A federal district court judge just issued an order blocking Governor Andrew Cuomo’s discriminatory limits on Orthodox Jewish synagogues permanently after Cuomo—in a peculiar move—asked the judge to rule against him and end the restrictions. The judge’s order applies to all of the houses of worship in red and orange “zones” in New York, and is one of the first in the country to block percentage-of-occupancy limits on worship attendance.
The decision comes after the Supreme Court found his 10- and 25-person caps on synagogues were discriminatory, other lower courts also ruled against him, and just days ago, a New York Times exposé revealed that nine top New York State health officials resigned after Cuomo told doctors to make up scientific justifications for his COVID lockdown orders. Cuomo’s retreat—which covered not only the 10- and 25-person caps but also the 25 percent and 33 percent occupancy limits—also came as he faced the prospect of Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s commissioner of health, having to testify on the witness stand.
The judge’s decision to grant Cuomo’s request to end his own restrictions caps a series of unfortunate events for the Governor. In November, the Supreme Court ruled against his restrictions, saying, “even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten. The restrictions at issue here, by effectively barring many from attending religious services, strike at the very heart of the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious liberty.” The Justices also emphasized that “there is no evidence that the applicants have contributed to the spread of COVID-19,” and, to the contrary, that they “have admirable safety records.”
“It’s not every day you see a Governor beg a federal district court ‘Stop me before I discriminate again!’ but that is exactly what Governor Cuomo asked for,” said Eric Rassbach, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “The Governor is desperately trying to avoid testimony showing that his orders shutting down synagogues and churches weren’t based on public health, but on politics. The court’s order is good news for the synagogues, churches, and other houses of worship of New York.”
Agudath Israel of America, a 98-year-old Orthodox Jewish umbrella group headquartered in New York City, succeeded in its first-ever lawsuit to go to the Supreme Court. Becket and law firm Troutman Pepper asked the Supreme Court for emergency protection on behalf of Agudath Israel and affiliated synagogues as part of an ongoing lawsuit against Governor Cuomo’s restrictions on their right to worship. The Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn brought a parallel case challenging the restrictions, and the cases were decided together by the Supreme Court.
When the case returned to the district court level, the New York Times reported that nine top health officials resigned after Cuomo allegedly announced major changes to pandemic policy without consulting with them first. After Cuomo’s press conferences, he apparently asked New York health officials to match their policy documents with his announcements. One of the major changes the health officials were reportedly blindsided by were rules related to the “cluster initiative” that shut down houses of worship throughout Brooklyn.
“We welcome Governor Cuomo’s surrender, even if it took him way too long to figure out he was acting illegally,” said Rassbach. “And we hope he learned something along the way. If he writes another COVID book, maybe he can give it the title I Did It My Way—And Boy Was I Wrong!”
- District Court order in Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo (February 9, 2021)
While this is clearly welcomed news, let’s not act as if this ruling will make any difference to the crown heights community. We continue to open shules without any social distancing, general mask wearing or other CDC guidelines. Regardless of this ruling, it doesn’t exempt us from the basic tenant of Yiddishkeit, which is pikuach nefesh and caring for our fellow Yid. I’m a COVID survivor, who is still feeling terrible effects from this illness months later. Let’s wake up as a community and understand, that this pandemic is far from over. Hashem yerachem.
The pro of keeping shuls closed (even though CH abided by that for maybe a month) was that is helped slow the spread of Covid in a community that completely ignores mask wearing and social distancing. With shuls now being open (even though many have sadly and disappointingly been open for some time already), and with no one wearing masks and taking social distancing seriously, it is worrisome that the uptick in cases may occur. I hope that this new ruling does not make people complacent and even more delusional with regards to the seriousness of Covid. Shuls may be… Read more »
Yes very “real and deadly”? Fatality rate since the summer is LOWER than the season on flu! #scamdemic#
Tell that to the 465K people who have passed away.
died “with” COVID, not _of_ it.
It’s also rather heartless to claim to speak in their names, when they’re not around to say whether they would agree.
Unbelievable, the Supreme Court has enough sense to respect healthy gatherings for prayer and yet we still worry maybe we need to stay home and distance.
you are embarrassing with your disregard for human life…a mitzva greater than any other
Reality is everyone is getting this bug with or without distance. The only thing these measures really do is separate us, prevent connection, and increase government control over us.
You do know about yehareg v’al yaavor, no? Also, you do know how Jews throughout the ages risked their lives to perform mitzvos? Were they showing “disregard for human life” too?
Religious Freedom
no one is debating social distancing, pikuach nefesh or being responsible. Just that a place of worship is as essential as a grocery store or any other place that remains open during a pandemic.
I am curious to know what testimony the governor wanted to ensure isn’t heard.
Also what steps we need to take as a community for our own safety… I’m assuming he is hiding evidence that he deliberately and successfully formed ghettos.
My friend in Florida already received both doses. Instead of complaining about masks, get your act together and distribute the vaccine already and we can move on