Cuomo Turns Blind Eye Towards Mosques & Yeshivas (Update)

Coronavirus in NY: Yeshivas moving underground to avoid lockdown rules
By Selim Algar
3 minutes

April 21, 2020 | 2:29pm | Updated April 21, 2020 | 3:16pm

Brooklyn yeshivas are operating in the shadows to avoid coronavirus lockdown restrictions, according to a report.

The Orthodox Jewish schools are continuing to hold classes in private apartments and in locked buildings throughout Williamsburg, a source told The Forward.

A parent told the publication that their child was attending classes despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s prohibition on gatherings that violate social distancing orders.

The source said his son attended school in a closed synagogue after a staffer’s relative unlocked a door and let him in.

The Forward also reported seeing screenshots of private messages between parents that revealed the illicit arrangements.

Some members of Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community have pushed back against the city’s ban on gatherings and have continued to convene for funerals and prayers.

A group of men were arrested outside the World Headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch in Brooklyn on Sunday for failing to comply with City Hall’s restrictions.

But police have been largely lax in addressing Orthodox Jewish gatherings during the coronavirus crisis in recent weeks.

With crowds continuing to gather in places like Prospect Park and Domino Park, some in the Orthodox community have accused officials of unfairly highlighting their defiance.

The Forward’s whistleblower said members of his community believe that their fate — and susceptibility to coronavirus — will ultimately be determined by divinity rather than de Blasio.

“It definitely puts everyone in danger, the kids going,” countered the source. “I definitely believe that this is putting others at risk.”

Failure to observe social distancing — intended to slow the spread of the deadly contagion that has ravaged New York — can carry a $1,000 fine.

“It’s no surprise that after decades of no oversight, ultra-Hasidic Yeshiva leaders are doing as they please — even now during a health pandemic — with little concern for the law or for the children’s health and educational well-being,” yeshiva advocate Nafulti Moster told The Post on Tuesday.

Moster and others have accused yeshivas of failing to teach secular subjects in favor of religious immersion in recent years.