Member of Netanyahu’s party voices rare criticism of ultra-Orthodox over funeral

31 January 2021, 2:15 pm

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Thousands of ultra-Orthodox men attend the funeral of late Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik in Jerusalem, January 31, 2021, (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A prominent member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party voiced rare criticism of the ultra-Orthodox community, after an estimated 10,000 people attend the funeral of the head of the Brisk Yeshiva, Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, who died of COVID-19.

Likud MK Miki Zohar during an Arrangements Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 13, 2020. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Coalition whip and Likud faction leader Miki Zohar calls the footage of the funeral “sad.”

“While the nation is battling the surging morbidity, there is no justification for such gatherings, no matter the circumstances,” he says in a tweet. “Determined steps are needed to step up enforcement against gatherings, in all communities.”