Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the funeral of Rabbi Aaron Chadash of the prestigious Mir Yeshiva on Thursday in open defiance of Health Ministry rules meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus. According to the guidelines, funerals are currently limited to 20 people.
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Chadash died at the age of 93, reportedly having contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in October.
Thousands attended the funeral procession from Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood to the large Har Hamenuchot cemetery on the outskirts of the holy city.
According to The Times of Israel, several minor clashes between mourners and police broke out after authorities attempted to block the procession from advancing beyond the Kikar Hashabat intersection. In addition, two police officers were said to be lightly injured by rocks thrown by ultra-Orthodox youths.
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The Haredi community has been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which recorded one of the world's highest rates of infection before seeing a slowdown in September.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
