Rioting during the night in the Romana and Elsa neighborhoods in the capital: residents threw eggs, objects and stones at police forces • Ten of the rioters were arrested • At the same time, complaints among civilians under closure: "Who will pay for everyone who is not going to work? No one"

Jerusalem riots: The third day of closures in neighborhoods in various cities across the country opens after a night of clashes between residents of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in the capital and police forces. During the night (Sunday), ultra-Orthodox people rioted in the neighborhoods of Romma and Elsa, and confronted police. Residents threw eggs, objects and stones at police officers and threw off police checkpoints posted at the entrances to enforce neighborhood closures. Ten of the rioters were arrested.

Photo: David Perlmutter

The closure was imposed this time on neighborhoods where the concentration of patients is particularly high, in contrast to the general closure applied to the entire public at the beginning of the first wave. Among the residents of the neighborhoods that are under closure there is criticism and a severe sense of discrimination.

"The average Israeli doesn't really care that he himself did not adhere to the guidelines. He is interested in finding guilty and arguing that he is screwed. People did nothing to prevent infection. The authorities tweeted that there was enforcement, but in practice they did nothing and the government did nothing in the two months that were Between the first wave and the second. In short, everyone is at fault, "Ramla resident claimed on Friday at noon just before 1 p.m., when the Amishav Bilu neighborhood became effective.

Closure in Kiryat Malachi neighborhoods // Photo: Newsenders

Also in neighboring Lod, two neighborhoods, Forest Gardens and SS, entered the disability list and joined three already subject to a restriction from last Tuesday (Pardes Snir, the train and Neve Shalom). In order to prepare for the limitation, the health officials chose 13:00 on Friday, effectively allowing the markets Act and families purchase groceries.

If asked by the residents of Ramla and Lod, as in other cities in the country, the majority is against the restrictions. The main reasons: impairment of livelihood and deprivation. "There are cities like Rishon Lezion, Raanana, even Tel Aviv - anyone puts restrictions on them? No! Choose cities or neighborhoods with a mixed population or with a moderate socio-economic situation and drop closures. The easiest and simplest. And who will pay for everyone who is not going to work? One, "says Moshe Rahminov, a resident of Ramla. A resident of Lod, who lives in a forest, adds: "It is a disgrace to what is happening here ... injustice and discrimination. Why did you actually attack our neighborhood?"

Blockages in Jerusalem

Police forces blocked all entrances to the Romana neighborhood in Jerusalem as of Friday noon, meticulously inspected all pedestrians and drivers and allowed only residents of the neighborhood to enter it. Residents of the neighborhood, which is at the entrance to the capital, resented the decision to impose a closure on them, claiming that there was room to restrict only the neighboring neighborhoods of Kiryat Belz and Kiryat Sanz.

Yossi Rafaeli, who lives in Roma, expressed anger at the restrictions: "Roma fell because of Kiryat Belz because there are many Corona patients, and they do not understand the significance of the epidemic. Roma is very strict. Anger that we suffer because of them. Why are we punished? "Belz and Kiryat Sanz are less strict about the rules. They should not be closed on Romana, but only on streets with morbidity. Those who do not have to be punished."

The main streets of the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem were raised and in Elsa - two of the neighborhoods declared by the Ministerial Committee as a restricted area - were fairly empty in relation to Friday morning.

A few of the residents we met said that they had all been prepared in advance, as soon as they began to talk about the closure of the neighborhoods, and were quick to stock up on everything needed. For example, says Pinchas, a grocery store owner in the Ruma'a neighborhood: "A lot of people who were preparing to leave the city earlier this week and closed places, suddenly heard that there was going to be a closure. It changed everything for them. , Buy things quickly. "

Buyers who hear the call are critical of the decision. One of them says: "The majority of the public here thinks it is directed against religion and the ultra-Orthodox and there is selective enforcement and discrimination. It deliberately closes us in," while Pinchas the grocer says: "There is a very painful and difficult feeling in the ultra-Orthodox community. And whoever has symptoms stays at home. Instead of shutting us all inside the neighborhood, the verified patients had to be taken out to a hotel. "

Restrictions in Beit Shemesh

In Beit Shemesh, the decision came into force, which states that the ranch and rest neighborhoods and perfume were defined as restricted areas and will remain closed until Friday. The decision was made furiously among the residents of these neighborhoods, and some of them wore a mask and a yellow badge of protest. Michal, who lives in the Nahala neighborhood, resented the closure: "It's a shame and disgrace for the Israeli people to do so for the ultra-Orthodox. We have no more patients here than in other cities. Our neighborhood is small and because of this closure the number of patients in us will increase. Haredi neighborhoods. "

More on:

A new closure was coming to the neighborhood

Anger in Ashdod and Lod following closure: "Everything is done by surprise"

Lod Mayor: "If only weak cities continue to close - I will not cooperate with the closure"

Traffic restriction in Chabad neighborhoods and the Rotner Mansion in Kiryat Malachi also took effect Friday afternoon. These are two neighborhoods where morbidity data have skyrocketed in dozens of patients over the past two weeks. Most of the population are anxious. Seated, including the "School of Great Freedom."

Police in Bnei Brak

In Bnei Brak, the police note in many corners of the city does not diminish the fear there of further widespread outbreaks that may occur at any given time.

Most of the criticism is directed at the authorities' conduct in relation to the rate of evacuation, which does not affect the rate of infection. In such a situation, other large-scale outbreaks may occur in the city, such as the mass at the Matityahu meeting (in which about 230 patients were discovered). "We are doing everything we can, but we need the help of the authorities," residents of Bnei Brak say.

There is a fear of a possible closure in the city. "People here are very strict about masks and remoteness, but without the authorities and the Home Front Command it would be difficult," concluded Haim, a resident of the city.