Living Conditions of Some Ultra Orthodox Didn’t Enable Social Distancing, We’re Educating Them: Israel Ambassador to India

A peculiar problem has arisen as the world fights Covid-19 — the living conditions of several people have restricted them from fighting social distancing which is considered a must to fight the dreaded pandemic.

Religious orthodoxy has also led some to falsely believe that they would be immune to coronavirus. This has transcended religious, cultural and geographical boundaries, with countries from US to Malaysia and Israel to India all grappling with it.

News18 spoke to Israeli ambassador to India Ron Malka, who said while most orthodox Jews did heed to lockdown and social distancing norms, there were some whose “lifestyle and conditions they live in doesn’t enable them to really follow and adhere to all rules and instructions”.

According to Israel Health Ministry data quoted in newspaper reports, 75% infections in Jerusalem have occurred in ultra-orthodox neighbourhoods. There have been reports of unrest in some areas where police had to resort to using “stun grenades” against demonstrators as social distancing restrictions were being strictly enforced. In some localities, the police had to bust “illegal” gatherings in synagogues.

Ambassador Malka said they had carried out a “big educational campaign just to explain to them what measures they need to take according to the conditions in which they live so that we can avoid infections as much as we can”. According to him, the campaign caters to different segments of society.

India faced a similar situation where Tablighi Jamaat followers could not disperse after a religious congregation in Delhi. The followers blamed the lockdown for the situation but their living conditions didn’t enable social distancing, leading to several infections.

However, the blame and backlash against the group leading to reports of harassment of other Muslims came as a rude shock during the pandemic.

Speaking on the issue of vaccine and drug research, Malka said several institutes in Israel, including the Institute of Biological Research, were working with urgency to develop a vaccine or drug to fight Covid-19. He said “there has been progress but we still don’t have anything concrete right now”, adding that “Israel will share any development with its friend India”.