Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a video message on Sunday intended for the ultra-Orthodox public, defending the need for action in Haredi towns, even as the government considers canceling planned lockdowns in so-called “red” cities with high infection rates.
“At the moment there are dozens of ‘red’ cities in Israel,” Netanyahu said. “A red city is not designated that way because of harassment or arbitrary decisions. It’s designated according to scientific results. The number of sick, the rate of sickness. Right now, it’s focused mostly in Arab towns and towns of the Haredi community.”
He said the ultra-Orthodox public “is very dear to me. You know how much I care about Torah studies and prayers. These things are as important to me as they are to you.”
But “we need to take steps that prevent morbidity…We will do what is necessary. We’ll do it responsibly.”