A funeral of another prominent rabbi in Jerusalem on Sunday again drew a massive crowd in violation of coronavirus regulations, just hours after a similar procession took place in the city.
The funeral of Rabbi Yitzchak Aryeh Shiner, who died Sunday afternoon from coronavirus aged 98, took place just hours after 10,000 people attended the procession for Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, who also passed away from COVID-19 aged 99, in the capial.
The funeral of Rabbi Soloveitchik in the morning hours drew condemnation from Israelis officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who criticized those who took part in the event during a cabinet meeting.
Rabbi Scheiner at the time of his death served as the head of the Kamenitz Yeshiva in the capital and was a member of the Council of Torah Scholars, a community of senior rabbis in the Lithuanian Haredi community.
Rabbi Scheiner’s procession was attended by thousands despite the instructions of rabbis and yeshiva leaders to the public not to arrive at the funeral procession, after the mass funeral of Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik - which took place only a few hours earlier - attracted nationwide criticism for its blatant disregard of the regulations.
In both instances, police presence was non-existent, which according to law enforcement officials was done in order to prevent bloodshed.
"We made agreements with the [Haredi] community, most of which they did not keep," said commander of Israel Police Zion District Lt. Gen. Ofer Shomer.
According to Shomer, "using force in the situation that occurred today would have led to bloodshed. Any use of means to disperse the crowd would have led to mass escape and confrontations that could have ended in a stampede."
Shomer added that police deployed checkpoints across the country in order to prevent crowds from other parts of Israel from attending the funeral.
Rabbi Scheiner's funeral procession in Jerusalem
(Video: Yedidia Epstein)
Rabbi Scheiner contracted the virus about three weeks ago, after receiving the first dose of the vaccine.
Throughout the pandemic, he led by personal example and adhered to the guidelines in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
In his latest public letter, he said that "each of us has a duty to do the will of God at this time and to adhere to the given instructions in order to comply with the opinion of experts, in order to avoid being harmed or bring harm to others.”
Rabbi Scheiner further warned his followers not to hold mass events, such as weddings and funerals, in order to fully comply with the Health Ministry’s instructions.
While affiliated mainly with the mainstream Lithuanian community, Rabbi Scheiner was well known and respected among the extremist Haredi factions from Mea Shearim neighborhood in the capital.
According to reports, it was mainly the members of the extremists factions who arrived at the funeral an mass via shuttles despite Rabbi Scheiner’s warnings. The mainstream Lithuanian and Hassidic yeshivas complied with the late rabbi’s wishes and refrained from arriving.