Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, BrooklyniStock

An Orthodox Jewish synagogue has been fined by New York authorities after thousands gathered to attend a secretly organized indoor wedding that violated coronavirus restrictions, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The Hasidic synagogue was fined $15,000 over the November 8 event, which was organized without the knowledge of city officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

The New York Postrecently claimed in a report that between 7,000 and 10,000 Satmar Hasidim attended the wedding in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The wedding, which was kept secret from the general public, was said to have been held at Congregation Yetev Lev B’Satmar in Williamsburg, following the cancellation of another Satmar wedding after authorities learned of the planned event.

On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for an investigation of the mass wedding, saying that if the event was confirmed as having taken place as described “it was a blatant disregard of the law.”

The incident is the latest example of tensions between officials and Orthodox communities over social distancing measures imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

In the past, Cuomo has blamed large gatherings in the hasidic community for the spread of COVID-19, highlighting selichot prayers in Satmar-Kiryas Joel and event in Chabad-Crown Heights as examples of "social distancing violations".

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also faced criticism for his handling of the virus response among the city's Jewish residents.

In April, de Blasio caused an uproar when he threatened "the Jewish community" with summons and arrest after a large crowd of Hasidic Jews gathered for a rabbi's funeral in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood.

The Mayor later apologized to the Jewish community and said, "I regret if the way I said it in any way gave people the feeling that they were being treated the wrong way.”

"It was said with love, but it was tough love," de Blasio added. He also said, "Members of the Jewish community were putting each other in danger and putting our police officers in danger."

In a subsequent conference call with Orthodox Jewish media outlets, the Mayor said he is not planning to delete the initial tweet which caused the uproar, arguing that doing so would turn the saga into “a new story”.