A screenshot from the Hasidic man’s recording of the encounter. Image by Screenshot

By Ari Feldman March 23, 2020

A Hasidic man was refused service at a Toyota dealership in New York Monday after being accused of “spreading the virus.”

In several videos and voice notes shared on WhatsApp, the man described making an appointment at Johnstons Toyota, in New Hampton, N.Y., and then being asked to leave without having his car serviced, even as other customers brought their vehicles in.

In an exchange with an employee of the dealership, the man asked why he was being refused service.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Because you’re spreading the virus,” the employee can be heard saying. “You gotta go.”

“Why am I spreading the virus more than other people?” the Hasidic man asks.

“I don’t know,” the employee says, before asking him again to leave.

Here’s a visibly Jewish man trying to get his car serviced at @Toyota World in Goshen NY, which was open for business. The employee tells him they won’t serve him because “you’re spreading the virus.” pic.twitter.com/flgjxoO9Vn

— The Meturgeman (@HaMeturgeman) March 23, 2020

In a voice recording shared on WhatsApp, the Hasidic man said that he had made an appointment earlier Monday only to have an employee tell him he could not get an appointment because “It’s only you spreading the virus.” The man then asked for the manager, who asked him to leave.

The dealership, in Orange County, is a 25-minute drive from Kiryas Joel, a large Hasidic village in the county.

The incident comes as Orthodox Jews have warned that Hasidic Jews are being demonized for not reacting quickly enough to social distancing rules, and are being unfairly targeted for being out of step with efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount