How To Make Society Hate You

Resentment towards the charedi community has long been a feature of society in Israel. Sometimes, it's through no fault of the charedim themselves; it's simply because they represent religious piety, which makes many feel insecure. But there have also been valid reasons for the antipathy. Most significant of these, of course, is the charedi policy of not sharing the national responsibility of serving in the IDF, and not even showing gratitude and respect for those who do. Then there's the economic aspect of their being a drain on society. For these reasons and more, charedim have been broadly resented, which has often been a dynamic in elections.

But never in the history of Israel has the charedi community been resented as much as it is now.

Everyone is suffering from the lockdown. And the reason why it is dragging out so long is that the infection rate is not going down particularly fast and the hospitals are full. This in turn is because despite the fact that over three million people have been vaccinated, that still leaves several million who have not been vaccinated, and are vulnerable to the new, more contagious strains. And a disproportionate number of these people - around a third of all infections - are from the charedi community. Even though this is to some degree simply a result of their living in more crowded conditions, it's also due to a prevalent pattern of keeping schools open, holding large weddings and even larger funerals, and so on. There's disregard for precautions in every sector of society, but much more so (and more visibly so) in the charedi sector. And so the entire country is paying a steep price due to the charedi disregard for how their actions affect others.

Furthermore, there is immense resentment when people have to curtail their own lives, and yet they see that the charedi community does not have to do the same. The rest of the country has to deal with their kids being at home, but most charedim send their kids to yeshivah. The rest of the country has to make tiny weddings, but many charedim continue to make huge weddings. Over half a million people in Israel have been fined by the police for Covid infractions; when people are fined for exercising or opening their business, and then they see videos of charedim freely congregating in illegal crowds of  tens of thousands of people for a funeral, this naturally causes great resentment.

It's not yet clear to what extent this unprecedented anti-charedi resentment will play out in the next elections. Some good might come out of it; it may cause the chareid parties to lose political power. Which in turn will mean a decline in their ability to further drive themselves down the path of economic self-destruction (and the economic destruction of Israel). But either way, the charedi community has created an enormous amount of resentment towards it - and it is largely justified. And outside of Israel, the behavior of charedi communities is likely to be generating considerable antisemitism. There's long been an antisemitic trope of Jews causing the plague, and charedim are providing fuel for this.

Meanwhile, if you live in Israel and haven't yet been vaccinated, then for God's sake go out and get it! Right now, the supply exceeds the demand, which is a disgrace. The only hope for life to go back to normal is for as many people as possible to be vaccinated.