Mar 31, 2020

the old trope of haredim/Jews carrying disease

So, the City of Ramat Gan will not be building a wall on the border of Ramat Gan and Bnei Braq to protest its residents form the virus possibly spreading from Bnei Braq.

Instead they are just appealing to the Supreme Court to force the State to impose a full closure and lock-down on the city of Bnei Braq. Mayor Shama Hakohen does not want the wall, or realizes he cannot build it, but he also does not want the COVID-19 virus spreading from Bnei Braq, and a full closure might be the only way to do that. If the State won't impose it on its own, even though, reportedly, the Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman has requested it of the Prime Minister, perhaps the Supreme Court will mandate it.

It is not just Ramat Gan. It seems that it is possible that many infected residents of Bnei Braq might be headed to Tzfat for their isolation period, and the people there don't want the Bnei Braqis to come and bring the virus to their city.
source: Actualic

There was also a post on Facebook (in a closed Kfar Saba group so I cannot link to it) in which someone writing, and warning the community, about the area in the Industrial Zone near an egg factory saying the area is packed with Haredim from Bnei Braq (probably having gone there to buy eggs) - while not wanting to be racist or discriminatory, she also wants to prevent them from bringing the virus in massive numbers to the people of Kfar Saba.

Is she being "racist" against Haredim? Is Mayor Shama Hakoen being "racist" against Haredim? Are the people of Tzfat being "racist" against Haredim? Or do they legitimately want to prevent a disease from spreading? Nobody is accusing the Haredim of spreading the disease as if they created it ina  malicious way, but according to all reports, the Bnei Braq population is extremely infected in staggering numbers disproportionate to their place in general society and it is understandable that people would want to keep them at an extra long arm's length and not come into contact with them right now.




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5 comments:

  1. Michael SedleyMarch 31, 2020 3:52 PM

    You forgot to mention that Minister of Health Litzman also recommended a forced closure of Bnei Brak - difficult to accuse him of being anti-Haredi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NachumApril 01, 2020 3:22 PM

      Litzman is a chassid and Bnei Brak is heavily not.

      Delete
    2. Rafi G.April 01, 2020 3:51 PM

      Bnei Braq does have large hassidic courts, even if it is mostly Litvishe

      Delete
  2. Rafi G.March 31, 2020 5:01 PM

    I was saving that for the comments :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 31, 2020 11:31 PM

    "Nobody is accusing the Haredim of spreading the disease as if they created it in a malicious way..."
    Except they did. When they wilfully and intentionally scorned the directives of the MOH and the government of the country they live in and benefit from. It is absolutely their fault for not only bringing it upon themselves but also for infecting others around them. Truth is truth, wrong is wrong, and the author of this blog shouldn't be PC about it.

    ReplyDelete