Health

Thousands break Israel’s Covid rules to attend ultra-Orthodox rabbi’s funeral

Jerusalem, Jan 31 (efe-epa).- Thousands of people broke Israel’s coronavirus rules on mass gatherings Sunday to attend the funeral of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who died overnight of Covid-19.

The funeral for Rabbi Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, who died aged 99, took place in western Jerusalem. Thousands of young ultra-Orthodox mourners, many without protective facemasks, gathered around the vehicle carrying the religious figure’s body as the procession made its way to the Har Hamenuhot cemetery for burial later in the day.

Some sectors of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community have repeatedly undermined the country’s lockdown rules by hosting large gatherings. It has occasionally led to confrontations with the authorities.

Israel, a country of nine million, has registered 640,000 cases since the pandemic began and is in a nationwide lockdown. However, authorities have managed to roll out the vaccine faster than most other countries and have administered the jab to more than three million people. EFE-EPA

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