Ultra-Orthodox Communities See Israel’s New Social Cohesion as a Threat

Much of the time, Israeli society is fractured by differences and resentments. Sometimes, we define ourselves more by whom we’re against than what we stand for: Jews vs. Arabs, religious vs. secular, right vs. left, Mizrachm vs. Ashkenazim, rich vs. poor, the periphery vs. the center. But as Israel has shown repeatedly, in times of emergency, we pull together. We are proud that crises bring out the collective best in us. In times like these, we don’t talk the language of difference and identity; we embrace (these days, at a distance) cohesion and social responsibility.  At this time, when we’re in lockdown, this underlying social cohesion, as I wrote in my previous piece, plays a big role in keeping most Israelis at home. But for some groups, and in particular, for some in the ultra-Orthodox community, this...

Continue reading

COVID-19 Causes Israelis to Play by the Rules

Israel was one of the first countries to respond quickly and sternly to the pandemic. Internationally, it was one of the first countries to shut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Foreigners are almost completely forbidden from entering the country and there are almost no flights in or out. International conferences and gatherings have been cancelled.

Continue reading

Coronavirus Quarantine Reading List

More than a month ago, I was in southern California with the preparedness prophet Max Brooks discussing the coronavirus. “We can’t blow this off!” he warned me. The 40-something author of the bestselling World War Z was carefully tracking the trajectory of the virus on his laptop on the kitchen counter, and he was already ready for a 14-day quarantine. He had made a shopping run and stocked up on food for his family and the dog. “I’ve been prepping for earthquakes since I was a little kid,” Max explained, a habit he picked up from his mother the actress Ann Bancroft. One potential upside to a virus rather than an earthquake, he said, is that if Los Angeles were put under quarantine, the physical infrastructure would remain intact. “In quarantine, assuming the professionals who work...

Continue reading

Coronavirus: Netanyahu’s Chance to Return Trump’s Favor

“Just as Trump was there for Netanyahu when he needed a nice diplomatic gesture on the eve of Israeli elections (and then on the eve of the next one, and the next one) and just as he was willing to go further than any other American president in fulfilling the wishes of an Israeli center-right government, now Trump needs Netanyahu to do him a solid.”—Nathan Guttman

Continue reading