After ignoring weeks of pleas to avoid large gatherings and to stay at home, Israel’s insular ultra-Orthodox community is suffering disproportionately from the coronavirus outbreak.
File - In this Monday, March 30, 2020 file photo, Israeli police arrest an Ultra Orthodox Jew during protest against government's measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem.
The pandemic also has threatened to upend deep-seated customs in the religious world, including blind obedience to religious leaders and the belief that religious studies and traditions take precedence over the rules of a modern state. A new debate erupted Thursday when Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, a powerful ultra-Orthodox politician meant to lead the battle against the virus, was confirmed to be infected.
When Israel began shutting down schools, workplaces and its international airport last month to slow the outbreak, Litzman was not the only religious leader to resist. In recent days, defiance has subsided as the scale of the outbreak became clear. Kanievsky, 92, now urges followers to stay at home.
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