Tension mounts with ultra-orthodox who break restrictions in Israel

The police had to disperse groups of ultra-Orthodox Jews in several cities in Israel during the last hours, a controversial issue that these weeks put the spotlight once again on this community, which concentrates more than a third of the country's coronavirus infections, in a strong second wave.

After this week's tightening of the closure measures - which banned prayer in the synagogues - tension between the authorities and the ultra-orthodox who are breaking the restrictions was growing.

On Sunday there were many disturbances between police officers and members of this community, which accounts for 10 percent of the population of Israel but concentrates a large part of the infections, and on some days up to 40 percent of the new daily positive.

The main clashes were in the town of Bnei Brak, where over 200,000 ultra-orthodox live. After small skirmishes throughout the day, the police confronted hundreds of people who had gathered to pray without masks or social distancing in the afternoon, according to local media.

The officers arrested 13 people who took part in the riots, and during the day broke into some thirty synagogues in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak where people were praying, which was also forbidden. There has been a considerable "increase in tension", a police spokesman told EFe.

Between the two national confinements Israel has experienced, in March and this second one which began a fortnight ago, many ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods and cities have been subjected to special measures as they are considered "red zones" or focal points of contagion, which has generated friction and led the ultra-Orthodox community to denounce discrimination.

They also opposed the recent closure of the synagogues, an element that has caused these days to celebrate the important Jewish festival of Sukkot (the Tabernacles) in a lesser degree, which began on the 2nd and will continue next week. This is the third celebration that is celebrated in full confinement, after Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

The authorities reported a serious breach of restrictions during these festivities, particularly among ultra-Orthodox groups who held mass ceremonies, so they tightened up the confinement in the face of an unstoppable increase in contagion.

Israel has been suffering from a strong wave of coronavirus for months, has one of the highest infection rates in the world and this week reached over 9,000 daily.

The country has accumulated almost 266,000 infections since the beginning of the pandemic and more than 1,700 deaths; more than half of the infections and a third of the deaths in the last month alone.