This is the moment maskless guests party at a lockdown-breaching ultra-Orthodox Jewish wedding in London.
Video shows dozens of guests dancing together as they mark the occasion with the ‘illegal’ event, which reportedly took place in January.
Weddings are currently banned under Covid lockdown rules, with marriage ceremonies only allowed under ‘exceptional circumstances’ – such as as terminal illness. Even these weddings are limited to a maximum of six people.
But the video, shared by the BBC, shows at least 30 people celebrating during a wedding, which is said to have taken place in the Stamford Hill area of north London.
The latest footage comes after a police raid on another wedding in January, this time with 150 guests, which also took place in the Stamford Hill.
The area is home to a large strictly-Orthodox Jewish community – a group within Orthodox Judaism characterised by a strict adherence to Jewish law and traditions, as opposed to modern practices.
Meanwhile, researchers at a top London university found the past infection rate of Covid in one unnamed ultra-Orthodox community in the capital was 64 per cent – up to five times higher than the capital average at the time.
The figure matches similar research in ultra-Orthodox communities in New York and Israel, which saw higher than average infection figures last year.
And today a human rights barrister claimed members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community were being given ‘bespoke legal advice’ in a bid to get round Covid restrictions on weddings.
Adam Wagner said couples were being offered advice suggesting ‘any number of people’ can attend celebrations if they have a ‘prayer element’.
Mr Wagner, who is himself Jewish and has recently been reviewing Covid rules on social media, told the BBC the guidance ‘hit the wrong tone’.
The claims come after a police raid on a 150-strong Jewish wedding celebration last month. The event took place at a school in the north London area of Stamford Hill – which is part of a large strictly Orthodox Jewish community. Pictured left and right: Police carry out the raid
Human rights barrister Adam Wagner said couples were being offered advice suggesting ‘any number of people’ can attend celebrations if they have a ‘prayer element’.
He said: ‘It was inaccurate, in quite some significant ways. It hit the wrong tone, it was really about getting around the rules, rather than keeping to the rules because of the dangers of the virus.’
However Mr Wagner says the advice to ultra-Orthodox Jewish community members has been changing after incidents of large gathering were reported in the media.
What are the rules on having a wedding during lockdown?
Under lockdown rules introduced on January 4, weddings are banned in England.
However, you can hold a wedding in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
The Government included the example of a seriously ill partner who is not expected to recover as one example.
Another example of an exceptional circumstance included those undergoing ‘debilitating treatment or life-changing surgery’.
However, even these weddings are limited to just six people.
The Government still advises people to stay local where possible, but says people can travel outside their area to attended permitted weddings.
People can also leave the country to attend a wedding, though they do face the normal travel restrictions for the country they are returning from.
He added: ‘The latest advice I’ve seen in the last few days is much better and I think the media attention has told on the individuals who are responsible for it.’
One case which received particular attention was a police raid on a lockdown-breaking wedding of 150 people at a Jewish girls’ school last month.
The guests were found packed inside Yesodey Hatorah Girls’ Senior School in Stamford Hill, north London.
The centre was being used as a coronavirus testing centre, while the school’s principal, Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, had died 10 months earlier of Covid-19.
Police said the organiser faced a £10,000 penalty. Five others faced £200 fines after officers busted the address following a tip-off.
The incident sparked wide-spread condemnation from leaders in the Jewish community, including Chief Rabbi Mirvis, who tweeted last month: ‘At a time when we are all making such great sacrifices, it amounts to a brazen abrogation of the responsibility to protect life and such illegal behaviour is abhorred by the overwhelming majority of the Jewish community.’
Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said the breach ‘goes against Jewish teaching that preserving life is of the highest value’.
‘The reckless and dangerous behaviour of those behind this event does not represent the attitude of the vast majority of British Jews, including from within the Strictly Orthodox community, who are fully aware of the terrible toll of this pandemic.’
Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, who is president of Shomrim in Stamford Hill, chairman of the Arab-Jewish Forum and chairman and founder of the Muslim-Jewish Forum, told the BBC weddings should ‘not go on under these circumstances’.
It comes after an investigation by the Jewish News last month claimed there had been more than 50 strictly Orthodox lockdown weddings in London since last year.
The paper reported that groups were using ‘lookouts’ to sound the alarm in case police were called.
A source intimately involved in the Orthodox wedding scene told the Jewish News: ‘These illegal weddings have been going on for 10 months. We’re not talking about one or two. We are talking multiple weddings every day.
‘All have 150-200 guests. At one wedding the bride was Covid-positive.’
Meanwhile a report earlier this year found two-thirds of London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community had Covid last year – nine times the national average and around 0.3 per cent of those infected died, a study has shown.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found the rate of past infection in London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community was 64 per cent
Jewish men and women suffered the highest death rates in the first wave of the pandemic in Britain
Entire basis of ultra-Orthodoxy is communal gatherings
While the researchers insist the reasons behind such high rates of infection are unclear, others suggest crowded housing and socio-economic deprivation as possible causes.
Ultra-Orthodox families have significantly larger households than the UK average – with five to six individuals per house compared to a UK average of 2.3 – and tend to live in areas of increased population density.
Communal events and gatherings were regularly attended in pre-pandemic times, though there have been a number of high-profile breaches in recent weeks, too.
Israel Frey, an ultra-Orthodox journalist who has been critical of the community’s response to the pandemic, told the Jerusalem Post he does not see ‘even a gram’ of introspection or change in direction in the leadership’s attitude to the crisis.
He added: ‘Ultra-Orthodoxy in 2021 is about the energy of communal gatherings and celebrations: everyone being together.
‘That is what sustains ultra-Orthodoxy – its entire basis is communal gatherings.’
Last week also saw the death of two of the most senior and revered ultra-Orthodox rabbis in the world – Rabbi Meshulam David Soloveitchik, 99, and Rabbi Yitzhak Scheiner, 98 – both of whom had previously being diagnosed with the virus.
A number of other religious leaders have fallen victim to Covid in Israel and the US, with funerals attended by thousands despite restrictions on gatherings, the JP reports.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found the rate of past infection was at 64 per cent in the community of around 15,000 people.
This compares to rates of 11 per cent in London more generally and just seven per cent across the UK, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics.
Suspected infections in the community peaked in early March, just before the first lockdown, when rates then began to fall sharply, before rising again in the autumn once restrictions were lifted.
The researchers say the reasons for such high rates of infection are unclear, but crowded housing and deprivation are thought to be contributing factors.
Ultra-Orthodox families have significantly larger households than the UK average – with five to six individuals per house compared to a UK average of 2.3 – and tend to live in areas of increased population density.
Communal events and gatherings were regularly attended in pre-pandemic times, though there have been a number of high-profile breaches in recent weeks, too.
Israel Frey, an ultra-Orthodox journalist who has been critical of the community’s response to the pandemic, told the Jerusalem Post he does not see ‘even a gram’ of introspection or change in direction in the leadership’s attitude to the crisis.
He added: ‘Ultra-Orthodoxy in 2021 is about the energy of communal gatherings and celebrations: everyone being together.
‘That is what sustains ultra-Orthodoxy – its entire basis is communal gatherings.’
Michael Marks was one of co-leads in the study.
He said he found the Covid rate to be up to five times higher than the London average at the time.
But he said this was likely down to the increased chance of households in the ultra-Orthodox community having inter-generational living arrangements.
He told the BBC: ‘In the UK the immediate average household size is just over two people, whereas in this community it’s more like seven or eight people.
‘Do I think people in this community have broken the rules, yes, because lots of people all over the UK have broken the rules.’
Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, who is president of Shomrim in Stamford Hill, chairman of the Arab-Jewish Forum and chairman and founder of the Muslim-Jewish Forum, told the BBC weddings should ‘not go on under these circumstances’
The issue has been one brought up in other countries as well. Densely populated ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and key suburbs in New York emerged as leading viral hot spots, last year, according to NBC News.
According to reports, the areas were reporting virus test results averaging 4.7 percent positive, compared to just over 1 percent in the rest of the city.
And according to NBC, though many within the ultra-Orthodox community were said to be following the rules, and mixed generational households were factored, leaders in the communities had criticised the restrictions.
On New York Jewish tabloid is said to have accused city Mayor Bill de Blasio of ‘wanting to destroy our schools and way of life’ because of the Covid rules, Agudath Israel of America, the main advocacy body representing ultra-Orthodox Jews, argued that while the ban on large services ‘discriminates against all religions,’ it ‘disproportionately impacts the religious services of Orthodox Jews.
When asked for a comment on the Stamford Hill wedding claims, the Met Police referred to its general advice on illegal large gatherings.
Speaking after the Government announced it would be giving police powers to hand-out £800 fines for those attending large parties, as well as the £10,000 maximum fines for organisers, Commander Alex Murray, the Met’s lead for Covid-19 enforcement, said: ‘If you are planning on attending an illegal gathering, party or raves you are not only taking a very serious health risk but also a much bigger financial risk.
‘I hope that these increased fines will discourage some of the events we’ve seen in recent weeks – events which are no doubt adding to the already huge pressure on our health services and potentially leading to avoidable deaths.’
Two-thirds of London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community had Covid last year – nine times the national average
By Tom Pyman for MailOnline
Two-thirds of London’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community had Covid last year – nine times the national average and around 0.3 per cent of those infected died, a study has shown.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found the rate of past infection was at 64 per cent in the community of around 15,000 people.
This compares to rates of 11 per cent in London more generally and just seven per cent across the UK, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics.
Suspected infections in the community peaked in early March, just before the first lockdown, when rates then began to fall sharply, before rising again in the autumn once restrictions were lifted.
The researchers say the reasons for such high rates of infection are unclear, but crowded housing and deprivation are thought to be contributing factors.
Ultra-Orthodox families have significantly larger households than the UK average – with five to six individuals per house compared to a UK average of 2.3 – and tend to live in areas of increased population density.
Communal events and gatherings were regularly attended in pre-pandemic times, though there have been a number of high-profile breaches in recent weeks, too.
Israel Frey, an ultra-Orthodox journalist who has been critical of the community’s response to the pandemic, told the Jerusalem Post he does not see ‘even a gram’ of introspection or change in direction in the leadership’s attitude to the crisis.
He added: ‘Ultra-Orthodoxy in 2021 is about the energy of communal gatherings and celebrations: everyone being together.
‘That is what sustains ultra-Orthodoxy – its entire basis is communal gatherings.’
The LSHTM study invited more than 1,750 people in the community to complete a demographic and medical information survey and provide a blood sample between November and early December 2020, which was then tested for antibodies.
Blood samples from 1,242 individuals were collected, with an overall infection rate was of 64%, one of the highest recorded anywhere in the world.
During the research, 697 people (37.5%) reported an illness they thought was consistent with COVID-19.
There were clear peaks in reported illness consistent with the first and second waves of the virus in the UK.
A total of 16 (0.9%) individuals reported hospitalisation for COVID-19 and a further three individuals were reported to have died of COVID-19.
Dr Michael Marks, who co-led the LSHTM study, said: ‘Our work has revealed the extremely high rates of infection in this very interconnected population.
‘Working in tandem with the community we are conducting further work to understand the potential factors involved. These findings could support potential new interventions that may help reduce infection in the community.’
Ethnic and religious minorities have been disproportionately affected by Covid throughout the pandemic, with deprivation, reduced ability to work from home and larger household sizes all thought to be contributing factors.
Researchers add that while attention in the UK has largely focused on the Afro-Caribbean and South Asian populations, data from Public Health England shows other minority groups have also been severely affected.
Jewish men aged over 65 years were found to have a rate of death twice as high as Christians, even after adjusting for socio-demographic factors.
Mr Marks said: ‘The rates we observed are among the highest reported anywhere in the world to date.
‘As our survey was completed by early December 2020, prior to the subsequent surge in cases, it is likely that the overall burden of infection in this community is now even higher.
‘Whilst lockdown measures were still very effective at reducing transmission, over the course of 2020 three out of four secondary school aged children and adults were still infected.
‘We would very much like to thank the community. It was a privilege to work directly with them, and think this community partnership approach could be a blueprint to further understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on other groups in the UK.’The Office of the Chief Rabbi has been approached for comment.’
