In full confinement, thousands of men in frock coats and black hats buried, Sunday, January 31 in Jerusalem, two respected rabbis of the ultra-Orthodox community, who died at the age of 98 and 99 of the Covid-19. The police were powerless.
There were a few arrests, to show off. “We cannot arrest 20,000 people, Police spokesman Shabtai Gerberchik justified himself. You can’t run into them with the water cannons. “
Uneasiness since the start of the pandemic
Striking images of the two funeral processions illustrate a cultural as well as political unease that has lasted since the start of the pandemic. Living in “Their” densely populated towns or neighborhoods, « haredim » (God-fearing) represent less than 15% of the 9 million Israelis, but nearly 40% of new infections.
They are one of the main drivers of an epidemic that‘Israel fails to stem: nearly 1,500 deaths in January alone, a third of the total. A paradox, while the country is envied for the speed of its vaccination campaign.
The rest of the country between anger and incomprehension
The major focus of infection? Talmudic schools, overcrowded, that religious authorities refuse to close. The rest of the country, hard hit economically and psychologically by three successive confinements, expresses anger and incomprehension.
In addition, there are accusations of electoral calculation. Very disparate, the ultra-Orthodox community votes en masse for religious parties, have become essential in the government coalitions of the Prime Minister in power since 2009. And Benyamin Netanyahu needs them to not lose the legislative elections of March 23 …
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