Irresponsible politicians, a corona commissioner who made harsh mistakes against the ultra-Orthodox, and a cult of plague deniers who gained dangerous popularity - all of which brought Israel to the brink of mass disaster • It is still possible to avoid the nightmare scenario experienced by other countries in the first wave, but time is running out • Commentary
Israel marches towards "Yom Kippur Health"
Photo:
Oren Ben Hakon
Prof. Roni Gamzo
Photo:
Gideon Markovich
Bnei Brak in the days of the Corona
Photo:
Coco
Fighting a global epidemic that occurs only once a century is always political and directed by the struggles of governmental forces that represent the sectors, interests and forces in society.
There is nothing new in this and it can be seen today in every country across the globe.
But in Israel there is a fear that politics is causing paralysis and severe, and God forbid fatal, damage to the struggle in Corona.
Thus, even the decision to settle for a closure only at night, instead of a full closure as originally demanded by the corona commissioner, Prof. Roni Gamzo, is not made on time.
This is when senior doctors warn that Israel is moving towards a "healthy Yom Kippur" where the harsh warnings are known to medical intelligence, but the government is having a hard time making the fateful decision after a long period of complacency and stepping in the face of a dramatic increase in epidemic spread.
Israel is now considered one of the countries where the corona plague is spreading at the fastest and most alarming rate, and as expected, there has also been a steady and continuous increase in the number of deaths - already more than 1,000, with July and August being the deadliest since the outbreak.
Ministry of Health
There has also been a steady, albeit slow, increase in the number of difficult and respiratory patients in hospitals.
The severe increase in morbidity is more pronounced in Arab and ultra-Orthodox cities marked in the traffic light program as red, but there are cumulative new corona patients in hundreds of other cities and towns in Israel, even if they are marked only as green.
There is no doubt that Israel is in a state of health emergency and that the corona is hitting it very hard and non-stop when the morbidity data is only growing, and it seems that so far all the actions of the corona commissioner Prof. Roni Gamzo have so far not helped in any reduction.
One can recall, for example, what is left today of Prof. Gamzo's bombastic statements at the end of July this year with his promising appointment to the post: "The new contract is government transparency and civil obedience, and I will not allow irrational restrictions here," and that the IDF can set up the chain In two weeks and the effect will be in 3-4 weeks. "
And if we mention the terrible military failure of the Yom Kippur War, then we can also see the atmosphere that they managed to convey, even if not intentionally, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Health Ministry Director General Prof. Hezi Levy as if the corona is almost behind us.
But at the same time the Ministry of Health did not do everything it had to do to avoid closure, and it was enough to see today the embarrassing answers of senior ministry officials in the Knesset's Corona Committee when asked about the credibility of the information they provide to the public about Corona victims and victims.
Prof. Gamzo himself has also made a number of very serious mistakes when he failed to understand that in leading the fight against the plague he must show determination and rigidity, but at the same time demonstrate socio-cultural and political sensitivity, including towards the ultra-Orthodox.
Gamzo also made a bitter mistake when he chose not to critically and sharply criticize the "cult of the Corona deniers" and very abusive remarks in the fight against the disease of doctors and senior doctors, some even from the Ichilov Government-Municipal Hospital in Tel Aviv, which is run by Gamzo himself.
In the last week there has been a political and public battle over the imposition of closures on the red cities.
The time that passes and the decision to impose only a night closure, may lead us to a situation where it will be necessary to impose severe restrictions on the entire country during the holidays.
After it is already clear to everyone, right after the last, that without closure there could be an unforgivable catastrophe here, as there was in the first wave in countries and cities like New York, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Brazil.
