Orange County NY shuts down schools in ultra-Orthodox Kiryas Joel
In footage uploaded to YouTube, hundreds of men can be seen dancing in close quarters, hugging and singing through the night.
By JEREMY SHARONSatmar Hasidim in the Yetev Lev D’Satmar synagogue in the town of Kiryas Joel, New York(photo credit: REUTERS)
Health authorities in Orange County in New York State have shut down schools in the ultra-Orthodox town of Kiryas Joel due to a spike in COVID-19 infections.The town, home to one branch of the radical Satmar Hassidic community, has a three-day average positivity rate from COVID-19 testing of 27.6%, far higher than the 9% threshold for closing schools in New York.Orange County health authorities announced the measures on Monday, the same day New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to shut down Jewish religious institutions due to a failure to comply with social distancing regulations.One such incident appears to have been a Simhat Beit Hashoeiva celebration staged Monday night in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with hundreds of Chabad Hassidim taking part in the traditional Sukkot celebration.In footage uploaded to YouTube, hundreds of men can be seen dancing in close quarters, hugging and singing through the night.In a separate incident in Borough Park – also in Brooklyn – the Skulen Hassidic community also held a Simhat Beit Hashoeiva celebration with footage showing dozens, if not hundreds of hassidim inside a sukkah, dancing in close quarters without masks.On Monday, Cuomo said that gatherings of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews have been responsible for the outbreak of several COVID-19 “clusters” in the state, and threatened to close down religious institutions if they did not comply with regulations.On Monday, Cuomo said he would meet with religious leaders in Orange County, Nassau County and in Rockland County, which also have a large Satmar community as well as a sizeable Vizhnitz Hassidic community, to discuss the problem.“Orthodox Jewish gatherings are often very large and we’ve seen what one person can do,” Cuomo said in reference to several super-spreader incidents involving a haredi man.“We know religious institutions have been a problem.... Mass gatherings are the super-spreader events. We know there have been mass gatherings going on in concert with religious institutions in these communities for weeks.“I don’t mean little violations... I’m talking about when they’re only supposed to have 50 people outdoors and they had 1,000.... You don’t see masks and you see clear violations of social-distancing.”Cuomo said that if religious institutions in New York are to stay open they must agree to the conditions laid down by the state “whether it is the Jewish community, Black churches, or Roman Catholic churches,” adding that tough enforcement was also needed.“I am going to meet with members of the ultra-Orthodox community tomorrow, I am going to have that conversation myself. This cannot happen again. If you do not agree to enforce the rules we will close the institutions down. I am prepared to do that.”