How the Pandemic Nearly Tore Israel Apart nytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Hundreds attend illegal Hasidic holiday gathering in Jerusalem
Despite orders by mainstream leadership to not hold Tishes, dozens of Haredim hold secret or blatantly open Tu B Shevat ceremonies attended by hundreds of participants who dispersed once police officers arrived
Haim Goldich, Kobi Nachshoni |
Published: 01.28.21 , 22:32
Hundreds of guests from a radical ultra-Orthodox faction on Thursday attended an illegal mass gathering in Jerusalem in honor of the Tu B Shevat holiday, blatantly violating the lockdown restrictions.
When dozens of police officers arrived at the scene, all attendees - most of whom belonging to the Belz Hasidic dynasty - had already dispersed to prearranged shuttle busses to take them out of town.
De Wever then threatened to close the synagogue in question, which
The Algemeiner understands is affiliated with the Belz Hasidic community.
“I never imagined that I would be the mayor who would still be closing synagogues in the 21st century: I imagined my term as mayor differently,” he declared. “But that’s what we’re heading for, and it’s dramatic. It’s extremely regrettable.”
Antwerp’s Jewish community of 25,000 is served by 50 synagogues. Under COVID-19 restrictions, no more than 15 people are allowed to attend synagogue services at one time, including the ten adult males necessary for a minyan.
The community is regarded as more vulnerable to the pandemic because its members frequently travel to London and Manchester in the United Kingdom, where they retain strong family and religious ties with the various Hasidic communities in those cities.
A police volunteer 'felt his life was in danger' after stones were thrown toward his vehicle when he attempted to enforce the restrictions, which prohibit opening schools
Follow
Dec. 22, 2020
During both the first and second waves of the coronavirus pandemic, the ultra-Orthodox community had a higher rate of confirmed cases and deaths than the population at large. For some six weeks, however, this community was actually presenting the lowest rate of morbidity in the country. Haredi cities remained “green” for long periods and some started to believe that the community, in addition to observing the social distancing rules, had reached some level of herd immunity.
But all that is changing, and rapidly. Since Sunday the cities of Bnei Brak, Betar Illit, Elad and the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof have become red zones – areas with high levels of infection. For example, the average daily number of new cases in Bnei Brak two weeks ago was 10, but in recent days it’s been 100.