Koslowitz, Jewish leaders denounce anti-Semitic coverage of COVID rise

Councilmember Karen Koslowitz called on the media to resist anti-Semitic tropes and coverage of COVID-19 rates that blames Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers. Eagle photo by Walter Karling

By Rachel Vick

Members of the Queens Jewish Community Council, faith leaders and elected officials gathered outside the office of Councilmember Karen Koslowitz on Friday to condemn the spotlight coverage of COVID spikes in Orthodox Jewish communities that they fear could lead to a spike in anti-Semitism.

That media coverage, they warned, threatens to replicate centuries of anti-Semitic blame for social issues, including past pandemics.

“There are deep consequences to targeting specific communities when the message is universal,” said Acting Borough President Sharon Lee, who pointed to the rise in anti-Asian sentiment early in the pandemic which has been attributed to the language used to address COVID-19. “No one is exempt, no one is immune – this virus doesn’t discriminate” 

“Because when we only focus on a community when in fact no one is immune from this it does lend vulnerability to stigmatizing,“ Lee continued.  “Take care in not perpetuating stereotypes, not emboldening latent racism emboldening latent discrimination and phobias and hate, because there is no need for that.”

The New York City Department of Health data shows that the rate of positive COVID tests has spiked in some neighborhoods with high concentrations of Orthodox Jewish residents, including parts of southern Brooklyn. Positive case rates have also increased in Kew Gardens and Rego Park, according to the Health Department.

That data has been used to generalize about the behaviors of New York City’s Jewish communities, Koslowitz said. Yet, those neighborhoods are home to a far more diverse population than just Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers. South Brooklyn, for example, features large Eastern European and Russian communities, as well as predominantly Middle Eastern and Latinx enclaves. 

Central Queens, in the heart of the country’s most diverse borough, features large number of Latino and Asian residents, as well as non-Jewish white residents.  

Regardless of their religion, race and ethnicity, all New Yorkers must wear masks, said Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld. For Jewish residents, it’s especially important to wear masks while gathering for the holidays. New Yorkers must also make what may be difficult decisions to forgo large celebrations and limit contacts with older adults or others who, because of underlying health conditions, may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

“We have to address our community and impress the importance of masking and social distancing, and the reaction to it which has been disproportionate,” said Schonfeld.

For centuries, anti-Semitic tropes have painted Jews as disease carriers, Schonfeld said. He specifically reminded attendees of the anti-Semitic blame placed on Jews for past epidemics, like the Bubonic Plague. 

“It’s unfair what’s happening, but it’s a double-edged sword. Our community has to be doing more, much more so, to mask up,” he said. “We have to accept responsibility and the media has to be equally responsible.”