Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up about 12% of Israel's population — but account for many of Israel's COVID-19 cases. This week a senior rabbi finally urged his followers to obey government lockdown orders.
Israeli police officers wearing protective gloves and masks check papers as they enforce restrictions in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem on Tuesday, during a partial lockdown to curb spread of coronavirus infection.Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
This week marked a turning point for the community's leadership, after a senior rabbi finally urged his followers to obey government lockdown orders. Many in the ultra-Orthodox community only follow the orders of rabbis, not health officials, and for weeks, many ignored government bans against large weddings and prayer services. Some do not own smartphones or TVs, leading authorities and volunteers to employ alternate methods to get the word out about infection prevention.
"Now I see a mother and a child crossing the street going into a shop," ZAKA's David Rose, himself ultra-Orthodox, told NPR by telephone from the car."Some people are not aware of how severe this plague is going around." Many in the community are impoverished and families can include as many as seven or eight children, all living in two- or three-bedroom apartments. To prevent the virus from spreading easily at home, authorities are preparing hotels to quarantine healthy relatives of those infected with COVID-19.The virus is also hitting ultra-Orthodox communities in the U.S.
With virus cases rising, Haredi newspapers in Israel ran photos of community members who died in New York, London, Paris and Israel, and the community turned a corner.
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