Mayor @BilldeBlasio is rightfully being criticized for lumping all Jews together when trying to call out Hasidic leaders and members (THOUSANDS who gathered).
But this was the exception, not the rule. He's always pandered and looked the other way.
Here's just one instance: MBP
Der Blatt recently recounted how, on the eve of the mayoral primaries, Team de Blasio (may include @avifink) came to Satmar for help getting him over the finish line.
Satmar said they'd do it in exchange for a promise to annul any restrictions on Metzitza B'Peh.
And he did.
There's video evidence of that too.
Of course the same is true with secular education, with measles, and even with #COVID19 until yesterday.
He has pandered again and again, at the expense of the health, education, and safety of thousands of children.
The real issue is that he barely knows about other forms of Judaism and that not all Jews are like @UnitedJewish's David Niderman or other extremists.
So when he wants to criticize Chasidim and is afraid of the backlash, he instead lashes out at the "Jewish community."
Soon after, Der Blatt had a piece calming those who are concerned about the "Jewish" @MikeBloomberg joining the @TheDemocrats presidential race, saying "as long as @NYCMayor@BilldeBlasio is mayor, there's nothing to worry about interference with Metzitza B'peh."
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
As a kid, I was one of the best (if not THE best) boys in my class (at least during Judaic studies).
Yet even I was hit numerous times.
One time, my teacher in 2nd grade smacked me so hard that I & my metal desk fell over sideways.
That same teacher once smacked me and several other kids for reciting palms while he and other teachers decided to schmooze for a good half hour or so in the classroom during class time.
We thought we were being "goodie goodies."
Another teacher was known for using the ruler on our fingertips hitting method. That was extremely painful.
This may seem counterintuitive, but when ultra-Orthodox community leaders are at the center of various health crises like Measles, Herpes from Metzitza B'Peh, Lead poisoning, Kaparos, and the uptick in COVID, instead of becoming a pariah they exploit the crisis to gain power.
1/5
You demand government officials "engage" with you more than they already have. You insist on them bringing on more community liaisons, more Yiddish speakers, and get the commissioners of various agencies on speed-dial. These connections become useful long into the future.
2/5
It gives them the ability to "take care of things quietly" when scandals emerge later on or when investigations are launched for major violations. And their liaisons help derail enforcement or punitive measures.
3/5
The City made 200,000 robocalls, handed out tens of thousands of masks, placed 60 ads in Orthodox newspapers (with Hasidic readers), and engaged with 20 synagogue leaders.
Yet Hasidic leaders like @Avi_Greenstein have the audacity to claim there's no engagement.
It's a con.
Their goal is to pressure the city to spend more money on ads with no ROI, to hire more Yiddish writers, hand out more grants to BPJCC and the likes, etc.
All while those same leaders reject any accountability and refuse to follow the rules.
Remember these leaders insist they can manage their own affairs and reject government oversight and intervention. Then show us! And stop blaming everyone else for your own failures.
If you are an elected official or candidate seeking to curry favor with these leaders in exchange for the bloc vote they wield, take note! You too will be dumped as soon as you are squeezed out like a rag.
Agudah is trying to deflect that as a group that tells the government to butt out because they can manage their own affairs, they clearly failed drastically.
It's not on the government to know that on Purim ultra-Orthodox Jews share drinks and go from house to house. (Cont.)
That's where community leadership comes in.
And not only were they not proactive, they were actually late to the game, even after the government shut things down.