The funeral of Rabbi Tzvi Shenkar, head of the Beit David yeshiva, took place in Bnei Brak on the night of March 29. Hundreds of members of the ultra-Orthodox community accompanied the late rabbi on his final journey despite directives by the Ministry of Health that no more than 10 people attend funerals in light of efforts to combat the novel coronavirus. Even Bnei Brak Mayor Avraham Rubinstein attended the ceremony.

A video documenting the gathering soon went viral on social media, sparking furious responses from people holed up in their homes for the past two weeks or longer. The funeral added to a litany of revelations concerning actions by the ultra-Orthodox, many of whom continue to attend public religious rituals and study sessions despite explicit instructions to the contrary. It was only a matter of time before the severity of the situation would be exposed.

According to figures provided by the Ministry of Health, the rate of coronavirus infection is higher among ultra-Orthodox communities than the national average. In Bnei Brak, the country’s largest ultra-Orthodox enclave, one out of every three people tested was found to have the virus. The densely populated city is home to about 200,000 people, most of them large families of ten or more people living in tiny apartments. Such conditions make it almost impossible to prevent the spread of the virus. In fact, the situation is a ticking time bomb with the potential to collapse Israel's entire health care system.

The blame for all this has fallen primarily on Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (Yahadut HaTorah), who has been accused of being exceptionally lenient toward the ultra-Orthodox community from the beginning of the crisis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also come under criticism for ignoring Litzman’s behavior for political reasons, that is, so as not to harm his alliance with the ultra-Orthodox parties. There were even calls for Netanyahu to fire Litzman and replace him with a professional.