As coronavirus cases in Israel soar — and with them, tensions in the Knesset over whether to tighten restrictions on ongoing anti-government protests — a former Israeli director-general of the Health Ministry on Wednesday warned against the demonstrations, citing a U.S. report that showed a significant spike in infections following the George Floyd protests.
Professor Gabi Barbash, who has become a well-known face on Israeli TV as an expert on the pandemic, appeared to walk back previous comments made earlier this month in which he dismissed the dangers associated with demonstrations.
“I’m not very concerned about demonstrations,” Barbash told The Times of Israel on September 5. “As of now, there was no documented increase of spread in coronavirus as result of these demonstrations.”
However, on Wednesday the Jerusalem Post quoted Barbash as saying, “My belief is that demonstrations should be stopped because of the… increased risk of transmission during the gatherings.”
Barbash mentioned a report released last month in the Journal of Public Health by three American researchers showing that eight U.S. cities — Atlanta, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix and Seattle — had positive abnormal growth in infection rates in the three weeks after the first day of protests. In six of the eight cities, infection rate growth was “positive and significant,” the researchers said.
The U.S. researchers concluded that the data “advocates strongly for continued social distancing, as the protests did not follow social distancing guidelines.”
Israeli ministers on Wednesday faced off over arguments involving the restriction of protests and prayers amid the Jewish High Holidays.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was accused by MKs in the Blue and White party of proposing tighter restrictions as a way to curb the demonstrations against him.
Netanyahu shot back with accusations that Blue and White was politicking.
“Today 31 people died of the coronavirus. I am fighting for the lives of the people of Israel. I am fighting for public health. At the same time, there are those engaging in petty politics. We are at war. Wake up!” a statement from his office said.
“I fully support the right to protest, but every week Israelis see how they’re required to celebrate the holidays alone, how they’re required to follow health regulations, and at the same time how protesters mass against all health rules.”
Last week, prior to the nationwide lockdown, protest organizers claimed that as many as 25,000 people gathered to demonstrate against Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis in front of the prime minister’s residence on Balfour street in Jerusalem.
Israel Police commander Koby Yaakobi, who is in charge of overseeing the protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, contracted COVID-19, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.
A Channel 12 poll showed that 70% of the Israeli public support limits on protests.
48% said they believed the public is responsible for the surge in virus rates, while 42% say the government is to blame.
Hebrew media on Wednesday evening reported that rallies would be restricted to within 1km (0.6 miles) from one’s home and attended by up to 20 people.
Close to 7,000 people were infected with the virus according to Ministry of Health statistics released Wednesday, the highest rate in a 24-hour period since the beginning of the outbreak in mid-March. The positive infection rate was about 11 percent — another record — of a total of 61,165 tests conducted Tuesday.
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