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The decision, which was made by the Ministerial Cabinet for Coronavirus Affairs (Cabinet Corona), was met with a torrent of criticism and objections, amid allegations that the shutdown targets protesters against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially as explicitly limits the number of protesters in front of the latter’s headquarters in Jerusalem, as imposed. Heavy fines for those who are not required to park at specific distances. Similarly, the closure was seen as a goal of religious Jews, as it includes places of worship (with the exception of Yom Kippur) and limits the number of worshipers in open spaces, especially during holidays.
Although the criticism directed at the Israeli government’s performance regarding the Coronavirus is not new, this time it did not come only from Netanyahu’s political opponents, nor even from those who are dissatisfied with government policies in general, it came from the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Of which Israel is a member. The report, released yesterday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Israel’s membership in the organization, and published by the Israeli Finance Ministry on its website, provides two-year forecasts for the Israeli economy. He indicates that, in light of the current Corona crisis, the Israeli economy will register growth of only 2.9 percent in 2021, and it will be negative by 6 percent in the current year. However, the report found that the performance of the banking system, which is led by the Central Bank of Israel, strengthened before the start of the crisis.
Regarding the Israeli labor market, the organization said it was seriously disrupted during the first wave, as one million Israelis lost their jobs temporarily, but as a result of the measures taken by the government, “the economic damage has diminished.” However, the government faced, however, “difficulties in containing the spread of the Coronavirus following the reopening of economic facilities, leading to a second wave.” Consequently, the report concludes that the authorities must adopt a series of recommendations to close social gaps and improve various sectors and economic facilities.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Yisrael Katz, along with Israel Central Bank Governor Amir Yaron, objected to the comprehensive shutdown. The first considered that “it is possible to resort to other measures to stop the spread of the virus, without harming the factories and commercial interests of the private sector, especially since they are not based on receiving the public, and their workers follow the prevention instructions that issued by the Ministry of Health “. As for the head of the Industrial Union, Ron Tomer, considered that the decision “will destroy commercial activities and cause the immediate dismissal of workers to their homes,” and added that “(we) will not be able to continue paying wages during a complete shutdown … We expect unemployment rates to reach record highs. New”.
And since the decision includes closing synagogues and excluding them on “Yom Kippur”, this was met with widespread criticism, especially since the opening of synagogues on this day came after heavy pressure from the “Haredi” parties on Netanyahu, to the point that the leader of the “Shas” (Sephardic Torah Guardians) party, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, threatened to resign from the government if he did not allow prayers on the “Day of Atonement. Tourism Minister Asaf Zamir said that excluding the sweep is “unacceptable to reason, affects the chances of a successful shutdown and harms the health of the faithful.”
Last night, the plenary session of the “Knesset” turned into something like an arena of verbal struggle between opposition and coalition deputies, especially the Likud, who accused their opponents that they “only care about the politics ”and that“ they oppose the closure decision because it affects the demonstrations ”.
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