More broadly, police actions against them are seen by many Israelis as a long-awaited effort to end the exceptionalism that has characterized the ultra-Orthodox for decades. It has allowed them to shy away from military service, live on state benefits, and often act as leaders of Israeli politics, critics and political rivals say.
Bnei Brak, a largely ultra-Orthodox city of more than 200,000, and the small Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim have seen the worst of the violence.
Community extremists have been blamed for painting a Jerusalem wall that said the city’s police chief was “Hitler”.
The atmosphere has become so feverish that some Haredim, collectively known as the ultra-Orthodox, have put yellow Star of David insignia on their jackets and labeled recent police crackdowns on Bnei Brak as “Kristallnacht”.
These allusions to the Holocaust and accusations of Israeli “Nazism” have been widely and immediately condemned by rabbis and politicians in the Haredi community. But the leaders themselves have been misguided, at best, over whether they should obey the country’s blockade and social distancing regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, has repeatedly ordered that schools in the community remain open defying government regulations for many months. Recently, the rabbi is said to have said they should not open if a confrontation with police seemed likely.
The Covid-related death rate among people over 65 among ultra-Orthodox was estimated last December to be about 3.6% higher than the Israeli norm, according to the Ministry of Health.
Data from the Ministry of Health show that Haredi communities suffer infection rates above 20% of people tested, and admissions of ultra-Orthodox patients are among the highest in the country.
The Haredi families have an average of seven children and are (along with the Israeli Arabs) the poorest community in the country. They live in very dense areas where men are encouraged to spend their entire lives studying religiously.
Nearly half of the Haredi population lives in material poverty, according to the OECD.
Although they rarely integrate with other parts of Israeli society, they live a very active social and religious life. Gathering frequently in large numbers is a central part of your cultural life.
“Every day for hours, we’re in synagogues, we meet, we’re together in lessons, we meet rabbis every day, more about Shabbat,” Dov Halbertal, an ordained rabbi and expert in Jewish law, told CNN.
“It simply came to our notice then [to socially distance]. In addition we are large families, we have people of all ages, we have 10 people in a small apartment, it is very difficult … Being locked in the apartment you are used to social life, “he said.
Halbertal, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, is also deeply critical of his rabbis who, for nearly a year, have led their communities to rebel against national regulations aimed at reducing Israel’s rate of Covid-19 infection. .
He said many rabbis feared that their followers would suffer spiritual harm if they stayed away from community study and prayer. And that some feared that younger members would turn away from their congregations.
“Rabbis can lose their power over communities,” Halbertal added.
But he condemned the haredim for putting themselves above secular laws intended to save lives.
Halbertal spoke on a street in Mea Shearim, where almost every corner is lined with posters announcing the recent deaths of ultra-Orthodox people. Not everyone has been killed by Covid, but it’s hard to avoid the feeling that there are more of these black and white warnings than usual.
“I love the ultra-Orthodox to whom I belong. But I see that moral failure is so profound and that for me I can’t sleep at night thinking of the dead: their blood on earth calling for us. Time for our trial , of our moral proof as religious, “Halbertal said.
The Israeli government is considering extending a strict closure that will end on Sunday one more week, and some politicians have called for doubling the fines for non-compliance with social distancing regulations.
Infection and death rates have declined slightly, but remain high, even as Israel continues to lead the world in vaccine deployment, with about a third of vaccination recipients receiving the first vaccines.
Bnei Brak mayor Avraham Rubinstein insists his city is monitoring Covid regulations and condemning violence and attacks on police.
“There are some people who behave violently. We report them. We don’t want them and their own communities don’t want them. Their communities handed them over to the police,” he said, a few days later he had been personally threatened by the streets of the city by crowds of young extremists Haredi.
Rubinstein insisted that most schools and synagogues are closed and that the municipality was vigorously pushing for the vaccination campaign. But health ministry data suggest there is still a long way to go in places like Bnei Brak, with only 12% receiving the first dose. Many other Haredi communities are in the low numbers.
Part of this poor vaccination record can be explained as a result of a boycott animated by anonymous red posters seen throughout Mea Shearim.
They say the media is part of a plot to hide evidence that the inoculation campaign began at the same time as a new variant of Covid emerged in the UK and christened the shot as a “death vaccine” .
These same posters may also be the reason why a CNN team filming in the area was attacked by teenage yeshiva (religious school) students who tried to break a camera and called the media “killers.” “.
Michael Schwartz contributed to this report.