Coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu says at a press conference that Arab-majority areas are seeing a large spike in coronavirus infections.
“Local authorities in Arab areas see it, feel very very unsettled, because this is creating infection cycles,” he says. “I call on Arab society and leaders to act. This is a catastrophe.”
He notes that his continuing opposition to lockdown measures, but says that Israel’s infection rate is among the highest in the world, creating a “complicated situation, perhaps among the most complicated in the world.”
Gamzu says Israel has reached a point where it is seeing 400 deaths a month.
He also aims fire at Haredi politicians pushing flights to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah, which he vociferously opposed.
“I’m not considering leaving the position, but if I’m not given the tools to bring down morbidity, I have nothing to do in the post,” he says.
We can't do this work alone.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
As a Times of Israel reporter, I’m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit’s. But my colleagues and I can't do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.
— Stav Levaton, military reporter
Yes, I'll join
Yes, I'll join
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
