On Tuesday, throngs of Hasidic Jews (specifically Satmar, which is one of many Hasidic sects) gathered to witness the funeral of a deeply respected rabbi from their community who died from COVID-19. Roughly 2,500 people came to the funeral, standing shoulder to shoulder , in violation of the states social-distancing guidelines to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Sadly, this was not an isolated incident. Rather, stories of Hasidic and Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews gathering for everything from funerals to weddings have proliferated in the media .

But what happened next on Tuesday only made matters worse. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) tweeted a bullheaded message to the Jewish community, and all communities that the time for warnings has passed, and said police would arrest people gathering in large groups.

The explosion was immediate (one that I myself took part in ) and powerful: Jews have a scary history of being blamed for many societal ills, and one of those happens to be literal ills. When the bubonic plague hit, Jews were blamed for its spread, and the backlash was so severe that, in total, at least 200 Jewish communities were wiped out . In one incident, 2,000 Jews were burned alive .

And there is no doubt that the mayors statement was problematic at best: There are over 1 million Jews in New York City, and speaking of them as if they are a monolith is dangerous, especially in a city that has become known for rising violent anti-Semitism . Experts say theres been a global spike in anti-Semitic sentiment since COVID-19 began to spread. Its understandable that Jews are touchy about political leaders saying something even verging on anti-Semitism during a plague.

De Blasio apologized as he should have. But the debate didnt solve a very real problem as the city and the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. Measures meant to protect people are often up against centuries of cultural norms that may conflict with them. They need to pierce through community distrust of governments, and individuals own desire to dictate the terms of their lives.

Thats true everywhere and its true among Hasidic communities of New York. Blaming them for a pandemics spread isnt going to fix the issues that allowed Tuesdays funeral gathering to happen.