After his hair turns red to green, Avraham Rubinstein opposes the way the government is handling the corona crisis • "Everything is political" • The full interview tomorrow on "Shishvat"
Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein
Photography:
Gideon Markovich
After long months of fighting a high-profile corona that hit its city, which has now turned from red to green, Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein is coming out against the government and its way of managing the corona crisis.
In an interview to be published tomorrow (Friday) in "Shishvat" magazine, Rubinstein says: "Everything is political. One must understand, the law of a child in Tel Aviv is not a law of a child from Bnei Brak. The families are crowded, the children are crowded, there are no conditions to study Great for our children, they are exhausted, we are losing these children. "
"We turned to the government. We offered all kinds of outlines. Capsules of ten students, half-day studies, everything that the Ministry of Health will approve. In discussions with the Ministry of Health, they agreed to the outline, but nevertheless decided not to open our studies, for political reasons. People in Bnei Brak "They understand that they are not opening the school year here, not because of the danger of infection, but because of politics, because it will not look good in the headlines."
According to one of the allegations made last week, the residents stopped being examined and this is the reason for the decrease in the morbidity data.
The municipality rejects the claims and explains that according to data from the Ministry of Health, the residents of Bnei Brak are in first place among the major cities in the rate of corona tests.
About 67.11% of the city's residents performed a corona test, compared with 40% in Tel Aviv, or 41% in Jerusalem.
Rubinstein explains the decline in morbidity and says: "First of all, we had the Dashmia faction. Then we did all kinds of actions. On the subject of information we introduced elements designed to shock the public. We hung ads with clear and difficult messages. In addition, we addressed all rabbis, rebbe, recipients The decisions, the heads of the yeshiva, medical practitioners, and we told them: 'Do not be complacent.
Our situation is difficult. '
Rubinstein also talks about the opening of large testing centers, the addition of manpower to the system of truncating the chain of contagion and increasing enforcement.
"We put a lot of people in solitary confinement, we did not wait for the Ministry of Health. We know who lives in each house, who the nuclear family is. We mapped the residents of the city, ordered the sick people to stay at home. We stopped the events in the city, dismantled weddings."
"Rabbi Kanievsky is right - there is a corona, but we need to study Torah"
Rubinstein is considered close to Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky.
In the interview, he refers to the storm surrounding the rabbi's instruction to return to school contrary to the guidelines.
"Before Rabbi Chaim's statement, there was a dialogue. Usually, Talmud Torah returns immediately after the Sukkot holiday. This time they waited for the Ministry of Health's outline. There was a meeting, they already talked about options, outlines, but could not make a decision due to political issues. The instruction. "
And what did you think of her?
"That he is right. There is a corona, but we need a routine. We need to study Torah. We need to find the right way to keep the rules. It is impossible to disable life, the Torah, for a year."
His teaching provoked unprecedented outrage. It was interpreted as a statement of "I state, I do not count the country."
"The question is how to hear things. He told his public 'go to study'. He did not say 'you will study 200 people together in crowded study halls'. He did not say to break the rules. It is possible to study safely."
And yet, this is a provision that contradicts the guidelines.
"That's why we want powers. That's why I say, let us manage, and test our results. You would not say that because the corona will not provide people with bread and milk and will not put in supply trucks. Rabbi Chaim conveyed a message to the public, 'Sit down and learn'."
The full interview tomorrow on Saturday.
