Select Comments

"Using Jewish safety as an excuse puts Jews in danger. It assigns blame to Jews for taking away the Constitutional and moral right for every New Yorker to stay safe from COVID."

“This ban will negatively impact Jews like me. I deserve to exist in public spaces and protect myself and my community with a scientifically valid and effective tool such as masks.”

"We combat antisemitism through community and education, not like this! As a Jew, I am furious that anyone would suggest infringing on the rights of others in the name of combating antisemitism."

“Being the lone masker isn’t enough to keep my loved ones safe. Anyone who masks, even when they don’t ‘need’ to, provides an extra layer of protection — and that’s a blessing.”

“As Jews, we are commanded to protect the vulnerable and support and love human kind. Banning masks is not only irresponsible from a medical perspective, but fundamentally against our Jewish and Torah values.”

“I ‘look’ healthy. There is no way to determine why an individual is wearing a mask. Broadly criminalizing it under the guise of protecting Jews is unconscionable, antisemitic, ableist, racist, classist, and violates countless constitutional rights.”

“Masks have nothing to do 
with antisemitism. Hate and misinformation do. This will contribute to both.”

“A ban will not stop someone from spewing antisemitic hate, but a mask will protect me from their germs.”

“I'm Jewish and adamantly opposed to the proposed mask ban. It won't make me feel safer. It'll make me feel like we're heading toward an authoritarian regime.”

"It is abhorrent that elected officials are willing to risk the lives of their constituents in the name of ‘fighting antisemitism’ when this lies in direct contrast with Jewish values of protecting people’s lives."

“Even if the ban existed previously, 
masks have been politicized in such a way that if reintroduced, I will be unsafe wearing my respirator in public in ways I was not unsafe previously.”

“Police are completely unqualified to determine whether someone wearing a mask is doing so for a medical reason. Mask-banning legislation will disproportionately harm Black and Brown New Yorkers, and I encourage you to see through this cheap and thinly-veiled lurch toward authoritarianism.”

"A mask ban will cause disease, disability and death. People may wish to, and must be free to, protect themselves per their freedom and choice."

“As a disabled person with Long Covid, a mask ban would mean the end of my ability to participate in public life. It would be catastrophic for me and millions of New Yorkers.”

I am a Jew, a descendant of survivors of the Shoah, and immunocompromised. I wear respirators in public to protect myself. I have relatives in New York, but as long as there is talk about banning masks in New York, I won't visit them due to concern about my own safety.

“Mask bans will push disabled people out of public life even further than they already are. Banning a piece of medical equipment is segregation of disabled people.”

“We cover our heads out of humility, modesty, and community. Wearing masks to protect ourselves and others is the same.”

“We still do not know the long-term effects of Covid, and it is incredibly irresponsible and certainly against all Jewish values to strip people of the ability to keep themselves safe in public spaces. The messaging of the early pandemic days is still correct: wearing masks in crowded spaces helps keep our communities safe, not just us.”

- Signee (Rabbi)

The Torah emphasizes public health and hygiene as means of protecting the community. 
I wish more people took that to heart.

It is my responsibility to protect my high-risk family and community members by wearing a mask, in line with the Jewish values I was raised with.

Mask bans hurt disabled Jews and non-Jews alike and run contradictory to the Jewish value of preserving health.

“I'm horrified that one of the simplest and most practical forms of protection against the many, MANY germs we spread throughout the city may soon be seen as a threat.”