Muslims Held 12,000-Person Event On Temple Mount, But Police Did Not Intervene

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — There is one sector in Israeli society which, far from experiencing a drop in coronavirus cases, is actually suffering from a huge increase in such cases. Chareidim? No, at this point it is Arab society which has seen an exponential rise in cases, with a whopping 76% of tests coming out positive in the past week. Had the government attempted to treat Arabs like Chareidim, there would have been a closure, a creation of red districts, strict police enforcement of mask regulations and raids on illegal weddings with heavy fines. Did any of this happen? Was anyone detained for not identifying himself when threatened with a fine? No, none of this happened.

If this was not an infuriating enough discrimination between segments of society, police last Friday intentionally allowed a gathering of 12,000 people on Temple Mount without any attempt to enforce social distancing and mask regulations. The gathering in honor of Mohammed’s birthday is an annual event but with the dire situation in the Arab sector it should not have been permitted or at the very least been conducted according to the protocol at all public events in Israel, with obligatory masks and social distancing.

תיעוד: 12 אלף מתפללים בהר הבית בצפיפות וללא מסכות – במשטרה העלימו עין > https://t.co/6LK9SBc7mW pic.twitter.com/yLF3rt2A4W

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) November 1, 2020

Is there any wonder then that Israelis, and especially Chareidim, are fed up with their government’s vacillation over how to implement the coronavirus regulations? At present praying indoors has been permitted, under strict restrictions on the number of people. Schools for lower grades have tentatively opened, while older students are told to zoom, which is impossible for most Chareidim who, even if they have a computer or one or two cellphones, have no means of study for all of their large families. Hairdressers opened but somehow other stores are not deemed essential, even though they could open and serve a few customers at a time. Weddings are strictly prohibited but take place anyhow in clandestine locations like Arab villages and far-off settlements and outposts.