Israel Police clash with ultra-Orthodox COVID-19 regulation violators
Ultra-Orthodox rabbinic leadership calls for community to get COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
By JEREMY SHARONPolice officers during a raid on a Yeshiva that is open in violation of the Covid-19 emergency regulations, at the Sanhedria Neighborhood in Jerusalem, January 19, 2021.(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Police clashed with dozens of extremist haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh on Tuesday while seeking to enforce COVID-19 lockdown regulations amid an outbreak of the disease in the community.Police officers fought with demonstrators in all three locations and arrested several dozen during the confrontations.At the same time, the rabbinic and political leadership of the mainstream haredi community called for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to observe Health Ministry regulations to lower the high infection rate in the sector.In Jerusalem, police conducted sweeps of the Ramat Eshkol and Sanhedria neighborhoods and found synagogues, yeshivas and schools open in violation of government orders.Demonstrators threw stones at police, blocked roads, refused to identify themselves for the purpose of receiving a fine and in one incident tried to stop police officers from entering an institution that was violating coronavirus regulations. Police arrested 20 rioters during the operation.In Bnei Brak, police discovered a yeshiva with dozens of students who were studying. They were confronted by dozens of rioters who sought to prevent them from dispersing the students by throwing stones and blocking roads. Police arrested five rioters.In Beit Shemesh, police conducted sweeps of haredi neighborhoods and discovered school buses taking children to school and several schools operating as normal.The haredi community’s leadership is making efforts to halt the outbreak.The Council of Torah Sages of the Degel Hatorah Party, representing the Ashkenazi, non-hassidic haredi sector, called on its community to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible in a letter published in Yated Neeman Tuesday morning.“We call on anyone who fears God in their heart to get the vaccine as soon as possible in accordance with the advice of doctors without any fear, for every relevant age group, and to fulfill the commandment of protecting one’s own life,” the rabbis wrote.Senior United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni issued a video message that urged the community to abide by Health Ministry coronavirus regulations and the instructions of the community’s rabbis. Halacha requires compliance with these directives, he said.“This is the time to protect health, not to disobey the Health Ministry regulations, without exception,” Gafni said. “If you listen to the rabbis and to what the Health Ministry say, you need to comply with these regulations without exception. Anyone who knows Halacha knows you have to listen to these regulations at any price.”The haredi community is experiencing a massive COVID-19 outbreak.As of Monday, 30% of all COVID-19 infections nationwide came from the haredi sector despite it representing just 12% of the total population.The rate of positive coronavirus tests in the community is 22%, more than double that of the general population. Nationwide, the rate is 9.2%.
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