New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaking to firefighters on May 4. Image by Bryan Thomas/Getty

By Ari Feldman May 5, 2020

Nearly a week after his tweet about a Hasidic funeral drew ire from Jews across the religious spectrum, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is still apologizing for his words — and defending his actions.

In a conference call with multiple Orthodox media outlets Monday, de Blasio called the tweet — which was directed at “the Jewish community” — an example of “poor word choice,” but said he would not delete it, Jewish Insider reported.

“I am someone who believes you always move forward,” he said on the call. “You don’t dwell on something. You find a way to move forward.”

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“I am at peace that what I’ve done has been consistent, I’m at peace that I’ve explained this circumstance, and I am much more interested now in dealing with the fact that there are lives in danger right now that we have to protect,” added.

Frustration with de Blasio was fueled by reports from the community that planned the funeral, Satmar Hasidic Jews, was planned in direct coordination with local police officers.

Yet the call came after multiple Orthodox organizations signaled their forgiveness to de Blasio over his handling of the incident, noting his long partnership with the community and defense of its practices. In the call, de Blasio, a former city council member who represented Orthodox neighborhoods, said he had defended the community from attacks that came “not by poor word choice or out of a mistake in the middle of a passionate moment, but purposeful systematic discrimination against the community.”

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

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