: "I will reiterate the social distancing, facial covering and related Covid-19 protocols to the Congregations Leadership. I will also re-send copies of the Reopening New York Guidelines for Religious Services as modified by recent Federal Court Decisions."

The state guidelines had restricted indoor gatherings to 33 percent of a sanctuary's capacity, and mandated that congregants say six feet apart except during activities such as pall-bearing that required people to be closer. But a federal judge raised that capacity limit to 50 percent in June, while maintaining the distancing requirement in his ruling.

Jill Montag, a state Department of Health spokeswoman, said on Tuesday in response to the Kiryas Joel photos:This pandemic is far from over, and gatherings of this size with unmasked people this close together should not be happening." She added thatHealth Commissioner Howard Zucker "has had multiple conversations with rabbinical leadership and is working with them tostress the importance of following sound public health principles and state guidelines.

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State health officials have produced materials in Yiddish about the coronavirus and plan to continue promoting safe worship during the upcoming High Holidays.

Yossi Gestetner, co-founder of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group, said on Monday that the drop in coronavirus cases and deaths across New York since spring and the gradual reopening of businesses had made people in Orthodox communities more comfortable about resuming normal activities. He also said some grew skeptical of the need for distancing and masks after government officials tolerated mass protests against racism earlier this year without enforcing any rules.

"People saw in it a hypocrisy and a lack of seriousness," he said.

The tweet by "Satmar Headquarters" with images of the Kiryas Joel prayer gathering said the synagogue opened a new wing with "additional space for hundreds of seats" for that occasion, and indicatedthat Grand Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, leader of one of two branches of the Satmar movement, was present. Teitelbaum, who is 73 years old, tested positive for COVID-19 in March.

On Friday, the Kiryas Joel Volunteer Emergency Medical Service had distributed a message warning residents of a mild renewal of virus cases after answering several calls from people with COVID-19 symptoms. The ambulance corps urged residents to practice social distancing, wash hands frequently and stay home if they feel ill.

cmckenna@th-record.com

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Health Commissioner: 'Very concerning' online pix show hundreds gathered without masks in crowded Kiryas Joel synagogue - Times Herald-Record

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