Israel Acts To Fight The Coronavirus Pandemic
In worldwide pandemic, politics and health make for a troubling mix
As you can probably infer from my full name, I am a Jewish man-a proud one at that. I have been raised under the Jewish faith, and while I’m not Orthodox, I try my best to follow the traditions as I did during the holy holiday of Pesach, also known as Passover in early April.
During the holy holiday, there was an obstacle.
While the Jewish people celebrate the annual event, the pandemic of COVID-19 makes its way through the world, with not one country being the exception, especially Israel. As of May 5, the nation has over 16,000 confirmed cases of the virus, with over 200 deaths because of it.
At this point, I believe that everybody needs to be on the same team in an effort to stop or slow down the pace of the virus, but some recent news from the Jewish state has put a halt to the collaborative effort.
On April 14, Israeli police raided a testing clinic for COVID-19 in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood in Silwan. They arrested its advisors and organizers “because the clinic was operated in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority,” according to Haaretz.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been an ongoing debate for a long time, ever since Israel’s inception, and it continues even during a time of great struggle around the world.
This is not an attack piece on Israel and I won’t be stating if I’m “pro” or “anti” towards the Israeli government. Taking on this country as a beat in International Reporting, a special topics course at Florida Atlantic University, I never wanted to choose it because I want to spread my gospel on the country and its flaws, but news like this gets me frustrated.
Let me preface by saying that I don’t think a heated and controversial conflict should just be put on halt, but when that takes priority over human life, that’s where it goes over the boundary.
In the Haaretz piece, a resident of the neighborhood named Farhi Abu Diab spoke out about the raid from the Israeli police and the moral inconsistencies that go with it.
“You [Israeli authorities] are not helping us and are preventing us from getting help from others,” Farhi Abu Diab said to Haaretz. “For the first time, we have a common enemy, so let’s work together.”
This “common enemy” to which he’s referring to the coronavirus, should be a common mindset that every country has. We’re all in this together, and the top priority of every nation is to protect their citizens, and with this news, it’s the exact opposite.
The story also states that the clinic’s managers mention that there is a shortage of tests for the coronavirus in Silwan, where the doctors in the area say there are 40 confirmed cases. The tight living conditions could lead to a drastic spread of the virus.
Abu Diab mentions that the Israeli government making this situation political is the wrong way to go.
“Instead of working together, [Israeli authorities] are bringing politics into this,” Abu Diab said. “I don’t care about who has jurisdiction. If something happens to my son I don’t care who tests him.”
Being from the USA, the first thing I thought about when reading Abu Diab’s comments is how current president Donald Trump consistently continues to “politicize” the current situation. At one point, Trump called the virus “a hoax” so the Democrats can use it to further their distaste toward him.
To give credit where it’s due, Israel can be seen as a model of how a country can prepare for a virus like COVID-19. Even though the country is basically the size of New Jersey, they took the necessary precautions to feel the brunt of cases and casualties.
While Israel prepared for the virus much earlier than the United States did, I see similarities in how politics can get in the way of the severity of the situation, especially in recent news of the shut-down of a clinic in Silwan. Whether it be dealing with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict or President Trump calling the virus a “democratic hoax,” there has to be one focus: the people.
When you have similarities with Trump’s America, something is wrong. It’s vital that everybody plays for the same team so the world as a whole can get through this historical period of sickness.
