Are you really Restricting a Holiday?

A little over a week ago in New York City, a federal judge allowed the restrictions that Governor Cuomo implanted on Synagogues and Worship houses to move forward. As what appears to be a second wave of the COVID- 19 virus infects cities in the United States, Governor Cuomo put out an executive order that placed restrictions on large gatherings. These restrictions were put on neighborhoods that were predominantly Orthodox Jews. This ban on gatherings is so controversial as it appeared right before the celebration of three major Jewish Holidays, which is restricting many of the services that are planned to take place. Among the executive order, was restrictions that prohibited any more than 25% capacity or 10 people within a house of worship, school closures, and a shutdown of nonessential businesses. Members of the Jewish Orthodox Community feel especially upset because they think their neighborhood is disproportionately affected. The neighboring communities have not experienced the same implementation of restrictions, because the infection rate was not as high. A fine of $15,000 will be given to any person who violates the large gathering restrictions. In a similar lawsuit, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn argued that it was unfair that almost two dozen churches would have to close due the restrictions. A different judge also declined to prohibit the restrictions. 

            The question at hand here is, are the Orthodox Jews being directly targeted? Is there a compelling state interest to go forward with the closures? Lawyers of the Synagogue found that these rulings were unconstitutional because they targeted these predominantly Jewish neighborhoods. Because the Jewish Orthodox are prohibited from driving during the three holidays this past weekend, the only synagogues they can go to are the ones within walking distance. This is an issue because the ones located close by are closed. Therefore, they could not travel to places with fewer restrictions even if they wanted to. Whereas the other religious ceremonies would be able to travel out of the hot spot restricted area, the Orthodox Jews are trapped inside a restricted bubble. 

            The compelling state interest here is that if they lift the restrictions for the holiday weekend, there is a major health risk. Large gatherings have been proven to spread the COVID- 19 virus. If the restrictions are lifted, it puts not only the well-being of the Orthodox Jews in danger, but also those who are not affiliated with the religion in that area, and the surrounding areas. Also, the members of the Jewish Orthodox community believe that they are being directly targeted because they are one of the only neighborhoods that are getting the restrictions placed upon them. They also feel targeted that these restrictions are placed right before three major holidays within their faith. 

            I agree with Governor Cuomo and the federal judge in this instance. As we have all said many times this year, we are in an unprecedented time. Because of that, some decisions made in this time may seem unfair, but have to be made with the state’s best interests in mind. While it may seem that the Orthodox Jewish community was targeted because of their religious views, they are actually just residing in an area that has a higher infection rate. Inside that area were other churches as well, not just the Orthodox synagogues. If this case were to go to the Supreme Court, I think that the Justices would use the Sherbert test to determine that it is not unconstitutional to prohibit these large gatherings. The health and safety of the nation being laid on the line is enough compelling state interest. The restrictions were made solely to limit the spread of the virus, and it was applied to everybody, not just the Orthodox Jews. Similar to the rulings in the in Goldman v. Weinberger andO’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz,where the court had to rule in favor of the professionals inside the Air Force and the prison, the professionals in this case are the scientists. In this case if the scientists say that it is in the best interests of the nation to put the restrictions up, then we need to trust them. 

            Another reason that I side with the Governor and the judge in this case is that this decision is not going to set a precedent to continuously restrict religious practices. We are in the midst of a pandemic. Pandemics are rare and cause stress from every angle. With so much uncertainty, I cannot disagree with the scientists. With so much uncertainty about the future, legislators must listen to the science, which tells us that we need to stop gathering in large groups. To conquer a virus like this, the nation needs to work together as a cohesive unit with a common goal to stop the spread.