Shas leader says he made sure synagogues can keep packing them in

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) says he intervened to make sure that synagogues can still host up to 50 people, just like event halls, bars and clubs.

According to a statement from his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Aryeh Deri had sought to limit attendance to 20 people only, but Deri canceled the evil decree.

Ultra Orthodox Jewish men eschew masks while praying at a synagogue in Jerusalem on May 20, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

“It can’t be that restaurants, bars and clubs, where the danger is larger several times over, can host 50 people and synagogues can only have 20. In clubs they don’t keep distances and nobody wears masks,” says Deri, who apparently frequents dance clubs. “In synagogues there’s no eating, no dancing and worshipers are careful about wearing masks, social distancing and keeping all the rules. And that’s who they wanted to limit to 20 people.”