Health Ministry DG says Litzman told him that he’s following guidelines, despite testimony to the contrary

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov defends Health Minister Yaakov Litzman amid allegations that he blatantly violated his own offices guidelines barring group prayer.

“He told me he was careful to follow the instructions, and when he went to pray, it was before we banned group prayer,” Bar Siman-Tov says.

“Minister Litzman was the first to say we should close the skies — to flights from China and the other countries,” he adds.

“He signed the order to close the yeshivot, the kollels and the schools,” says Bar Siman-Tov. Litzman is widely reported to have initially pushed back on such directives, delaying their implementation by days.

“He was among the decision-makers” who decided to close mikvahs and synagogues,” the director says, though neglecting to mention that on these sites too, Litzman initially rejected closure calls.

“Now we have to reach out to the Haredi community… we’re all in this together,” concludes Bar Siman-Tov