COVID-19: Israeli teens file lawsuit over unequal restriction enforcement
High school students would usually be excited counting down the days until the last day of school, but are hurting socially and academically while learning in quarantine.
By GADI ZAIGPresident Reuven Rivlin and Chief of Staff Lt.Gen. Gadi Eisenkot meeting with 70 influential teenagers at the President's residence on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
A group of Israeli teenagers have filed a petition to the Supreme Court against selective enforcement of coronavirus restrictions, according to a report by ReformJudaism.org. The teenagers received assistance in their lawsuit from the legal department team of The Israel Religious Action Center, and are demanding that educational institutions follow their restrictions and that state funding is withdrawn from schools that do not.High school students would usually be excited counting down the days until the last day of school, but are hurting socially and academically. Nearly all schools in Israel have been closed for most of the year, leaving students stuck at home and trying to complete their studies remotely. However, over the past few weeks, preschools, elementary schools, and 11th and 12th grades have started to resume in-person learning in areas with lower infection rates as Israel starts to emerge from its third lockdown.Gyms, malls and other public places have started to reopen around the same time.Meanwhile, many ultra-Orthodox communities have refused to comply with COVID-19 regulations. A significant number of schools in ultra-Orthodox areas in Israel, which have the highest infection rates in the country, have remained open throughout the lockdowns, ignoring the imposed restrictions, The government has not imposed any dire consequences on ultra-Orthodox communities that break lockdown regulations.“I don’t think it’s fair that while my friends and I have been at home for an entire year, feeling helpless and desperate, there are schools that are running as usual in the ultra-Orthodox community with no enforcement,” said Maya, a 12th-grader from Mevaseret Zion, according to ReformJudaism.org.Amalya, a 9th-grader in Ramat Gan, said: "I started in a new school this year, but I wasn’t able to physically attend school regularly. This has been a serious challenge for me in terms of my studies and social life. Despite the many months that have passed, I feel like I don’t know the teachers, my classmates that aren’t from my old school, or the actual school."Furthermore, it has been reported that there is a possibility of another lockdown before the upcoming Israeli elections.
