JERUSALEM (AP) – As he seeks re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has resorted to a simple strategy: rely on the strong support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and eliminate the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccination campaigns.
But with ultra-Orthodox communities openly violating safety lines and violently confronting police trying to enforce them, this marriage of convenience turns into a burden. Netanyahu has pursued his political partners by undermining the country’s war on the virus and triggering a public backlash that threatens him at the polls.
“Netanyahu’s hope is that Israel will be the first country in the world to be vaccinated, that it will be able to open the economy to everyone, ultra-Orthodox and secular, and then the problem will be forgotten,” said Moshe Klughaft, a strategist. campaigner who has advised Netanyahu in the past. If the current troubles persist, he said, “Netanyahu will have big problems.”
Less than two months before the March 23 elections, Israel is in a paradoxical situation. In just one month, he vaccinated over a quarter of its 9.3 million inhabitants and is about to inoculate the entire adult population by election day. At the same time, it has one of the highest infection rates in the world, with about 8,000 new cases detected every day. This week he tightened a one-month blockade by closing the international airport on almost all flights.
There are a number of reasons for the ongoing outbreak. Before the airport was closed, Israelis returning from abroad brought with them rapidly spreading versions of the coronavirus. Also, other segments of the population did not comply with the blocking provisions that closed shops, schools and restaurants.
But there is no doubt that the ultra-Orthodox sector – where schools remain open, synagogues are full and mass weddings and funerals continue to take place – has been a driving force in the growing number.
Experts estimate that the sector, which accounts for about 12% of Israel’s population, accounts for 40% of new cases of COVID-19. Official data also show that vaccination rates in ultra-Orthodox cities, where science is often behind the faith, are well below the rest of the country.
The ultra-Orthodox have long exercised a disproportionate influence in Israel, using their status as kings in parliament to extract concessions from the nation’s leaders. Ultra-Orthodox men are exempt from compulsory military service. Community schools receive generous grants, while providing lower education that focuses almost entirely on religious studies and ignores critical subjects such as math, English, and science. As adults, many men avoid the workforce by collecting social assistance payments while studying in religious seminaries.
The system has long generated resentment among Israel’s secular majority and economists have repeatedly warned that it is unsustainable. But political leaders have rarely been willing to challenge the system.
Netanyahu is no exception. Keeping the money flowing, he found a reliable ally for most of his 12-year term. Ultra-Orthodox support is essential as Netanyahu seeks to form a majority coalition in favor of granting him immunity from allegations of corruption.
But the rising rate of infection, combined with violent protests, has brought unwanted attention. In recent days, a large crowd of ultra-Orthodox protesters, many of them unmasked, have attacked sent police to enforce closure orders and journalists covering the riots. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, a policeman fired a pistol into the air to defend a hostile crowd. That night, protesters set fire to a bus in the city.
“Israel is facing a Haredi insurrection that makes it impossible to fight COVID,” wrote Yaakov Katz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, using the Hebrew word for ultra-Orthodox.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders say their communities are being misidentified and that a small minority is responsible for the problems. They say that crowded living conditions and large families are the main reason for high infection rates and that society does not understand the importance of prayer and learning in the ultra-Orthodox world.
After Bnei Brak’s mayor, Avraham Rubenstein, was attacked by a large number of protesters this week, he accused police of igniting the situation and said authorities should let the community solve its own problems.
But Dov Habertal, a prominent ultra-Orthodox lawyer and commentator, said it was time for introspection. He said the violations were widespread and that ultra-Orthodox politicians, rabbis and a subordinate press were all accomplices.
“There is no blockage. It’s a big lie, “he told Channel 13 television.” Synagogues are open, ritual baths, rabbinic lectures, weddings, and Netanyahu is cooperating with them, “he said.
Netanyahu, relying on the vaccination program to propel him to victory, appeared unwilling or unable to assume its ultra-Orthodox allies. Asked about the unrest, Netanyahu told reporters this week that he had tried to call Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the country’s most influential spiritual leaders. Kanievsky, 93, “was not available,” Netanyahu complained, saying he had left a message for the rabbi’s nephew.
This perceived weakness began to play into the hands of Netanyahu’s rivals. Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, which appeals to secular middle-class voters, has seen its popularity grow.
“We will put an end to this madness,” Lapid wrote on Twitter. “With us, there will be one law for everyone.”
This week’s opinion polls projected that Yesh Atid will finish second in the election behind Netanyahu’s Likud, but in a potentially better position to form a coalition than Netanyahu. Another Channel 12 poll found that over 60% of respondents did not want any ultra-Orthodox party in the next government.
Dr. Nadav Davidovitch, director of the public health school at Ben-Gurion University in Israel and a government adviser on coronavirus, said the ultra-Orthodox community has raised many challenges for policymakers.
He cited sector autonomy, distrust of government, fragmentation of leadership, community lifestyle and densely populated neighborhoods. “All of this together creates a very fertile ground for infection,” he said.
Davidovitch said sending police often aggravated the situation. Instead, he said experts are working with community leaders on outreach programs to improve compliance and ensure the public is safe. He said both fronts had improved, a trend he expects to continue.
However, with infections still raging and mass vaccinations taking weeks to take effect, it is unclear how much the situation will improve by election day.
“I think we have all the tools in the coming weeks to gradually open up,” Davidovitch said. “We already have improvements. But we must be careful and patient. ”