The he UK is doomed

I only commented on the Haredi/Jewish element firstly because the BBC made that suggestion throughout the article but secondly because it was covered on our local news a lot during the first lockdown how badly these communities were affected by infection and death, I remember being really saddened that it had gotten into young learning disability home/community in the area too. It must have directly affected a lot of people so to go ahead with a big wedding seems as I said, surprising. I'm sorry if that offended people as I can see I made the assumption it was a gathering within the community. I see the venue says it hires out to anyone who wants to hire it, so I may have been wrong to assume. I apologise and it is always good to point these things out to people so they can check their thinking and behaviours and educate themselves a bit better.

Fwiw I see groups of women everywhere in groups dropping children off at schools, certainly before the lockdown. I always found it a bit shocking as I have hardly mixed with anyone but I suppose people mitigate their own risks. I think aswell we have been led to believe it doesn't matter so much when you are outdoors. I remember sitting on a bench to eat my lunch (alone) and a woman sitting right next to me and feeling a bit about it!

FGS !

I condemn a group of selfish people who have put mine and other's lives at risk because they, or their community leaders, think that the rules do not apply to them. Is that ok for those of you who are trying very hard to see anti-Semitism on this thread? Please don't try to derail this or dismiss my anger. I have a son living in London and this behaviour puts him at risk.

They broke lockdown rules because they're idiots, not because they're Orthodox Jews. Idiots come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colours and religions. They should have the rule book thrown at them just like it would hopefully be thrown at all idiots.

Do you actually know why they broke lockdown MOnica? You are making assumptions about their belief which may not be true.

I don't think the OP was intended as anti-semitic. However, some of the comments which followed are, in my opinion, anti-semitic. I'm amazed that people appeared not to be aware of the Haredis and seem to regard them as a weird sect.

I have yet to read anything anti-semitic on this thread.

It is getting ridiculous when we cannot say that someone or a group of people have shared idiosyncracies that can cause practical problems for other people but have to pretend that everyone is exactly the same, that no one varies from anyone by a jot or tittle.

Why is it acceptable to condemn people who have no shared religious beliefs and hold a party during a lockdown but not criticise them if they do have a shared religious belief and that belief is why they broke lockdown?

I can't really see anti semitic thoughts here and certainly no one has condemned the entire Jewish community in that area. But a wedding with 400 guests is enough to make those of us who are following the rules very cross, sad and exasperated.

I was very interested as to how the school was used on this occasion. Who holds the keys to the building, what connection did the attendees have with the school, who on the management team allowed this? The caterers who used the school kitchen and the musicians who rigged up their gear must also have known they were doing something very wrong.
At almost any other school the head, bursar or business manager would have been suspended by now and investigated for gross misconduct. It puts shame on the school and sets an appalling example to the pupils.

Me too.

I agree with AmberSpyglass and growstuff, regarding the anti-semitism in some of these posts.

I'm sure we'll be dealt with by HQ if we have crossed a line.

GillT57

I could weep. I haven't seen friends and family for months, I am sick and tired of being stuck at home, my life is dwindling away in lockdown as my future plans and hopes are thwarted and these bastards decide they can have a wedding. This is a slap in the face to everyone who has obeyed the rules, all of you who can't see your grandchildren, can't be with partners when they are ill, have had parents die alone in hospital, or wither away in care homes. The Police need to demand the guest list, the addresses of the caterers and all those who enable the event to take place, and fine them the maximum.

Absolutely right on every level. I am in the same boat as you and it makes me so sad and blazing angry at the selfishness and I'll-do-what-I-like attitude of people like these.
I have a friend living in Spain who is allowed 1 hour of exercise in her immediate area, can only shop at her nearest supermarket and chemist and has to obey a curfew. The police are on the streets every day asking people questions about why they are out to make sure those rules are kept.

In my post of 11.36 I was trying to explain that Monica .

If it came across as anti-Semitic I apologise.

Amberspyglass is not the only poster who sees some of the posts on this thread as anti-semitic.

M0nica makes the point I was trying to much more succinctly than me.

I understand what you are saying Monica but if I had cancelled one of my AC’s wedding due to Covid (as friends of ours have done) only to see this spread over all media outlets I would be enraged.

They are endangering themselves and all who they subsequently come in contact with, along with the overstretched NHS if they need to be hospitalised due to contracting Covid-19

You must do as you think fit Amberspyglass, but from what I have read on this thread, you are the only one who sees anything posted as anti-semitic. This is an absolute slap in the face to those of us who have followed the rules. My comment, which was supposed to be in italics was ironic, sorry if I did not make that clear. As GG13 says, the race and religion of the attendees is irrelevant, unless the community involved consider it makes them exempt from the laws and guidance which the rest of us are trying so hard to follow. I think the reports that the windows were covered and that guests fled are a fair indication that they knew what they were doing was not permitted. I want to see the rabbi, the caterers, the parents of the bride and groom held responsible for this selfish action which will surely endanger life, if not lead to the deaths of others.

You are wrong,GrannyGravy to say race and religion don't matter. They don't in the discrimination manner, but knowledge of the back ground to the event, the group and their beliefs is part of the reason that this event went on regardless of lockdown. One report I saw suggested that the owners of the site, who are part of this group, have been accused before of allowing events to be run there during lockdown.

There are small ultra groups in most faiths, who cut themselves off, as far as possible, from mixing with 'non-believers' and believe that God is the great lawgiver, not man.

I am not suggesting that people in these groups hould be treated more or less leniently if they break the law, but, it is necessary to recognise these beliefs when making clear to these groups that they must follow the same rules governing other people and knowing the best way to ensure they are compliant in the future.

I have repeatedly posted that the race/religion of the wedding and it’s attendees is irrelevant. It’s the fact that someone thought it a good and acceptable idea to hold a wedding with 400 guests.

I think we have to be able to say what news items are telling us ( verified items) and this very large wedding Party attendees were Jewish, just as some very large wedding parties broken up by police this year were Muslim and Hindu ( and probably Christian ones too.)
All pre planned and nothing crazy spur of the moment, tells you that some people ( of all faiths and none) will continue to flout laws just because they think they can.)
Disgraceful behaviour.

*MissAdventure

I'm not at all surprised by this.
These people are a law unto themselves, with their school still open here, very little mask wearing, and the women going around in large groups.

Today 11:28 GrannyGravy13

MissA I forgot there was a large community near you.

**Today 11:36 GrannyGravy13

I assume that they think they answer to a higher power than the Government.

It doesn’t bode well for integration within the local community?

Today 11:44 MissAdventure

They don't integrate anyway, preferring to keep very much to themselves.
(Although the women and children use the buses en masse; no masks, of course)*

These posts are antisemitic and disgusting and I hope MN takes them down. Frankly you both deserve a suspension for this kind of language.

I have just re-read every post and I cannot see any anti-semitism.

What I can see is a group of angry posters who whilst not seeing families and friends for months on end, and no sign of meeting up in the foreseeable future are outraged at a group of people knowingly holding an illegal wedding............

Please do not use this to put blame on all jewish orthodox communities.

I am a totally non-religious jewish atheist. However, my lovely eldest niece belongs to one of these communities in North West London. Usually a couple of times a year, my eldest daughter and myself visit her on a Sunday morning to catch with her and her children and g.children - my last link to my (many yeas my senior) brother!! Despite our many cultural differences we all really enjoy and look forward to these meet-ups. Obviously, has to be in her house, as she would not be able to eat or drink in our non-kosher homes.

Sadly, last April, her husband was taken ill, rushed to hospital in the Jewish volunteer ambulance, stayed five days before he died having never been able to be seen or see his family. We were, of course, unable to attend his funeral.

However, during the summer when rules were lifting, I made a provisional arrangement for us to visit her for a couple of hours. She was so excited and pleased, but then contacted me to say it would not be possible as with her, me, my daughter - if either of her adult children joined us with their children we would be over the six permitted for meeting indoors. So, yes, she was absolutely obeying the rules.

We speak on the telephone, but a present no idea when we will be able to see her and express, in person, our regrets for her husbands death. She, and her brother were the first two g.children for my parents, and were so deeply loved by them,.

This was not a stupid decision, it was a deliberate, pre-planned flouting of the rules, by the people who hired out the hall, (why?) and all the people who organised, conducted and attended the wedding, thus participating in a strictly forbidden mass gathering, which put their own lives and those of others at great risk.

These posts are not anti-semitic: they are stating and discussing known facts, as published on the BBC news website.

GrannyGravy13
Don't beleive a'virtual'would appeal to those hoping to meet the star of the attraction being non other than newly elected USA President Joe Biden.

AND the many suffering /complying residents....none of us are comfortable with where we are now.