President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the harsh criticism leveled at the ultra-Orthodox community over its flouting of the Health Ministry's directives during the coronavirus crisis.
The haredi sector's disregard to the ministry's social distancing orders has caused a spike in corona cases among its members, leaving the government no choice but to place major communities, including Bnei Brak in central Israel and several neighborhoods in Jerusalem under lockdown.
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The Health Ministry is demanding that certain corona hotspots be added to the list of quarantined cities and towns to check the spread of the epidemic: haredi neighborhoods in Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem; Modi'in Illit and Betar Illit; and the Samaria settlement Elad.
"We cannot falsely accuse any sector of spreading the virus and we certainly cannot hold an entire community responsible for the rogue actions of a few," Rivlin said.
Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, saying, "I utterly condemn the wild incitement against the haredi community, which has comprehended the danger and instructions of the Health Ministry. The coronavirus pandemic does not differentiate between the ultra-orthodox and the secular, Arabs and Jews. Neither do we. This war is [shared] by all of us. Together we will beat it."
