NYC Mayor Criticized for Calling Large Jewish Funeral "Unacceptable"

Mayor Bill de Blasio lashed out at Hasidic residents of the Williamsburg section in Brooklyn late Tuesday night after personally overseeing the dispersal of a crowd of hundreds of mourners who had gathered for the funeral of a rabbi who died of the coronavirus.

In a series of tweets, Mr. de Blasio denounced the gathering, which the police broke up, and warned “the Jewish community, and all communities” that any violation of the social-distancing guidelines in place to stop the spread of the virus could lead to a summons or...

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his tweets criticizing a large Jewish funeral on Wednesday at a briefing at which he also announced a program to provide 150,000 coronavirus antibody tests for health care workers and first responders.

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ORTHODOX JEWISH FUNERAL TARGETED

De Blasio oversaw the dispersal of a large, tightly packed Hasidic Jewish funeral Tuesday night and lashed out at the mourners who had gathered in defiance of social distancing rules intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“My message to...