JERUSALEM – Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis gathered on Sunday for the funeral of a prominent rabbi in Jerusalem, violating the country’s ban on holding large public gatherings during the pandemic.
The funeral procession for Rabbi Meshulam Soloveichik, who died at the age of 99, made its way through the streets of Jerusalem in the latest manifestation of the ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ refusal to honor coronavirus restrictions.
The phenomenon undermined the country’s aggressive vaccination campaign to bring a furious outbreak under control and threatened to harm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March elections. Two contestants accused Netanyahu of failing to enforce the law because of political pressure from his ultra-Orthodox allies.
A dense crowd gathered outside the rabbi’s house, ignoring restrictions on outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. Many did not wear masks. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox black-clad funerals passed by the city’s main entrance to the cemetery where Soloveitchik was to be buried. A handful of police officers blocked traffic intersections to allow participants to pass, but did not appear to take any action to prevent illegal assembly.
Israeli media reported that Soloveitchik, a leading religious scholar who led a series of well-known seminars, recently suffered from COVID-19.
Alon Halfon, a Jerusalem police officer, told Channel 13 TV that the police had no choice but to allow the mass procession to continue. He said police action had helped reduce the number of crowds and that about 100 tickets had been issued for health violations. But in such a dense environment, with children in the crowd, trying to disperse the crowd would have been “unwise and dangerous.”
The Israeli Ministry of Health has registered over 640,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and at least 4,745 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Recently, Israel has averaged more than 6,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus each day, one of the highest infection rates in the developing world. At the same time, Israel has vaccinated more than 3 million citizens, also one of the highest per capita rates in the world.
Health experts say it could take several weeks for the vaccination campaign to have an effect on infection and hospitalization rates. The Israeli cabinet met on Sunday and expected to extend the nationwide closure for another week. The government imposed traffic restrictions and the closure of schools and non-essential businesses last month, in an effort to counter Israel’s runaway pandemic.
A disproportionate number of coronavirus cases in Israel are in the country’s ultra-Orthodox minority. The strictly religious community, which accounts for about 11 percent of Israel’s 9.2 million people, accounts for about 40 percent of new cases.
Many ultra-Orthodox sects kept schools, seminaries and synagogues open and organized weddings and mass funerals, violating the closure restrictions that closed schools and many businesses in other parts of the country. In recent weeks, there have been violent clashes between members of the ultra-Orthodox community who have broken the rules and police officers who have tried to enforce them.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders say they have been misidentified and say the country’s secular public does not understand the importance of public prayer and religious studies in their community. They claim that scofflaws are a small part of their diverse community and blame the crowded living conditions for the outbreak.
Netanyahu has long relied on ultra-Orthodox parties for support, and critics say he refused to oppose his allies before the critical election. Without ultra-Orthodox support, Netanyahu will find it extremely difficult to assemble a governing coalition – especially as he seeks immunity from an ongoing corruption process.
But there are signs that this alliance could become a liability due to widespread public anger over ultra-Orthodox behavior during the pandemic. A poll last week showed that more than 60% of Israelis do not want ultra-Orthodox parties to serve in the next coalition.
Sunday’s funeral came a day after police used a water cannon to disperse anti-Netanyahu protesters near the prime minister’s residence. And the Israeli media showed police officers aggressively distributing fines to people violating the Tel Aviv blockade, accusing police of violating double standards.
Gideon Saar, a right-wing Israeli politician who challenged Netanyahu in the election, criticized the prime minister on Twitter, saying that “images in Jerusalem show that Netanyahu has given up law enforcement for political reasons. This will not happen in a government led by me. There will be one law for all and it will be enforced. ”
Another provocateur, Yair Lapid, leader of a centrist party that appeals to secular middle-class voters, said in a speech in parliament that he had nothing against ultra-Orthodox or their parties.
“I have a big problem with someone who thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” he said. “The law is for everyone.”