Jewish Summer Camps In New York Lose Challenge To COVID-19 Closures

In Ass'n of Jewish Camp Operators v. Cuomo, (ND NY, July 6,2020), a New York federal district court rejected arguments that New York state, among other things, violated the Free Exercise clause "by discriminatorily banning children’s Jewish overnight camps (while exempting favored secular conduct) in a way that is not narrowly tailored to curbing the transmission of the COVID-19 virus...." The court said in part:

Plaintiffs argue that Defendant’s executive orders are not neutral because his refusal to allow overnight camps to open effectively targets Jewish overnight camps (given that almost all of the secular or non-Jewish overnight camps had already decided they would not open in the summer of 2020 by the time Defendant and Health Commissioner Zucker specifically clarified on June 12, 2020, that overnight camps would not be allowed to open). Although it is true that “[t]he effect of the law in its real operation is strong evidence of its object,” it is likewise true that “adverse impact will not always lead to a finding of impermissible targeting.” ... Plaintiffs have provided no factual allegations or evidence to indicate that the fact that only Jewish overnight camps have continued to plan to open for the summer leads to the conclusion that Defendant’s executive orders have targeted the Jewish faith. To the contrary, it is undisputed that Defendant’s ban on overnight camps applies equally to all such camps, regardless of the camps’ religious (or secular) nature. The fact that Plaintiffs have maintained a hope and willingness to operate or send their children to overnight camps this summer longer than most persons involved with secular or non-Jewish overnight camps does not somehow turn Defendant’s facially neutral executive order into impermissible targeting.

The court also rejected 14th Amendment challenges contending that the closures infringed parental rights to control the upbringing of their children. Times Herald Record reports on the decision.