In a meeting of the government’s coronavirus cabinet today, Construction and Housing Minister Yakov Litzman (UTJ) demanded that synagogues be subject to the same restrictions as those applied to hotel restaurants, which are permitted to accommodate up to 35% of their capacity at any one time.

“There is no logical reason for discriminating between people coming to pray in a synagogue, where only 10 people are currently permitted to gather at any one time, and restaurant clientele, where up to 35% of the area’s capacity may be filled. The discrimination is even more blatant considering that people eating in a restaurant are not required to wear face masks while eating, whereas those praying in synagogues are required to wear them and also to adhere to social distancing regulations.”

Litzman, the former Health Minister, also noted that, “The data showing coronavirus transmissions within synagogues reveals a low rate of contagion, especially in comparison to hotels and restaurants. This situation must be rectified,” he concluded.

Many medical leaders and politicians alike had negative reactions to this plan, among them the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, which said the decision was “devoid of epidemiological logic.”

Header: Interior of Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue in the “Four Sephardic Synagogues” complex located in the Jewish Quarter Old City East Jerusalem Israel

Source: Arutz Sheva

The following activities will also be impacted:

– Gatherings – up to 10 people in closed spaces, 20 in open spaces
– Public reception at government offices – reduced as relevant
– Government offices – 50% of staff will work outside the office or be put on leave