JERUSALEM (AP) – While seeking re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a straightforward strategy: rely on the rock-solid support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and destroy the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccinations. campaigns.
But with ultra-Orthodox communities openly attacking the safety guidelines and violently clashing with the police trying to enforce it, this marriage of convenience is becoming a burden. Netanyahu has seen his political partners undermine the war on the virus and cause a public setback that threatens him at the ballot box.
“Netanyahu’s hope is that Israel will be the first country in the world to be vaccinated, that he will be able to open the economy to everyone, ultra-Orthodox and secular, and then the problem will be forgotten,” said Moshe Klughaft. a campaign strategist who has advised Netanyahu in the past. If the current problems continue, he said: “Netanyahu will be in big trouble.”
Less than two months before the March 23 election, Israel finds itself in a paradoxical situation. In just one month, it has vaccinated more than a quarter of its 9.3 million people and is rapidly vaccinating the entire adult population by election day. At the same time, it has one of the highest infection rates in the developing world, with about 8,000 new cases being detected every day. This week, the closure of a month-old intensified by closing the international airport to almost all flights.
There are a number of reasons for the ongoing outbreak. Before the airport closed, Israelis returning from abroad quickly took with them spreading variants of the coronavirus. Other sections of the population also did not comply with the lock-in provisions that closed shops, schools and restaurants.
However, there is little doubt that the ultra-Orthodox sector – where schools remain open, synagogues are full and mass weddings and funerals continue to take place – has been a driving force in numbers.
Experts estimate that the sector, which accounts for about 12% of Israel’s population, accounts for 40% of the new COVID-19 cases. Official data also show that vaccination rates in ultra-Orthodox villages, where science often sits in the faith, are far below the rest of the country.
The ultra-Orthodox have long used excessive influence in Israel and are using their status as king in parliament to obtain concessions from the leaders of the country. Ultra-Orthodox men are exempt from otherwise compulsory military service. The schools of the community receive generous subsidies while providing under-education that focuses almost entirely on religious studies and ignores critical subjects such as mathematics, English and science. As adults, many men escape with the workers and compensate them for welfare payments while studying in religious seminars.
The system has a long resentment under Israel’s secular majority, and economists have repeatedly warned that this is unsustainable. But political leaders were seldom willing to challenge the system.
Netanyahu is no exception. By keeping the money going, he found a reliable ally for most of his twelve years in office. Ultra-Orthodox support is critical as Netanyahu seeks to form a majority coalition in favor of gaining immunity from corruption charges.
But the rising infection rate, coupled with the violent protests, has brought unwelcome attention. Over the past few days, large crowds of ultra-Orthodox protesters, many of whom have been unmasked, have attacked police sent to enforce closure orders and journalists covering the unrest. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, a policeman fired his pistol into the air to repel a hostile crowd. That night, protesters burned down a bus in the city.
“Israel is facing a Haredi uprising that makes it impossible to fight COVID,” wrote Yaakov Katz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, using the Hebrew word for ultra-Orthodox.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders say their communities are being unfairly singled out and that a small minority is responsible for the problems. They say that stressful living conditions and large families are the main reason for high infection rates, and that society does not understand the importance of prayer and doctrine in the ultra-Orthodox world.
After Bnei Brak mayor Avraham Rubenstein was attacked by a crowd of protesters this week, he accused police of inciting the situation and said the authorities should let the community solve its own problems.
But Dov Habertal, a leading ultra-Orthodox advocate and commentator, said it was time for introspection. He said transgressions were widespread, and that ultra-Orthodox politicians, rabbis and a submissive media were all complicit.
“There is no lock-up. That’s a big lie, ‘he told Channel 13 television. “Synagogues are open, ritual baths, rabbinic lectures, weddings, and Netanyahu works with it,” he said.
Netanyahu, counts on the vaccination program to drive him to victory, appears reluctant or unable to tackle its ultra-Orthodox allies. Asked about the unrest, Netanyahu told reporters this week that he had tried to call Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the country’s most influential spiritual leaders. The 93-year-old Kanievsky “was not available,” lamented Netanyahu, saying he had left a message with the rabbi’s grandson.
This supposed weakness began to play into the hands of Netanyahu’s opponents. Yair Lapid, leader of the center-right Yesh Atid party, which appeals to the middle-class, secular voters, has seen its popularity increase.
“We will put an end to this madness,” Lapid wrote on Twitter. “With us there will be one law for all.”
According to opinion polls, Yesh Atid finished second in the election behind Netanyahu’s Likud, but in a better position to form a coalition than Netanyahu. In another poll by Channel 12, it was found that more than 60% of respondents do not want any ultra-Orthodox parties in the next government.
Dr. Nadav Davidovitch, director of the School of Public Health at Ben-Gurion University of Israel and a government adviser on the coronavirus, said the ultra-Orthodox community posed several challenges to policymakers.
He cites the sector’s autonomy, mistrust in government, fragmented leadership, communal lifestyles and densely populated neighborhoods. “All of this creates a very fertile ground for infection,” he said.
Davidovitch said sending police often exacerbates the situation. Instead, he said experts are working with community leaders on outreach programs to improve compliance with closure measures and reassure the public that the vaccine is safe. He said both fronts have improved, a trend he expects to continue.
But with infections still raging and the mass vaccinations taking weeks, it is unclear how much the situation will improve by election day.
“I think we have all the tools in the coming weeks to open up very gradually,” Davidovitch said. “We already have improvement. But we must guard against it and be patient. ”