In the early months of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Jewish state distinguished itself with its effective response: it was among the very first countries to institute disease-preventing measures, and also among the first to begin the process of gradual reopening. Yet the country is still reeling from the economic fallout, while a second wave of the virus is taking a mounting toll. Shmuel Rosner argues that underlying these problems is the government’s dwindling ability to maintain the confidence of the people:
This is a majority government that enjoys the support of more than 70 [of the 120] members of the Knesset, . . . an emergency government formed to address a crisis. It is a government that has all the means to succeed—and still is failing miserably. When it comes to controlling the virus and handling the economic crisis, it let Israel descend into something resembling chaos.
No government can survive a crisis such as this and keep everybody happy. No government can find a quick fix to a virus without a cure, or to rising unemployment because of closures and quarantines. No government can convince the public that they must keep the rules and follow orders. So, the problem with Israel’s government isn’t that it failed to do any of those—or that it made many mistakes along the way. In a time of uncertainty, when decisions are made on the fly, all governments are bound to make mistakes.
The main problem with Israel’s government is that it doesn’t set examples. It doesn’t inspire the public, gaining its trust and leading it through hardships. It has no fireside-chat ability to console and to inject confidence. It has no Churchillian fighting mentality. It is a government of whiners and spoiled brats. . . . The [previous] minister of health [told] everyone not to join crowds, then got sick after disobeying his own rules to attend synagogue. The result is a complete lack of trust. Everyone suspects everyone. Everyone complains about everyone else.
One day a police officer handed a ticket to a crying thirteen-year-old ḥaredi girl who dared walk around without a mask, . . . and a week later the police let 10,000 protesters spend two hours together, no tickets. No one is ready to accept that one or the other was a mistake, or to accept that there is no hidden motivation behind police decisions.
Read more on Jewish Journal: https://jewishjournal.com/cover_story/319037/the-israeli-government-is-failing-its-people-during-the-pandemic/