COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
The COVID-19 pandemic in Israel (Hebrew: מגפת הקורונה בישראל, lit. 'The corona pandemic in Israel') is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first case in Israel was confirmed on 21 February 2020, when a female citizen tested positive for COVID-19 at the Sheba Medical Center after return from quarantine on the Diamond Princess ship in Japan.[3] As a result, a 14-day home isolation rule was instituted for anyone who had visited South Korea or Japan, and a ban was placed on non-residents and non-citizens who were in South Korea for 14 days before their arrival.[4]
Beginning on 11 March 2020, Israel began enforcing social distancing and other rules to limit the spread of infection. Gatherings were first restricted to no more than 100 people,[5] and on 15 March this figure was lowered to 10 people, with attendees advised to keep a distance of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) between one another.[6] On 19 March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national state of emergency, saying that existing restrictions would henceforth be legally enforceable, and violators would be fined. Israelis were not allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Essential services—including food stores, pharmacies, and banks—would remain open. Restrictions on movement were further tightened on 25 March and 1 April, with everyone instructed to cover their noses and mouths outdoors. As coronavirus diagnoses spiked in the city of Bnei Brak, reaching nearly 1,000 infected people at the beginning of April,[7] the cabinet voted to declare the city a "restricted zone", limiting entry and exit for a period of one week. Coinciding with the Passover Seder on the night of 8 April, lawmakers ordered a 3-day travel ban and mandated that Israelis stay within 100 m (330 ft) of their home on the night of the Seder. On 12 April, Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem were placed under closure.
On 20 March 2020, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor in Jerusalem who had previous illnesses was announced as the country's first casualty.[8][9] The pandemic occurred during the 2019–2022 Israeli political crisis and had a significant political impact.[10][11][12] All restrictions in Israel were removed throughout the spring of 2021, later reintroducing face mask requirements.[13] Restrictions on non-citizens entering the country remained until January 2022.
Israel Shield, the country's national program to combat the pandemic, was established in July 2020.[14] As of June 2021, it is led by Salman Zarka, a position known as the "COVID czar".[15][16]
Infection prevalence and compliance[edit]
The prevalence of infection has varied between different sectors of the Israeli population. Haredi communities have experienced a disproportionately higher number of cases [231] and deaths.[232] Reasons for the increased case numbers include crowded living conditions, and prioritizing continuity of religious routines, such as synagogue services and Torah study at yeshivas.[233] Compliance, at least of some groups within the Haredi sector, has been low. During the 'third wave', when all schools were supposed to be closed, many Haredi schools reopened.[234] Hundreds attended weddings in some Haredi communities.[235] Thousands gathered for funerals of prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik[236] and Rabbi Chaim Meir Wosner,[237] despite government restrictions. Vaccination rates in the Haredi community have been lower than in the general population, at least partially due to disinformation. A number of prominent rabbis have called on community members to get vaccinated.[238]
Arab communities have also experienced relatively high case numbers[239] and deaths.[240] This was mainly attributed to large weddings and social gatherings, held despite government restrictions.[241] Arab communities lagged in vaccinations, despite widespread vaccine availability. The lag was attributed to widespread distrust of the government, and to a lack of Arabic-language outreach and education about the vaccine's safety.[242]
Notable people infected with COVID-19[edit]
Then Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife tested positive for the coronavirus on 2 April 2020.[302] News reports later claimed that Litzman had violated the government's ban on participating in group prayer the day before he was diagnosed. His office denied the claims.[303]
Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Mark Steiner died of the virus on 6 April 2020.[304]
Former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron died of the virus on 12 April 2020.[305]
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rafi Peretz tested positive on 1 August 2020.[306]
Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata tested positive on 24 August 2020.[307]
Knesset member Yinon Azulai tested positive on 9 September 2020.[308]
Rabbi Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky was diagnosed with COVID-19 on 2 October 2020.[309] On 28 October 2020, Kanievsky's physician said Kanievsky had recovered from the virus.[310]
Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel tested positive on 3 October 2020.[311] It was later claimed that Gamliel violated lockdown rules by traveling further than 1 km to her in-laws' house for Yom Kippur and attending synagogue there. She did not reveal this information during her epidemiological investigation, instead claiming she had been infected by her driver.[312]
Knesset member Ayman Odeh tested positive on 4 October 2020.[313]
Knesset member Moshe Abutbul tested positive on 5 October 2020.[314]
Former Shin Bet Deputy Director Itzhak Ilan died of the virus on 16 October 2020.[315]
Actor Yehuda Barkan died of the virus on 23 October 2020.[316]
Minister of Regional Cooperation Ofir Akunis tested positive on 9 November 2020.[317]
Knesset member David Bitan tested positive on 7 December 2020, and was later hospitalized.[318]
Knesset member Ya'akov Asher tested positive on 20 December 2020.[319]
Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau tested positive on 17 January 2021, only a few days after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.[320]
Knesset member Vladimir Beliak tested positive on 14 July 2021.[321]
Natan Sharansky and his wife Avital Sharansky both tested positive on 3 August 2021, despite both being fully vaccinated.[322]
Knesset member Ofer Cassif tested positive on 9 August 2021.[323]
Knesset member Gilad Kariv tested positive on 10 August 2021 [324] and was later hospitalized.[325]
Knesset member Simcha Rothman tested positive on 12 August 2021.[326]
Knesset member Inbar Bezek tested positive on 16 August 2021.[327]
Knesset member Itamar Ben-Gvir tested positive on 16 August 2021[328] and was later hospitalized.[329]
During the fifth wave, many Israeli politicians tested positive, including Knessent members Michael Biton,[330] Moshe Tur-Paz, Alex Kushnir,[331] and Dudi Amsalem,[332] Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman.[333]
Remote work[edit]
Rachel Gould and M. Kate Gallagher have researched the ways in which COVID-19 has altered Israeli life, specifically when considering remote work. In an article in The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, they lay out the advantages and disadvantages of WFH. In Israeli society specifically, they state, Israeli work periods are much more focused on hours, rather than completing tasks.[334] In order to see if this hours-based approach carries to attitudes in remote work, Gould and Gallagher set up an experimental-research approach and found that two-thirds of Israelis felt that remote work was just as effective as working in an office. This WFH phenomena did not only "increase productivity and satisfaction", but it changed the rigidity of the Israeli work schedule and adapted the system to have more flexibility. This change has great implications when considering Israeli's innovation and increasing "global clout", which Gould and Gallagher predict will continue to grow as the work system changes. However, they caution that in order to keep increasing innovation and efficiency, Israel's work force must prioritize climate change and investment to clean energy.