Orthodox agitator Heshy Tischler, who was arrested and charged last Sunday with a misdemeanor for unlawful imprisonment and inciting a riot in connection with the assault of respected Orthodox Jewish Journalist Jacob Kornbluh on October 7, spoke to KCP today to make a case for himself and his supporters.
Tischler allegedly was the ringleader in members of the Orthodox Community’s attempt to vocalize their discontent with the strict restrictions Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Oct. 6 that limited synagogue gatherings and closed schools in the tightly-knit Borough Park community, which has seen a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Following Cuomo’s order, Borough Park residents took to the streets to protest. Over the two day frenzy of dancing and singing- a religious practice held by Orthodox Jews on the nights of Chol Homoed – some mask burnings and a charge against two members of the community grew aggressive.
One of those charges against Kornbluh was led by Tischler himself. The video that was taken Wednesday night shows Tischler yelling at Kornbluh that he is a pig and a moser (a snitch in Yiddish) while a large crowd surrounds the two men.
“I say it like it is. What do you want me to be? A politician? I’m just a regular guy trying to help out my community,” said Tischler.
“The mayor is shutting down our schools, our synagogues, our holidays- violating us just doesn’t end and we had a total of four deaths in the last six weeks,” he added.
In a press conference earlier last week, Cuomo introduced red-zoned clusters- areas where normal activity would be suppressed for 14 days because of large upticks in COVID-19 infections. Borough Park is included in the “Ocean-parkway cluster” with more than five other neighborhoods.
“The Torah speaks about how certain religious obligations can be excused, if you are going to save a life. This is about saving a life,” Cuomo mentioned later on, after noting that all the houses of worship seated in the red-zone will be limited to 10 people or 25% filled-capacity.
The outspoken language Tischler has become infamous for using assuages the Orthodox communities’ anger for being singled out, which, according to Tischler , the local Orthodox leaders have failed to represent. “You want me to be the better man?” He said, “I apologize to Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio for messing up my city and being idiots!”
Tischler, although different looking from the Orthodox community without his beard or long peyes at his ears, rose to fill that void and many have latched on in support. A gofundme page for Heshy has raised almost $15,000 with a short paragraph reasoning that Tischler “has done so much for the community, now is our chance to show solidarity.”
