Jewish conservatives will burn masks at the Collin County party to celebrate the end of the masks’ term in Texas

More than 200 people are expected to gather at a home in Collin County this week to eat sushi, drinks, political speakers – and a fire to destroy the masks that organizers say represent a government exaggeration.

The Dallas Jewish Conservatives event on Wednesday night in Parker aims to celebrate the announced end of the Texas mask mandate by Governor Greg Abbott and other restrictions on COVID-19.

“I thought it was an opportunity for my fellow Texan and American freedom-loving conservatives to get together and celebrate,” said Benji Gershon, president and founder of the Dallas Jewish Conservatives. The bonfire “is a symbol of freedom and a symbol of the fact that the mask represents government control”.

People whose home was listed as the venue declined to comment on Sunday, he said.

Although the fire was added to attract attention, it is not the focus of the event, said Gershon. Speakers will include members of the Trump campaign team and Shelley Luther, a Dallas salon owner who gained national attention for defying COVID-19 orders and ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the state Senate.

Event organizers will also observe a moment of silence for the more than 500,000 people who died of the virus before burning the masks, which experts say are essential to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Gershon said he has friends and family who have died or become seriously ill from the virus and does not want to minimize the severity of the pandemic. Instead, he said, the event will celebrate the removal of government mandates.

“I am not personally anti-mask,” he said. “It must be a personal choice, not something imposed by the government.”

Despite the announced unmasked environment, some COVID-19 protocols will be in effect, according to the event’s website.

It will be outdoors with plenty of space for social distance, and hand sanitizer will be available. In addition, according to the description of the event, registrants should not hold the event’s organizers responsible for illness, although “they recognize that there is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 wherever there are people”.