The city has had more than 25,000 infections, and 143 have died from COVID-19. But now, instead of being in the top 10 for infection rates, it is No. 93.
By GREER FAY CASHMAN, JEREMY SHARONAn ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman crosses a street with her children in Bnei Brak, a town badly affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and which Israel declared a "restricted zone" due to its high rate of infections, near Tel Aviv, Israel April 5, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
From having one of Israel’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks before the September lockdown and never having exited the red-zone list since the epidemic began, infection rates in Bnei Brak are now on par with the rest of the country.As of Sunday, the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) city’s weekly rate of positive infections was 2.34%, compared with the national average of 2.24%.At last count, 197 Bnei Brak residents currently had coronavirus. The city has had more than 25,000 infections, and 143 have died from COVID-19. But now, instead of being in the top 10 for infection rates, it is No. 93.Bnei Brak’s infection rate had declined “just like in other cities” because of the nationwide lockdown in September, Bnei Brak Deputy Mayor Gedalyahu Ben Shimon (Shas) said, adding that it should not be seen as different from the general population.“Some people try to paint [us] as being different creatures,” he said. “We’re called spreaders of disease. But we’re dealing with it like all other sectors of society.”“We’re doing everything to enforce the regulations,” Ben Shimon said. “People are very careful and are obeying them.”Bnei Brak Councilman Moshe Morgenstern, who holds the health portfolio, attributed part of the success to municipal officials who had reached out to rabbis and their communities to encourage compliance with Health Ministry rules.He praised the capsule system being used in yeshivas for young men, which opened with government permission. The procedures implemented were effective in isolating the yeshiva students and ensuring that they do not spread the virus, he said.Regarding educational institutions for students of high-school age that have opened in defiance of government orders, as well as classes in elementary schools, which in the general educational system are still shuttered, Morgenstern said enforcement was not the responsibility of the municipality.These schools were observing Health Ministry regulations as much as possible, which was contributing to the low infection rate despite the mass return to schools, he said.
Bnei Brak Councilman Yaakov Veeder, a member of the opposition Likud Party, said he was skeptical about the city’s success in reducing infection rates.At the beginning of October, testing rates among haredim were 70% higher than the general population, and its average rate of positive tests was also far higher than the general population.Currently, its testing rates have fallen dramatically, and it is now less than half the rate of the general population.There has been little change in behavior among the city’s residents, Veeder said, adding that there is little enforcement by the municipality, and when it does carry out such operations, it does so against marginal communities such as the radical Jerusalem Faction.“There are weddings taking place, tisch celebrations, fundraising events,” he said. “But the people violating the laws have connections, so there is no enforcement against them... I hope that there is nothing that is being hidden or lying below the surface that will quickly break out into another big wave of infection.”On Sunday, President Reuven Rivlin visited Bnei Brak. He said people should not assess blame for the country’s efforts to tackle the health crisis.At a meeting in the city with mayors of haredi communities, Avraham Rubinstein of Bnei Brak, Yitzhak Ravitz of Kiryat Ye’arim, Meir Rubinstein of Beitar Illit, Yisrael Porush of Elad, Dan Cohen of Rechasim and Eliahu Gafni of Emanuel, Rivlin said no one should play the blame game in a time of crisis.“We, the Jewish people, have learned the bitter lesson of being stigmatized and being cruelly blamed for spreading disease,” he said, adding that after all the hatred to which Jews have been subjected, “we should remember to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”Rivlin also warned that with all the hope inspired by news of a fairly imminent vaccine against coronavirus, this is not the time to relax in the war against the pandemic.“We don’t know when the vaccine will be available,” he said. “We don’t know what effect it will have. We don’t know how long the pandemic will last, nor at what pace people can be inoculated.”Rivlin exhorted the mayors to use their full authority to manage the coronavirus crisis in their respective towns.
