Lawfare Project gets results as DOJ slams Mayor de Blasio

"At a time of great upheaval in our country, and amidst a push to end discrimination, Mayor de Blasio chose to blatantly single out Jews for unequal enforcement of the law. The Lawfare Project did not hesitate to call him out for this despicable conduct and we are glad to see that, at our urging, the DOJ has now done the same. The Mayor's double standard violates the civil rights of every New Yorker he has unjustly targeted, and we at The Lawfare Project applaud this letter from the DOJ as the first step to holding him accountable."
— Brooke Goldstein, Executive Director, The Lawfare Project

Dear friends,

We are proud to announce that, at The Lawfare Project's public and private urging, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially rebuked New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for discriminating against Jewish residents during the pandemic.

After we asked the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to investigate de Blasio's conduct, the Office of the Assistant Attorney General took action, sending a letter to Mayor de Blasio accusing him of unfairly applying coronavirus sanctions to suppress Jewish gatherings.

As you may remember, in late April, we denounced de Blasio for scapegoating "the Jewish community." Since then, his attacks have become even more severe. In May, de Blasio shut down a Brooklyn Yeshiva and later shamed the school on Twitter.

The DOJ letter reads, in part, "During the period in which all gatherings were banned, you reportedly sent police officers to break up numerous gatherings of the Jewish community in New York."

Without a shade of irony, de Blasio went on to support protests that blatantly violated his own social distancing rules. Meanwhile, he also extended his anti-Semitic hostility to Jewish children, prioritizing the closure of a Hasidic neighborhood park while a massive rally occurred at the exact same time.

Time and time again, we’ve seen de Blasio put Jewish New Yorkers at risk by singling them out for uneven enforcement of the law. While de Blasio's list of offenses is long and disturbing, they have not gone unnoticed. We at The Lawfare Project will continue to work tirelessly to hold the mayor—and all public officials who target Jews—accountable.

"Mayor de Blasio cannot pick and choose which laws to enforce or who to enforce them against. Nor can he play favorites when it comes to whose rights are more 'important.' The thousands of people protesting should serve as a reminder for the Mayor that we are all equal under the law, and double standards are simply unacceptable."
— Gerard Filitti, Senior Counsel, The Lawfare Project

Thank you for being a supporter of The Lawfare Project—none of our work would be possible without you. Together, we can continue protecting the rights of Jewish communities in New York, the United States, and beyond.

Sincerely,
Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project