Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Netanyahu admits Israel reopened ‘too soon’ after surge of COVID diagnoses

(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that the reopening of the economy amid the coronavirus occurred “too soon”

Facing a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, Netanyahu took responsibility for the decision to reopen the country a month ago after severe early restrictions were put in place to halt its spread.

“We first went back to work, then we opened stores, malls, schools and restaurants. Lastly, we open event halls, clubs, bars and other places in which there are gatherings and close contact,” Netanyahu said Thursday night, according to a transcript provided by his office. “In retrospect, as part of the trial-and-error, it is possible to say that this last stage was too soon.”

He added: “I take upon myself the responsibility for this step and I also take upon myself the responsibility to fix it. To this end, we have now closed places of social gathering in closed spaces. We will take other steps if necessary.”

Netanyahu’s remarks accompanied the government’s announcement of a new financial aid package to assist workers and businesses impacted by the coronavirus. The measures include an immediate cash infusion of about $2,700 for the self-employed, bimonthly grants of $1,700 to small businesses and up to $144,000 for larger ones, and expanded unemployment benefits.

Anger over the economic fallout from the coronavirus spilled into the streets on Saturday night with a demonstration in Tel Aviv protesting delays in promised public assistance.

Israel had been seen as a success story in battling the virus, with severe lockdown restrictions early in the pandemic keeping confirmed cases and deaths relatively low. But the reopening led to a surge in cases and the reimposition of restrictive measures.

Since the end of June, Israel has seen the number of serious cases double and 18 deaths from the virus. On Monday, the country announced 1,000 new cases in 24 hours. The following day, the nation’s director of public health resigned, charging that the government was privileging economic concerns over the health of its citizens.

The post Netanyahu admits Israel’s economy reopened ‘too soon’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.