An art exhibit was erected at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square Wednesday morning in protest of the harsh restrictions imposed on the economy as part of the national effort to rein in the spread of COVID-19.
The grim display - approved by the municipality - featured lines of mock tombstones with the names of popular businesses that filed for bankruptcy due to the pandemic inscribed onto them.
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Art exhibit featuring headstones with names of businesses closed due to of coronavirus restrictions inscribed
(Photo: Flash90)
According to Hebrew-language outlet N12, the exhibit was created by an organization by the name of “The Centers for Social Justice” in protest the government’s handling of the health crisis.
"While the government is busy with political survival and petty quarrels, businesses continue to shut down and tens of thousands of Israelis are losing their livelihoods and being thrown into the cycle of poverty,” the organization was quoted as saying by N12.
The purpose of the exhibit was “to express the distress of business owners and Israel and concretize the government’s negligence in managing the economic situation,” the group’s director, Zohar (Izzy) Carmon said.
Israel’s economic situation has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic and draconian measures imposed by the government, similar to what many countries have done since the coronavirus originated in Wuhan, China.
The latest figures released by the government showed that there are currently 851,051 individuals who are unemployed in Israel, of which 536,906 have been forced to take unpaid leave.