JERUSALEM (AP) – While seeking re-election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopts a straightforward strategy: count on the solid support of his ultra-Orthodox political allies and end the coronavirus pandemic with one of the world’s most aggressive vaccinations campaigns.
But with ultra-Orthodox communities openly ignoring security guidelines and clashing with police trying to enforce them, this marriage of convenience is becoming a burden. Netanyahu saw his political partners undermine the country’s war on the virus and trigger a public reaction that threatens him at the polls.
“Netanyahu’s hope is that Israel will be the first country in the world to be vaccinated, that it 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 advised Netanyahu in the past. If the current problems persist, he said: “Netanyahu will have big problems”.
Less than two months before the March 23 election, Israel is in a paradoxical situation. In just one month, he vaccinated more than a quarter of its 9.3 million inhabitants and is on track to vaccinate 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 detected each day. This week, tightened the month-long block by closing its international airport for almost all flights.
There are several reasons for the ongoing outbreak. Before the airport was closed, Israelis returning from abroad brought with them variants of rapid spread of the coronavirus. Other segments of the population also failed to comply with the blocking provisions that closed stores, schools and restaurants.
But there is little doubt that the ultra-Orthodox sector – where schools remain open, synagogues are crowded and mass weddings and funerals continue to happen – has been a driving force in increasing the number.
Experts estimate that the sector, which represents about 12% of Israel’s population, accounts for 40% of new cases of COVID-19. Official data also shows that vaccination rates in ultra-Orthodox cities, where science is often second to none, are well below the rest of the country.
Ultra-Orthodox have long exerted a disproportionate influence in Israel, using their status as king-makers in parliament to extract concessions from the country’s leaders. Ultra-Orthodox men are exempt from compulsory military service. Community schools receive generous grants, while offering below-average education that focuses almost entirely on religious studies and ignores critical issues like math, English and science. As adults, many men flee the labor force, receiving social security payments while studying at religious seminars.
The system has long created resentment among Israel’s secular majority and economists have repeatedly warned that it is unsustainable. But political leaders are rarely willing to challenge the system.
Netanyahu is no exception. By maintaining the flow of money, he found a trusted ally for most of his 12 years in office. Ultra-orthodox support is key as Netanyahu tries to form a majority coalition in favor of granting him immunity from corruption charges.
But the skyrocketing infection rate, combined with violent protests, attracted unwanted attention. In recent days, large crowds of ultra-Orthodox protesters, many of them unmasked, have attacked police officers sent to enforce the closing orders and journalists who covered the protests. In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, a police officer fired his pistol into the air to ward off a hostile crowd. That night, protesters set a bus on fire in the city.
“Israel is facing a haredi insurrection 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 discriminated against and that a small minority is responsible for the problems. They say that overcrowded living conditions and large families are the main reason for the high rates of infection and that society does not understand the importance of prayer and learning in the ultra-Orthodox world.
After the mayor of Bnei Brak, Avraham Rubenstein, was attacked by a crowd of protesters this week, he accused the police of igniting the situation and said authorities should let the community solve its own problems.
But Dov Habertal, a prominent ultra-orthodox lawyer and commentator, said it was time for introspection. He said the violations were widespread and that ultra-Orthodox politicians, rabbis and a subservient media were complicit.
“There is no block. It’s a big lie, ”he told Canal 13 on television. “Synagogues are open, ritual baths, rabbinic lectures, weddings and Netanyahu cooperates with them,” he said.
Netanyahu, counting on the vaccination program to propel him to victory, it does not seem to want or cannot face its ultra-orthodox allies. Asked about the unrest, Netanyahu told reporters this week that he tried to call Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the country’s most influential spiritual leaders. Kanievsky, 93, “was not available,” lamented Netanyahu, saying he left a message with the rabbi’s grandson.
This perceived weakness began to play in the hands of Netanyahu’s rivals. Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, which attracts middle-class, secular voters, saw its popularity soar.
“We are going to end this madness,” wrote Lapid on Twitter. “With us, there will be a law for everyone.”
Opinion polls this week project Yesh Atid to finish second in the elections, behind Netanyahu’s Likud, but in a potentially better position to form a coalition than Netanyahu. Another survey by Channel 12 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 in Israel and a government adviser on the coronavirus, said the ultra-Orthodox community presents several challenges for policymakers.
He cited sector autonomy, distrust of government, fragmented leadership, community lifestyles and densely populated neighborhoods. “All of this together creates a very fertile ground for infections,” he said.
Davidovitch said that sending police officers often makes the situation worse. Instead, he said that experts are working with community leaders on outreach programs to improve compliance with blocking measures and to assure the public that the vaccine is safe. He said there was an improvement on both fronts, a trend he hopes will continue.
But with infections still on the rise and mass vaccinations requiring weeks to take effect, it is unclear how much the situation will improve until election day.
“I think we will have all the tools in the coming weeks to open gradually,” said Davidovitch. “We already have improvements. But we have to be cautious and patient ”.