Monday, September 14, 2020
Haredi minister’s resignation a sign of ultra-Orthodox distrust
The coronavirus pandemic has led to Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community losing trust in both the government and the religious political parties that represent them, an expert from the Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) said Sunday.
The comments came in the wake of the resignation of Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, the head of the United Torah Judaism Party that is a partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.
Litzman quit ahead of the anticipated announcement of a national lockdown as the coronavirus infection rate continued to soar out of control. That closure is expected to include a ban on prayer in synagogues for the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur holy days that begin this coming Friday.
"MK Litzman's resignation is indicative of a very strong sentiment among the ultra-Orthodox community where there is currently a high level of distrust of government policies," said Dr. Gilad Malach, Director of IDI's Ultra-Orthodox in Israel program.
"Significant portions of this segment of the population feels that they were singled out in the implementation of the 'corona restrictions' enacted by the government and that synagogues are discriminated against in comparison with [public] demonstrations [against the government]," Malach said.
Health restrictions currently limit the number of worshipers. Those at prayer must wear masks and maintain social distancing. During Yom Kippur especially, synagogues are normally packed in many cases to standing room only.
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