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NY Post Opinion: Dressing Down Jews

Is City Hall about to take action against the dress codes at Manhattan’s top-flight restaurants? Of course not. And that only underscores the hypocrisy that all too often animates this administration. Because the city is going after Hasidic-owned store-owners who ask their patrons to dress modestly.

The city’s Commission on Human Rights has cited seven small stores in the Hasidic section of Williamsburg for discrimination. Their offense? Posting signs that read: “No Shorts, No Barefoot, No Sleeveless, No Low Cut Necklines Allowed in the Store.” Which is no different than restaurants requiring men to wear a jacket and tie — or a pizzeria posting a sign reading “No shirt, no shoes, no service.”

The city disagrees, and is suing the shops. Cliff Mulqueen, the commission’s general counsel, explained to The Jewish Week that while “dress codes are OK . . . telling someone they have to abide by certain rules of the Jewish faith crosses the line into [establishing] a protected class.”

But again, that’s not what the signs say. And the city hasn’t found a single person refused service because of his attire.

Here’s the operative distinction: Anyone turned away from these stores for his or her dress can change clothes and be admitted. Anyone denied service because of his or her race, religion or gender can’t do that.

The commission took action after The Post first reported the signs last July. At the time, a top official of the city Law Department said the signs appeared to be OK.

The good news is that the case has now attracted the attention and support of a top law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, which is representing the shop-owners pro bono. Notably, the firm is citing important First Amendment religious-liberty issues.

The city would do us all a favor if it limited its authorities to fighting genuine discrimination under the law — not inventing it where it doesn’t exist.

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12 Comments

  • Ari

    I don’t see who else this would be targeting. Satmar women wouldn’t dare do those. And, it’s also written in Spanish.

  • Yossi A

    Should be hung up in every CH store.
    KUDOS to this store SHAME on CH women who don’t know how to dress tziniusdik,

  • Shimi

    And if we invite these people in our community they will soon dress immodest and demand bike lanes from the city and destroy our shechuna…

    We cant sell our community cheap for a couple of extra dollars of rental income,

    They will destroy us at the end.

  • Mendy Hecht

    With all due respect, Mr. Mulqueen–well, the faulty ideas in his head, not Mr. Mulqueen himself–needs to be run off a cliff.

    This ongoing issue is a significant part of the ongoing demonization and delegitimization of religion in general and Chasidic/Orthodox Judaism in particular, fueled by a foolish media that for the most part doesn’t realize it’s being played by a limited group of people with a sinister agenda.

    The scary thing is that there is historical precedent for this–specifically, in the fact that the Holocaust (and other earlier atrocities) didn’t begin with death camps overnight; it began with Hitler (and others) testing the waters with smaller things and getting away with them.

    I am saying a Holocaust could happen here in America? Yes.

    The Jews in Europe certainly didn’t see it coming (until it was largely too late). If you went back to the 1930s and described the Holocaust to a Jew on the streets of cosmopolitan Berlin or Vilna, they would have told you you’re completely crazy.

    But this is how pushing the Jews out starts–with “innocent” little things like this: “Oh, we’re just concerned about civil rights.”

    Yeah, right.

    Where is the ADL when we need them?

  • to no. 1.

    Ari, you obviously just don’t get it. The Post is saying that many restaurants have dress codes and they have never been penalized for it.

    Another point is that if you want to come into the store all you need to do is go home and get dressed accordingly.

    No one is being refused service because they are of a certain race or religion.

    First amendment may allow you dress as you please, but it doesn’t allow to have access to wherever you please if you are not conforming with the dress code which is equal to everyone in that establishment.

  • Great article

    Well written and very relevant to the times. We need more such rational articles in this increasingly irrational media society.

  • Masha Chaya

    They could just keep a loaner burka by the door. And a pair of flip flops.

  • Berel

    “I don’t see who else this would be targeting.”
    […]
    “And, it’s also written in Spanish.”

    You really think the shops are trying to exclude non-Jews; not immodest dress likes the signs say…

    “Satmar women wouldn’t dare do those.”

    What’s the weather like in your cartoon world?

  • To Masha Chaya

    I don’t think they do Burkas. You’re mixing up your fashion demographics.