Flouting the country's ban on large public gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis thronged a pair of funerals for two prominent rabbis in Jerusalem on Sunday.
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The initial funeral procession, for Rabbi Meshulam Soloveitchik, who died at age 99, wended its way through the streets of Jerusalem in the latest display of some ultra-Orthodox Israelis' refusal to honor coronavirus restrictions.
The phenomenon has undermined the country's aggressive vaccination campaign to bring a raging outbreak under control and threatened to hurt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March elections.
Densely packed throngs of people gathered outside the rabbi's home, ignoring restrictions on outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. Many did not wear masks. Thousands of black-garbed ultra-Orthodox funeral-goers coursed past the city's main entrance toward the cemetery where Soloveitchik was to be buried. A handful of police officers blocked intersections to traffic to allow participants to pass, but appeared to take no action to prevent the illegal assembly.
Soloveitchik, a leading religious scholar who headed a number of well-known seminaries, had recently suffered from COVID-19, according to media reports.
Later Sunday, thousands of ultra-Orthodox mourners attended the funeral of another respected rabbi, Yitzhok Scheiner, 98, who has also reportedly died from COVID-19.
Ahead of Scheiner's funeral, leading Haredi authority Rabbi Gershon Edelstein announced that, despite his close relationship with the deceased, he would not attend the funeral in person and would eulogize Scheiner on the phone from his home instead.
At the same time, the Health Ministry's coronavirus department for the ultra-Orthodox community published a letter written one month ago by Scheiner in which the rabbi spoke out against mass gatherings that could lead to the infection of others.
Alon Halfon, a Jerusalem police official, told Channel 13 News that police had little choice but to allow the massive procession for Soloveitchik to proceed. He said police action had helped reduce the crowd size and that some 100 tickets were issued for health violations. But in such a densely packed environment, with children among the crowd, attempting to disperse the crowd would have been "unwise and dangerous."
The Health Ministry has recorded over 640,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 4,745 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
A disproportionate number of Israel's coronavirus cases are within the country's ultra-Orthodox minority. The strictly religious community, which makes up around 11% of Israel's 9.2 million people, has accounted for about 40% of new cases.
Some ultra-Orthodox sects have kept schools, seminaries, and synagogues open and held mass weddings and funerals in violation of lockdown restrictions that have closed schools and many businesses in other parts of the country. Recent weeks have seen violent clashes between members of the ultra-Orthodox community flouting the rules and police officers trying to enforce them.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders said they have been unfairly singled out and argue the country's secular public does not understand the importance of public prayers and religious studies in their community. They claim the scofflaws are a small part of their diverse community and blame crowded living conditions for the outbreak.
Netanyahu has long relied on ultra-Orthodox parties for support, and critics say he has refused to antagonize his allies ahead of critical elections. Without ultra-Orthodox support, it will be extremely difficult for Netanyahu to cobble together a governing coalition – especially as he seeks immunity from an ongoing corruption trial.
But there are signs that this alliance could become a liability due to widespread public anger over ultra-Orthodox behavior during the pandemic. A poll last week indicated that over 60% of Israelis do not want ultra-Orthodox parties to serve in the next coalition.
At a cabinet meeting to approve an extension of the lockdown, the prime minister urged ministers not to politicize extending the lockdown because "human lives are at stake."
He later tweeted, "To be clear: A gathering is a gathering is a gathering. It doesn't matter if it's ultra-Orthodox, secular people, or Arabs. Unfortunately, there are gatherings on all sides, in all these public groups. We need to stop this immediately and stop politicizing it."
Sunday's funerals came a day after police used a water cannon to disperse anti-Netanyahu protests near the Prime Minister's Residence. Israeli media showed police aggressively handing out fines to people violating the lockdown in Tel Aviv, drawing accusations that police were following double standards.
New Hope party leader Gideon Sa'ar criticized the prime minister on Twitter, saying, "The pictures from Jerusalem prove that Netanyahu has given up on enforcing the law for political reasons. This won't happen in a government headed by me. There will be one law for all and it will be enforced."
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said in a speech in parliament that he had nothing against the ultra-Orthodox or their parties.
"I have a big problem with someone who thinks the law doesn't apply to him," he said. "The law is for everyone."
Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch called the mass gatherings "very bad in every way" and said the funeral "will, unfortunately, lead to more funerals. Later, people are surprised why the lockdown doesn't bring down morbidity."
Blue and White chief Benny Gantz took to Twitter to say, "This is what unequal enforcement looks like: Millions of families and children are kept inside their homes and follow the rules while thousands of Haredim crowd around at a funeral, a majority without masks. We will not allow the continuation of an ineffective fake lockdown. Either everyone is locked down, or everything is opened up for everyone. The days of chicanery are over."
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, head of the Israelis party, called for an end to the current lockdown, which he described as "an absolute failure."
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