We've received your submission.The funeral sparked a massive police response by officers who tried to break up the crowds by using sirens and blaring social distancing messages from PA systems on cop cars, but no citations were issued and no arrests were made, the NYPD said Monday.One funeral procession took place near 55th Street and 12th Avenue in Borough Park for 78-year-old Rabbi Meir Rokeach, and the other outdoor funeral procession happened about a mile away, near 44th Street and 16th Avenue.The massive funeral, reportedly for Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Meislish, was held Sunday night on Hewes Street near Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg.Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. (Avi Kaye)The June 26 cover of Der Yid, a popular Yiddish newspaper, implied that the threat of the pandemic had passed. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Williamsburg residents look on as protesters pass through their Brooklyn neighborhood, June 12, 2020. (Avi Kaye)Orthodox Jewish men move a wooden casket from a hearse at a funeral home in Borough Park, April 5, 2020. (Avi Kaye)Administrators and providers from four health care clinics with locations in Brooklyn’s Hasidic neighborhoods told JTA that they had seen antibody positive rates that were far higher than the citywide data.Hasidic children play games at an outdoor carnival in the Williamsburg neighborhood, May 2020. “It is important to note that the vast majority are following all guidelines. Many Western European Jews were well established in the United States and Williamsburg by the end of the Civil War. Brooklyn’s Hasidic Jews are acting like they have herd immunity. The massive funeral, reportedly… Hasidic Jewish people are known for having large families.
Borough Park is home to many Hasidic groups, the largest being the Hasidic Bobov sect. Neighborhoods in Brooklyn with large Hasidic populations have some of New York City’s highest levels of positive Covid-19 test results.
Men gathering outside a synagogue in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, May 12, 2020. The NYPD will continue to enforce social distancing and any large gathering — including services — put both members of the public and officers at risk. It is considered a top rule which was commanded directly from G-d. The Bobov-45, Belz, Ger, Satmar, Karlin-Stolin, Vizhnitz, Munkacz, Spinka, Klausenburg, Skver, and Puppa communities also reside here, among others. There is a minority of Haredi non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jews (typically called Litvish or Yeshivish) and Sephardic Jews, with a smaller number of Modern Orthodox Jews. Hundreds of Hasidic Jews once again defied social distancing orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, taking over a Brooklyn street to hold a funeral for a local rabbi. Today, almost all of the Jews in Williamsburg are Hasidic. (Avi Kaye) 6-10 children is typical, and sometimes they have as many as 15 or more! This is another practice: reproduce as much as possible. (Avi Kaye)Children look on as a Black Lives Matter protest passes through Williamsburg, June 12, 2020. (Avi Kaye)Hasidic men pray outside at a socially distanced service in Borough Park, March 30, 2020. These gatherings must cease immediately,” the spokesperson added.Would you like to receive desktop browser notifications about breaking news and other major stories?“The NYPD needs all New Yorkers to cooperate with the ban on social gatherings in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” a police spokesperson said.There were no arrests or citations issued in either incident, cops said.State and city officials have repeatedly called for New Yorkers to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet while out in public.Photos and online videos show hundreds of members of the Jewish community crowding on stoops, sidewalks and on the street.In both cases police responded and asked the congregations to disperse.Hundreds of Hasidic Jews once again defied social distancing orders amid the coronavirus pandemic, taking over a Brooklyn street to hold a funeral for a local rabbi.Thanks for contacting us. (Screenshot from Der Yid)Families walk on the streets of Williamsburg, May 12, 2020.