Ultra-Orthodox Israeli town finally leaves coronavirus red zone

“It’s a real rollercoaster and now we’re at a good spot," said Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein, "with a city with 'green' coronavirus statistics, when only two or three weeks ago we were at an especially frightening low point.” Despite his optimism, another wave of infection could hit the city again, as happened at the beginning of pandemic and in the second wave in September-October.

Most of Bnei Brak’s residents are ultra-Orthodox Jews. It’s a crowded and poor city, ranked in the second lowest socioeconomic sector in Israel. The average income of a salaried worker in the city is about half of the national average. The high birthrate in the ultra-Orthodox community leads to crowded homes, much more so than in the rest of Israeli society.

These factors make it a coronavirus incubator. In this, community Torah study and prayer are the highest values, values that can clash with the restrictions authorities seek to impose to contain the virus. Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky instructed the Litvak community (one of three sectors of ultra-Orthodox society) not to shut down schools, saying, “Sacred religious studies in schools, yeshivas and kollels [yeshivas for married men], and all other forms of Torah study will continue as usual, since the very existence of the world depends on them. Great care must be taken to be meticulous in following all instructions regarding hygiene, since this is in keeping with the biblical injunction of ‘Watch over yourselves very carefully’ (Deuteronomy 4:15)."

Most schools and yeshivas listened to his instructions and infection rates rose dramatically, making Bnei Brak one of the hardest-hit locations in Israel. It took enforcement of a lockdown, aggressive public health education, help from the army and cooperation from other rabbis, who advised residents to listen to public health directives, to bring down the numbers.