Several large-scale violations of the COVID-19 lockdown took place in the ultra-Orthodox community over the minor holiday of Tu Bishvat on Wednesday and Thursday, while infection rates in the sector remain double that of the general population.
On Wednesday night, the grandchildren of the grand rabbis of the Sanz and Toldot Aharon Hassidic sects got married in Netanya at the Sanz Hassidic headquarters with hundreds of hassidim in attendance.
An invitation was issued stipulating that the celebration would be held in a reduced format, but pictures that emerged from the event on social media showed hundreds in attendance with no masks at all.
Pictures also emerged of heavily attended Tu B’Shvat “tisch” celebrations Wednesday night in several hassidic courts, including the Nadvorna and Lelov communities.
Outside the Belz Hassidic world center on Thursday afternoon in Kiryat Belz, Jerusalem, The Jerusalem Post witnessed dozens, if not hundreds, of people entering the massive complex.
Three buses full of hassidic families arrived during the course of approximately 30 minutes, along with several minivans, while many of the passengers came with large suitcases, indicating they were from outside of Jerusalem.
There was no police presence at all in the area.
Outside Belz Hassidim world center in Kiryat Belz likely for the Tu B'shvat tish celebration.
— Jeremy Sharon (@jeremysharon) January 28, 2021
Three buses (not video) pulled up outside, dozens of people got out, many with suitcases (indicating they're from out of town) & entered the drive way (in the video) towards the centre. pic.twitter.com/uPcBt2LTEU
According to one source who spoke with the Post on condition of anonymity, members of the Belz community from Haifa, Jerusalem, Ashdod and Bnei Barak were traveling to Jerusalem for the event and will remain there until after Shabbat.
The source said they believed as many as many as 3,500 people would attend the tish celebration and other events over the course of the weekend.
Another source confirmed that news of the tisch had been spread by word of mouth, as it has been for several such celebrations and religious ceremonies, to avoid making the event public.
A Belz representative denied that a tisch had taken place, but did not answer why busloads of hassidim had arrived at the hassidic community’s headquarters.
The police did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Videos did emerge later in the evening of police officers who had arrived outside the Belz headquarters.
Police now appear to have arrived outside the Belz headquarters where a mass tish celebration for Tu B'Shavt with hundreds if not thousands of guests from around the country appears to be taking place.
— Jeremy Sharon (@jeremysharon) January 28, 2021
(Video courtesy Extremist Ultra-Orthodox Protests Group) pic.twitter.com/A08vMSQdsl
On Wednesday, the Police media relations department issued a statement saying that it had warned the hassidic courts against holding tisch celebrations.
According to figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday, infection rates in the ultra-Orthodox community remain more than double that of the general population, with the rate of positive COVID-19 tests in the sector standing at 20.2%, compared with 9.3% for all sectors.
Infections in the ultra-Orthodox community also account for 26% of all COVID-19 cases, while it comprises just 12% of the general population.
The number of new COVID-19 infections per 10,000 citizens among the ultra-Orthodox is on a downward trend, but also remains double that of the general population.