To contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities in Israel have imposed a new national lockdown, with more severe restrictions coming into effect on the new Jewish year. On Friday, the country’s lockdown begins and will last at least three weeks.
As Israeli health authorities recorded a surge of 4,000 new infections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the measures would be uneasy for many people. Moreover, a minister from his cabinet also resigned over the new restrictions that overlap with Jewish festivals.
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Yaakov Litzman, the housing minister, who also leads an ultra-Jewish Orthodox party, maintained that these measures would prevent the people from celebrating their important religious festivals, including Yaakov Litzmanon, which is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar expected to be celebrated on September 27.
Litzman also threatened to pull his party out of the ruling coalition. Meanwhile, according to the data compiled by the John Hopkins University, the country has so far recorded more than 153,000 confirmed infections with nearly 1,108 fatalities.
In recent weeks, the country with a population of nine million has recorded 3,000 cases daily. On Sunday, during his televised address to the nation, Netanyahu highlighted that this number has now surged to 4,000 cases daily.
Since the first national lockdown, the newly announced measures will be the most extensive imposed in Israel. The Prime Minister further acknowledged that the measures would disrupt the celebrations of religious festivals that normally see loved ones coming together. Moreover, the new restrictions on indoor gatherings will also affect the religious prayers in Synagogues across the country.
Meanwhile, Israel’s finance minister has said that the new lockdown will also cost the economy, which is already in recession due to the pandemic outbreak, an estimated 1.88 billion dollars.
On Friday, in his resignation letter, Litzman said that this wrongs and scorns hundreds of thousands of Jewish residents. He said, “Where were you until now? Why have Jewish holidays become a convenient address for tackling the coronavirus?”
Aryeh Deri, the country’s interior minister, who also leads another ultra-orthodox party, took to Twitter and said that he supports the new lockdown and restrictions. He further added that not abiding by the restrictions would be tantamount of murder.
In response to the housing minister’s resignation, Netanyahu said while addressing the cabinet that he regretted the Litzman’s resignation. He said that the country needs to move on and take steps necessary for Israel in the pandemic era.
Netanyahu’s administration has been severely criticized for its response to the coronavirus outbreak, with critics saying that the government’s failure led to another national lockdown. Meanwhile, many countries across the world fear the second wave of infections, however, many are now choosing to impose smaller lockdowns in the hotspots rather than putting the whole nation under a blanket of restrictions.
