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Rabbi says Jewish family gatherings may have been a factor in high death toll

Community figures underline devastating impact of virus on Orthodox

May 20, 2020 10:33
Jewish covid funeral
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 05: Hundreds of members of the Orthodox Jewish community attend the funeral for a rabbi who died from the coronavirus in the Borough Park neighborhood which has seen an upsurge of (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic on April 05, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Hospitals in New York City, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are facing shortages of beds, ventilators and protective equipment for medical staff. Currently, over 122,000 New Yorkers have tested positive for coronavirus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Edgware and Hendon Reform's Rabbi Mark Goldsmith has said that the tradition for extended family gatherings may have had an impact  on the disproportionately high Covid-19 death toll within the Jewish community.

In an interview with the BBC for a report on the issue, Rabbi Goldsmith said that while he did not want to speculate, he thought that there was “no doubt that getting together with people with extended family is part of what makes being a Jew a pleasure.

"I don't think that's disappeared - it has transferred temporarily online - and I'm sure it will come back,  but it may have had a feature."

The report concluded that while part of the reason for the death toll standing at 458 was demographic - many Jews are older, and they usually live in large urban areas - the social nature of Judaism could also have been a factor.