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The political advocacy group Dallas Jewish Conservatives is celebrating Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s lifting of his statewide mask mandate by holding a mask-burning party.

The outdoor event, advertised online as “The Official Texas is Now Open Party! #BurnThatMask,” is scheduled to be held March 10, the day that Abbott’s decision goes into effect. The event description promises that attendees will be able to burn their masks in a communal bonfire while enjoying entertainment, refreshments and conservative speakers at a private home in the northern Dallas suburb of Parker.

Dallas Jewish Conservatives is hosting the party alongside other local conservative groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Hispanics Against Socialism, DFW Deplorables and Ladies of Liberty.

“I pounced on the opportunity” to host the event, DJC founder and president Benji Gershon told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, adding that he threw it together only a day after Abbott’s announcement that he would be lifting the mandate. “We can all get together and celebrate the fact that businesses can now be 100% open… It’s a liberating experience.”

Around 150 people have thus far indicated they will be attending, Gershon said.

It’s not the first time that Jewish leaders have called for masks to be burned en masse. In October, a group of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn burned masks in the street as part of a public protest against new restrictions that would close schools and limit synagogue attendance in areas with rising infection rates. That protest was followed by several others against the rules that were explicitly political, with participants expressing support for President Donald Trump.

But despite the title of the event in Texas, Gershon – who also works in early-stage private equity for tech startups — said his group isn’t trying to take a firm stand against the idea of mask-wearing.

“I’m not personally anti-mask. There are reasons for people to wear a mask,” Gershon said. “Masks have benefits as far as reducing the spread in certain situations.” His objection, he said, was to the government mandating mask wearing. “Enough’s enough with the forcing of the masks.”

Gershon said his group would still enforce mask-wearing and other COVID-19 safety protocols at its upcoming in-person events, including a panel on gun rights to be held the day after the mask-burning.

Gershon said the group plans to follow the requirements of the private business owners who host their events, and that for now, Studio Movie Grill, the Dallas-based movie theater chain hosting their upcoming events, is continuing to require mask-wearing. The CEO of Studio Movie Grill, Brian Schultz, is also a Jewish conservative whom Gershon said is a friend of the group.

The mask-burning party won’t be a specifically Jewish event, although kosher food will be served, Gershon said. A conservative Jewish comedian, Evan Sayet, is also a featured speaker.