At least 10,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews challenge the c …

In the midst of the third quarantine in Israel, more than 10,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews violated sanitary measures and attended the funeral of 99-year-old coronavirus victim Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveichik.. Without respecting social distancing or the use of masks in most cases, a sea of ​​men in black has crossed Jerusalem’s main avenues due to inaction by security forces. Ultra-Orthodox communities are also the most resistant to the rapid and effective vaccination campaign that the Israeli government has been developing since December 20. After receiving strong criticism from organizations such as the UN and Amnesty International, Israel has said it will deliver 5,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Palestinian National Authority to immunize doctors in the occupied territories.

“I will not go and face tens of thousands of people because I am unable to do so,” Israel Police spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox community, Shabtai Gerberchik, said.. “What can we do in this situation? Can I go in with the cavalry and the water cannons and interrupt the funeral procession? The law is very draconian, sometimes life is more complicated than anything else and you just have to minimize the damage“added the police spokesman quoted by the newspaper Haaretz.

The late Rabbi Meshulam Soloveichik, who contracted the coronavirus before the Jewish holiday Hanukkah in December 2020 and died on Saturday evening, He was a member of a respected rabbinical dynasty and was revered by all ultra-Orthodox factions. Not only have the police argued that the procession is too large, but that Israeli society as a whole tends to violate the quarantine decreed by the pandemic and set an example of an underground party in Tel Aviv.

However, the funeral procession generated a strong condemnation from Benny Gantz, former number two in the already fractured government coalition and former head of the army. “Either we close for everyone or we open for everyone,” Gantz warned.. “This is what the double standard in law enforcement looks like: Millions of families and children are locked inside their homes and playing by the rules, while thousands of ultra-Orthodox gather to a funeral. “, posted the leader of the Blue and White coalition on his Twitter account.

This opposition to pandemic prevention measures has obvious effects on this community. Despite making up 13% of the population, the ultra-Orthodox make up 40% of those infected with COVID-19 and are the most reluctant to get vaccinated against the pandemic.

While Israel has already vaccinated around a third of its population, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip that it has occupied and controlled militarily for more than half a century have yet to receive a dose. It is not clear whether the 5,000 doses that the Israeli government has pledged to deliver this Sunday will only be for the West Bank, the seat of the Palestinian National Authority, or whether it will also distribute them in the Gaza Strip, where the authority is maintained by the Islamist organization that Israel considers terrorist, Hamas.