Despite most prayers held outdoors during the Yom Kippur fast day, coronavirus numbers continue to soar to new highs.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

The number of Israelis hospitalized in serious condition hit a new high Tuesday, the day after the country shut down to mark Yom Kippur, sometimes known as the “Day of Judgment” in which Jews atone for their sins.

Health Ministry statistics released Tuesday morning showed 1,527 Israelis are now hospitalized with coronavirus, 772 of them listed in serious condition and 209 on ventilators. The death toll reached 1,507, with 562 deaths so far in September and fears that those numbers could soar in the coming months.

With most of Israel shut down for Yom Kippur, the number of tests performed on Monday was very low, but the results indicated the rate of positive coronavirus tests has risen gradually in recent days to a national average of more than 14%. That means one in seven tests is positive, with the highest infection rates in cities with predominantly ultra-orthodox Jewish populations.

Those cities include Beitar Illit with an alarming 32.5% of the tests – one in three – being positive, Elad with 31.3%, Bnei Brak 27.9% and in Modi’in Illit 26.4%. Health Ministry data shows the infection rate in ultra-Orthodox localities is significantly higher than the national average.

Millions of Israelis traditionally pack synagogues each year for Yom Kippur prayers, and although health regulations allowed indoor prayers for very small groups, most synagogues in Israel followed health guidelines and held services outdoors Monday with worshippers wearing masks and seated in groups of 20 with chairs spaced for social distancing.

With temperatures in much of the country hitting 95 degrees Fahrenheit, services in many locations began just before sunrise and finished mid-morning, allowing people to rest at home during the peak heat.

Most services resumed around 5:00 p.m. when temperatures had already dropped significantly, ending with the traditional blast of the shofar (ram’s horn) at sunset when worshippers returned home to end a day of fasting.

During the day Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) national ambulance conducted 1,595 coronavirus tests in the Arab sector and responded to 2,360 emergency calls nationwide, of which 1,818 included an ambulance trip to a hospital for further treatment. MDA reported that 305 people fainted or suffered dehydration during the fast, an increase of 15% compared to 2019.

Although traffic is reduced to a trickle on Yom Kippur, one pedestrian was killed in an accident and 17 people were reported injured. MDA teams also rushed 136 women in labor to hospitals, two of whom gave birth on the way.

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National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat warned that violations such as those exhibited on Lag B’Omer are liable to bring about a fresh spike in infection.

By JNS

Hundreds of people gathered around Lag B’Omer bonfires in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim and other haredi (ultra-Orthodox) neighborhoods in the country on Monday night, in violation of the Israeli government’s emergency restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Fires were also lit in certain areas of Bnei Brak.

Members of the Israel Police Special Patrol Unit (Yasam) dispersed crowds in some of the locations with the use of water jets, according to Channel 12 News.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “vehemently condemned the violation of the rules” of social distancing in general and those put in place specifically ahead of the holiday.

In an urgent call with Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Acting Police Commissioner Motti Cohen and National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat, Netanyahu stressed the need to “increase enforcement” of emergency coronavirus regulations.

Ben-Shabbat warned that violations such as those exhibited on Lag B’Omer are liable to bring about a fresh spike in infection.

According to Channel 12, many residents of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods adhered to the regulations, opting for an alternative type of celebration. In Bnei Brak, for instance, a car lit up with a virtual bonfire cruised through the streets to provide holiday cheer to to people viewing from the balconies of their apartments.

Despite the gradual reopening of the economy as a result of a declining coronavirus death and infection rate, the Israeli cabinet decided last week to prohibit the traditional mass celebrations on Lag B’Omer—the Jewish holiday marking the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai—which involve lighting and dancing around bonfires.

The post Netanyahu condemns haredim who ignore health rules on bonfire holiday appeared first on World Israel News.

The book Mea Shearim – The Streets, by Israeli photographer Ofir Barak, captures life in Mea Shearim, one of Jerusalem’s oldest Jewish neighborhoods outside the walls of the Old City and home to a close-knit community of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The post WATCH: Everyday life in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood appeared first on World Israel News.