A group of parents and the Association of Jewish Camp Operators are suing Governor Andrew Cuomo over his closure of sleepaway camps this summer during the coronavirus pandemic, arguing the governor’s order violates their constitutional rights of the free exercise of religion and “the fundamental rights of parents to control the religious education and upbringing of their children.”
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Northern District of New York federal court, seeks immediate relief from the ban through a temporary restraining order that would likely allow sleepaway camps to open quickly for the summer.
On June 12th, Cuomo officially announced that all sleepaway camps would be closed in the state this summer.
"Sleepaway camps are a much higher level of risk, and after much study and debate and research, our advice in New York State by our health commissioner is the risk is too great to open the summer camps," he said at his June 13th briefing.
At the same news briefing, Dr. Howard Zucker, the state health commissioner, said his recommendation is to keep sleepaway camp was one of his toughest decisions and spoke fondly of his own memories at camp in the Catskills.
"We have to go back and look at this from the facts, and the facts are that this is a congregant setting; there are many children who are together in a bunk; they're sleeping in the same area close by; they're eating in the same common area; they're using a shared bathroom, so social distancing in this situation is just not possible," said Zucker.
An email request to Cuomo’s office for comment on the lawsuit was not immediately answered Thursday.
The lead plaintiff, Brooklyn-based Association of Jewish Camp Operators, said in the lawsuit they are “a consortium of independent Jewish summer camps that have a shared commitment to creating immersive and unique camp environments to instill traditional religious Jewish values to children,” with more than 40,000 Jewish children attending their camps in New York every summer.
The lawsuit argues that Cuomo selectively enforces his COVID-19 executive order for social distancing, notably with the massive protests against police brutality that have sprung up across New York City and the state:
Cuomo “has made a broad First Amendment exception from his COVID-19 orders for First Amendment activities that he favors. In particular, [Cuomo] has created a de facto exemption from his COVID-19 orders for mass demonstrations, explicitly proclaiming agreement with the message invoked by the protestors and actively encouraging the mass gatherings. Defendant has done so even though these mass protests pose greater risks of the transmission of COVID-19 than do Jewish overnight camps.”
In addition, the lawsuit states Cuomo “also has allowed a wide array of similar, secular activities to remain open, such as numerous 'non-essential' businesses and entities, child care services for 'essential' workers, summer day camps, and special education services, provided that such entities follow health-related guidelines issued by the New York Department of Health to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.”
The lawsuit pointedly states the plaintiffs are not opposed to the Black Lives Matter protests but simply want the same respect from government.
The lawsuit's other plaintiffs include Dr. Samuel Werzberger, a pediatrician who practices in New York and New Jersey and “has worked on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for between fifty and one hundred COVID-19 patients each day during the initial weeks of the pandemic. Dr. Werzberger is the father of nine children who range from 18 months to 18 years of age, four of whom he would send to Jewish overnight camps in New York State but for Defendant’s statewide closure,” according to the lawsuit. Another plaintiff is Dr. Ariela Orkaby, a physician at VA Boston Healthcare System who has three kids who would normally attend sleepaway camp in New York, and two other New York parents.
Jewish summer camps have a special place in the community, the lawsuit argues: “Children who attend Jewish overnight camps grow up more connected to the Jewish community and have an increased commitment to religious practice and to the Jewish faith. Overnight camps allow Jewish children to adhere to Jewish practices and education for weeks without withdrawal into the secular world, thereby strengthening their intensity in Jewish values throughout their daily life. The success of Jewish overnight camps is owed to their immersive experience that separates children from the outside world and envelops them in an enclosed, safe society.”
With yeshivas closed since March along with all other New York schools, the plaintiffs say this summer is especially crucial for Jewish summer camps.
“The need for Jewish overnight camps is particularly true this summer, after several months of shutdowns of the yeshiva schools, to provide for the structured Jewish learning and living offered by the Jewish overnight camps,” the lawsuit said.
