Extremists torch United Hatzalah COVID-19 testing center in Bnei Brak
No one was harmed during the incident.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2020 15:39The remains of a Hatzalah coronavirus testing facility are seen after it was burnt down in an arson attack.(photo credit: UNITED HATZALAH)
A United Hatzalah coronavirus testing station in Bnei Brak was torched in an arson attack Monday evening by a group of extremists opposing testing efforts.No one was harmed during the incident.While most haredim (ultra-Orthodox – the demographic that makes up a majority of Bnei Brak – are abiding by restrictions and state efforts to combat the virus, it is nonetheless "no secret that there are a group of people in the city who [oppose] testing," Hatzalah Bnei Brak chapter head Effi Feldman said in a statement."While people may be entitled to their beliefs, burning down a coronavirus testing station, or any other act of violence is unacceptable," he said. "Aside from the destruction and vandalism caused, which came at no small cost to the organization that is 100% supported by donations, these extremists are preventing other people who wish to get tested from doing so, and that too is unacceptable."As soon as we are able, we will replace the equipment destroyed and resume testing in order to serve the people of the city who wish to get tested and help stop the spread of this virus,” Feldman said.The arson attack was also harshly condemned by Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer, who himself nearly died after he contracted COVID-19 in March."The fact that people don’t want to get tested is absurd," he said. "As someone who was very ill because of this virus, I cannot stress enough how important it is that we all do our part to combat it. So many good people have become ill or died as a result of the virus. And to have hoodlums burn down a testing facility, in a city that was hit very hard by the virus, is very hard for me to understand."The people of Bnei Brak are good people and most simply want to prevent the disease from spreading, so that they don’t catch it and their families don’t catch it."The attack coincided with Bnei Brak becoming a red zone on Monday, along with the other heavily haredi areas of Elad, Beitar Illit and Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood.
