In the past two weeks, several schools in Far Rockaway, NY, have been forced to close, some due to government fiat like TAG (Torah Academy for Girls) and Yeshiva Darchei Torah, and others – like BBY (Bnos Bais Yaacov) – due to fear of aggressive NYC Health Department inspections.
Make no mistake: What we are witnessing is an overt and targeted attack on our schools in the name of public health. It’s an attack on our livelihoods and communities. Those singling us out, however, should be warned: We Jews are a stubborn people. We aren’t scared of you.
Riotous mobs burn American cities, airplanes are filled to capacity, and packed subways cars buzz along at rush hour, but public officials who claim to care about our community remain silent. They only find their tongues when yeshivahs and shuls wish to function.
We have been asked to follow bizarre pseudoscience, otherwise known as pure insanity, with long-term effects on our kids that have never been measured or studied. Everything normally taught to young children is being replaced by fear of germs – and fear of other children. The instruction of these formative years is being replaced by a new kind of philosophy that punishes children for removing a mask to breathe.
My son is five years old. He is not at risk of dying – or even getting sick – from the novel coronavirus. In fact, according to a piece in The Telegraph (UK), he has a greater chance of getting struck by lightning. Nonetheless, people like Dr. Anthony Fauci are insisting that he follow inane rules that will inflict tremendous, and likely irreversible, harm upon him and so many others children.
“Cases” – which the media and government officials incessantly report to the public – are not indicative of sicknesses or death. In fact, they are often, according to experts, false positives, which is no surprise considering how laughably unreliable the coronavirus test is. Yet, in the name of this test – in the name of “public health” – you can destroy everything and everyone.
Meanwhile, while we’re expected to follow oppressive rules, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio constantly flout them. Cuomo had his daughter over for Easter along with her boyfriend while you were warned not visit your neighbors or siblings on Pesach. For his part, de Blasio has attended numerous riots – as have members of his family.
They wear masks – sometimes – but it’s not because they care about us. Trust me, they don’t. They just want to keep the dictatorial powers they assumed in March, which allow them to continue infringing upon our Constitutionally-enshrined and divinely-given rights and freedoms. They want to destroy our schools and way of life – whatever it takes to impose their secular religion.
This is not the first time they have acted this way. They tried to control how we conduct bris milah, how we do shechita (remember Rubashkin?), how we educate our kids, and how we look (no beards) while serving in the military or police force – all under the guise of equality, the law, or public health.
Cuomo, de Blasio, & co. are nothing less than modern-day Greeks and Romans. Do as they say, and they will be nice. Stand by the Torah, and they will destroy you. They will offer money sometimes – and many good people will be tempted to take it – but the money is just a way to gain more control over our children, our schools, and us.
People in the chattering classes claim to fear religion imposing its values on others. In fact, though, it’s government bureaucrats who constantly impose their will on people of faith. It’s not an accident that casinos can operate with minimal restrictions in Las Vegas, Nevada, while houses of worship in that same city face draconian rules.
Let’s be blunt: The public officials responsible for these rules aren’t our opponents. They’re our enemies.
You can choose to be blind or naive, but as these attacks on our school-age children continue, most will gradually open their eyes. Cuomo and de Blasio, after all, are not being shy about their treachery and blatant anti-Semitism. Everything is being done in broad daylight.