Some More Equal Than Others

In Israel, everyone is equal but some more equal than others. As the lockdown continues the country

is facing a surreal scene: empty roads, beaches, parks, playgrounds, bike paths, hiking trails and of course bars and restaurants, theaters and all places of entertainment including sports halls and gymnasiums. Fines are imposed for those caught breaking the rules. Or, for most caught breaking the rules.

Over the Passover holiday, rules were imposed to restrict family gatherings. While this the rule created hardship for many, distancing children from their parents, and grandparents from their grandchildren, cousins from cousins, siblings from siblings, these rules apparently didn’t apply to a few of Israel’s leaders.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted his son Avner and his girlfriend at the Passover Seder. His excuse was that his son lived next door. Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Leiberman hosted his family at his home in the settlement of Nokdim. Almost as bad as the Prime Minister was Israel’s President Ruby Rivlin who hosted one of his daughters and her children for the seder. Immigration Minister Yoav Galant also flouted the rules and hosted a daughter for the entire seven day Passover holiday.

Not to mention President Trump’s daughter Ivanka who flew from her Washington home to one of her father’s golf resorts in New Jersey for the holiday with her husband Jared and their children.

Only President Rivlin apologized, twice, for his ignoring the rules. Rivlin is 80 and recently widowed. Still, no excuse. Israel has many elderly citizens who are alone.

So far, Israel has over 12,000 reported cases of COVID-19 and 140 deaths. This makes Israel #18 in the world of those countries infected. While some think Israel has acted quickly and effectively to combat the virus, critics say that the country was caught unprepared just as the country was in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Then, tank crews called up for reserve duty jumped in their tanks to find rats and mice and rust with gas masks unusable or missing.

This time it was the lack of tests and labs and ventilators. Only in the last few days has Israel been prepared to begin testing 10,000 people a day. This, when experts say the key to fighting this COVID-19 is testing and more testing so those infected could be isolated from the main population.

Still, fears that the ill would overwhelm the health system have not come to fruition. Israel expected as many as 4,000 on ventilators, so far the number hasn’t reached 200.

New York’s Governor Cuomo has also expressed hope that the worst is over. New York seems to be one of those places that epitomize unpreparedness. The NYTimes reports that the city received mixed signals from the governor and the federal government over how to respond to the pandemic. The results made the state one of the countries hotspots and contributed to the USA holding the unenviable title of the most infected country in the world.

There are those who blame U.S. President Trump for the disaster claiming he refused to accept the evidence that the virus was a raging killer. With over 600,000 Americans infected and over 30,000 deaths, President Trump still seems to ignore reality, according to some observers. Critics say that Trump badly mishandled this crisis and that bumbling might cost him the election in the fall.

Meanwhile, in Israel, no progress has been made in the talks for a national unity government. Blue and White leader Gantz’s mandate to form a government ran out at midnight on Wednesday. President Rivlin turned to the Knesset that now has 21 days to come up with a candidate who can form a majority of 61 Knesset members. If no candidate is found the Knesset must establish a date for the fourth round of elections. 

Observers say that Netanyahu's talk about forming a national unity government was only a way to stall until his trial date while trying to get that date postponed or canceled. Now, with no government on the horizon, and new election probable in the early fall, Netanyahu remains Prime Minister until the new elections. Critics say that if he had been serious about a national unity government to fight this pandemic he would have agreed to the terms Blue and White demanded. Instead, say these critics, Netanyahu played a cynical game to stay in power ignoring the best way to fight the epidemic, like turning over testing to the IDF and his political rival Neftali Bennet.

One of the main sticking points between Netanyahu and Ganz was Blue and White’s insistence that a law be passed in the Knesset forbidding a Prime Minister from serving in the office if he was under indictment. Netanyahu firmly rejected that demand. Now pundits expect him to try to pass a “French Law” that allows him to stay in office and only face trial when his term expires.

Time will tell if Netanyahu’s strategy worked. Meanwhile, the battle against the virus goes on. And the only certainty when it comes to equality is that everyone is equal when death knocks at the door. By flaunting the rules that apply to the common man, those in power may have opened themselves up to the very problem the isolation was meant to prevent. At the very least, say the critics, they showed a lack of responsibility and leadership not to mention a breach of the public's trust.

Last, money. Israel has nearly a million people unemployed. This inability to go to work and earn a living is found around the globe. The pressure is on to open the gates and let the workforce go back to their jobs. The danger, warn the experts, is spreading the virus that has been contained during the period of lockdown and self-quarantine. Some economists warn that the effects of a continued lockdown will be worse than the pandemic creating a recession or a depression with calamitous results. So far the Health Ministry in Israel has prevailed over the Finance Ministry. How long can that resistance to economic arguments last?

One of the solutions suggested is that the lockdown will be lifted gradually and those with the highest immunity released first while those at the highest risk released last. Since health officials say many children under nine may be asymptomatic, a quandary arises as to when to reopen schools, a key factor in allowing parents to return to work. Experts say this pandemic is new and brings fresh problems never faced before. But, say some observers, plans should have been drawn up to account for these problems and prepare for an orderly “exit.” So far, there is no consensus, at least in Israel, how to proceed safely.