Jews for Mask Rights Open Letter

Dear Governor Hochul, President Pro Tempore Stewart-Cousins, Speaker Heastie, and Members of the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly,

We write to you as Jewish New Yorkers, commuters, and potential tourists who are deeply concerned to learn that New York elected officials are proposing banning face masks in public places, even as COVID-19, as well as other viruses and pollution, continue to harm New Yorkers. We are particularly horrified that such bans could be enacted in the name of “combating antisemitism.” Mask bans are a direct violation of Jewish values as well as being ableist, infringing upon First Amendment rights, and putting all New Yorkers in danger.

Masks are essential tools for health. We oppose any legislation that compromises our safety or that of our congregants and community members under the guise of security. Everyone — whether ill, immunocompromised, disabled, an older adult, or simply exercising caution — must be allowed to wear masks to help protect themselves and others from illness. A mask ban claiming to protect Jews from antisemitic acts would only place them in greater danger.

Antisemitism is a real threat, but legislating masks will not protect Jews. Banning masks will not address the underlying ideologies that fuel antisemitic sentiments and behaviors. If anything, it may further exacerbate these sentiments.

Jewish tradition prioritizes the sanctity and protection of life above all else. Jews are not permitted to endanger our own or others’ lives or behave in ways likely to spread illness or cause death. We have an obligation to protect the lives and health of others. The principle of pikuach nefesh – “saving a life” – prioritizes preserving human life over virtually all else.

Masks are proven to be highly effective in helping protect against COVID-19, other viruses, and the increasing air pollution in New York. Many would be unable to go to work, shop for groceries, or otherwise take part in public life without regular mask usage. Even briefly unmasking, as Mayor Adams has suggested business owners should ask customers to do, puts people at risk. 

Wearing a mask is a mitzvah. Forbidding it puts Jews at odds with our tradition, violating both our religious freedom and physical safety. To do this in the name of protecting Jews – 20% of whom have a disability and many of whom mask for the safety of ourselves and our communities – is beyond the pale. 

No possible “health exemption” is workable when everyone must have a right to protect themselves and others. As seen in North Carolina, mask bans can lead to harassment and assault of mask wearers even before such laws are enacted. New Yorkers have already been subject to physical attack due to mask usage, and a ban will only increase this danger.

Forcing law enforcement to determine whose mask is due to medical need is a civil rights and public health crisis in the making, which will inevitably harm BIPOC New Yorkers disproportionately. Racial minorities have been targeted by police for mask usage. Asian Americans have faced an uptick in racist violence often tied to masking, and Black and brown New Yorkers are more likely to mask and more likely to suffer poor health outcomes following COVID infection. A mask ban, even with a health exemption, will have a chilling effect on the ability of New Yorkers to go about our daily lives and practice our First Amendment rights.

New Yorkers have suffered enough death and loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mask ban is about the least Jewish response possible to concerns about antisemitism and directly violates our traditions and values. Promoting laws that push vulnerable people out of public life will only endanger us further.

Signed,

Jews for Mask Rights