Another Media & Police Anti-Orthodox Doozy: “99-Year-Old” Gets Summons at “Wedding” (Except that He’s 23 and it Was an Engagement)

The story was all over the news.

Why, of course it was – it involved Orthodox Jews.

But the media and the authorities goofed so badly, it’s embarrassing.

And the authorities didn’t do themselves any favors either, falling for false claims.

NBC News reported on this story, claiming that “around 4:30 p.m., police in Lakewood Township, near the Jersey Shore, were called to a residence on a report of a social gathering,” and that officers found a group of people, including children, on the front lawn and inside the home.

Let’s start with the claim that “there was a 99-year-old at this engagement party.”

Matzav.com knew that something was strange about this claim, so we did some investigative reporting. After a number of phone calls, we tracked down the right people and spoke to relatives of this “99-year-old.”

The only problem?

He’s actually a young man named Michael and he’s 23 years old.

Only 76 years off.

And the “party” was held legally in honor of the engagement of a chosson, Shmuel Chaim, and a kallah, Brocha.

Everyone present was closely related. The 5 people who didn’t actually live on that property were in their cars the whole time.

But you won’t read this at NBC News or anywhere in the media.

And you won’t hear that from the very authorities who showed up at the event to make a tumult and hand out summonses.

Authorities?

Yes. Numerous police officers converged on this engagement event, held legally and in accordance with social distancing guidelines.

Those same police actually wrote on the summons – obtained by Matzav.com – that there was a wedding going on.

But there was no wedding. Just a couple who had gotten engaged.

But why get confused with the facts?

As if that wasn’t enough, the police charged one of the mechutanim with 6 counts of child endangerment – for having his very own kids in his front yard, legally.

Absurd?

Yes, it is.

Apparently, the police had consumed some kind of media anti-Orthodox cool-aid.

The summons the police wrote out for the aforementioned Michael, the 99-year-old, er, we mean the 23-year-old, has the correct month and day of his birthday, but the wrong year.

Shame on the media for stoking the fires of anti-Semitism and not bothering to do any form of investigative journalism. And shame on the authorities, who didn’t bother identifying the facts on the ground before handing out summonses to appease those who are out to malign to Orthodox Jewish community.

There’s enough shame to go around. The apologies can now start coming in.

{D. Stein-Matzav.com Newscenter}