Half of all those hospitalized with coronavirus in Israel are Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jews).
The key questions before the Haredi community (11% of all Israeli Jews – about 800,000 people) are who gets to decide public policy and who has the authority to determine the regulations with which all must comply?
Some of the basic principles that underlie the Haredi response to the virus that Rabbi Pfeffer elucidates include “suspicion of the State and its institutions, isolationism from non-Haredi society and culture, and a strongly institutionalized society. They are certainly not the whole.”
This article (5000 words) is long, but it is an inside look at how the extremist Israeli ultra-Orthodox community thinks vis a vis Jewish law and the secular state, and how the consequences affect all Israelis and the Israeli health-care system.
I am grateful to Rabbi Uri Regev, the founder of Hiddush in Jerusalem, who sent me and a few other rabbis this piece. It is an important essay.
https://iyun.org.il/en/article/coronavirus-the-charedi-response/
Rabbi John Rosove's Blog 
As the old “joke” goes, “And first I sent a boat,, then I sent a helicopter…”.
Hi John,
First, thanks for the personal email you wrote to me a few days ago. I loved “the quiet and the calm is moving to me”, and it was good to hear you guys are doing ok.
In the story referenced in this morning’s email Pfeffer writes; I found these two sets of directives to be generally representative, for the specific moment, of Charedi and non-Haredi rabbinic authorities. I don’t understand why he uses the two different spellings and my local expert (Darcy) didn’t either. Can you shed any light?
Love to you and Barbara,
Andy
On Thu, Apr 16, 2020 at 7:31 AM Rabbi John Rosove’s Blog wrote:
> rabbijohnrosove posted: “Half of all those hospitalized with coronavirus > in Israel are Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jews). The key questions before the > Haredi community (11% of all Israeli Jews – about 800,000 people) are who > gets to decide public policy and who has the authority to d” >
John, a great selection to share. It is written for a knowledgable Orthodox community – and that’s hugely important. But it can also serve to temper our own tendency to blanket blame the Haredi community for the current situation in Israel. My blame is now more accurately focused.