Gafni threatens: If a decision is made to close the meetings, I will recommend resigning

July 5, 2020   

The chairman of Degel HaTorah, MK Moshe Gafni, is threatening this evening (Sunday) that if the government decides to close the yeshivot world, he will recommend withdrawing from the coalition. This is in light of the intention of the Ministry of Health and the National Assembly to present tomorrow a series of severe restrictions that were imposed in the first wave of the pandemic and have already been lifted, when, among other things, an intention was presented to close all yeshivot, including those operating according to the "capsule plan", and to reduce the number of worshipers in minyanim in synagogues to only 20. In a statement he published this evening, Gafni said: "If a decision is made to close the yeshivot, I will go to the Marnan and Rabbinan Gedolei HaTorah Shlita and recommend to them not to be partners in such a government." Gafni's office clarified, however, that he also supports closing yeshivots that have patients, but opposes closing all yeshivots in a blanket manner, including those operating according to the "capsule plan" and not having a single patient. The Prime Minister's Office is holding a discussion into the night, with the participation of Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, senior Health Ministry officials, representatives of the National Security Staff, and other senior officials. The Health Ministry demanded in the discussion that additional restrictions be imposed, including reducing the number of diners in restaurants to 20, reducing attendance at beaches, returning the capsules to schools, closing gyms, reducing activity in parks, and more. The Health Minister was very firm in the discussion, saying that the public is not following the guidelines and therefore there is no point in them. "I'm telling you in an undiplomatic way: I'm not interested in a purple note. Anyway, no one is following, no one is enforcing. What good will a purple note do me? So they prohibit dancing on a purple note and people dance. There is a purple note in synagogues and bars as well, and you'll see what happens there - kiddush in synagogues and bars are not following the guidelines." He added that without taking significant steps now, the country could return to a full lockdown. These are currently the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, and it is possible that changes will occur until a final decision is made at the government meeting. According to a report by Yair Sharki this evening, the municipal inspectorate in Bnei Brak has marked 15 'red' meetings where the Corona rules are not being followed - and infected people were found. According to the report, "Mayor Avraham Rubinstein wants to close those meetings, but is waiting for the establishment of a rabbinical-medical forum that will give him the necessary legitimacy in the Haredi world for such a move. Because of politics, this is being delayed, the residents will pay the price in infection and ultimately in a lockdown." Professor Eli Waxman, head of the team advising the National Security Council and the Prime Minister on the fight against the coronavirus, presented a particularly bleak forecast to government ministers today: a complete loss of control over the pandemic, 300 seriously ill patients in the coming weeks, and the possibility of the collapse of the hospital system in Israel. In an interview with the main edition of News 12, Prof. Waxman said: "We have lost control of the pandemic. Both in terms of the number of patients, and also because they are scattered throughout the country, we do not know where most of the patients were infected, and therefore we cannot control the outbreak. The number of confirmed patients today means that even if we stop it, we will accumulate 300 patients in serious condition over the next 3 weeks. If we stop it in just a week, 600 will join, and after another week, 1,200 - this means a danger to the capacity of the State of Israel's hospitalization system, and a danger of this system collapsing." In addition to a complete lockdown, says the professor, we must act in two directions: "First, because we have lost control of the pandemic, we will not be able to stop it - except through social distancing measures. Social distancing orders must be immediately implemented that are aimed at reducing major risks in activities that do not have a high cost to the economy. "That is, to prevent any gathering of over 20 people, and all social and leisure activities. In schools during the summer break, it is possible to stop higher grades, say from the fourth grade, and leave the lower grades - because they affect the parents' ability to work and have an economic cost." He emphasized: "In today's situation, when there are 1,000 infected people, we do not have the ability to interrupt the chains of infection, even if there were such a functioning system, and it does not exist. We are facing the greatest national and civil crisis we have ever faced." Finance Minister Katz told Professor Eli Waxman in the discussion that "the Health Ministry's outline will kill the economy." Professor Waxman replied: "We must close, otherwise Italy will be here.".