- Since the novel Coronavirus
that causes COVID-19,
began sweeping the globe in early 2020,
Haredi Jews, sometimes referred to as Ultra Orthodox Jews,
have experienced illness and death
at disproportionate rates.
The first Israeli town to go into lockdown
was the largely Haredi, Bnei Brak,
when health officials determined,
it had almost as many cases as Jerusalem,
even though Jerusalem's population
is four times its size.
In April, New York City's Borough Park,
one of the largest Orthodox communities in the world
had the most positive tests in Brooklyn.
That was during the peak of the epidemic in New York,
at that time, the epicenter of the pandemic
in the United States.
Why have Haredi communities been hit harder
by COVID-19 than others?
And how have authority figures,
both inside and outside the community,
responded to the challenge?
Even with the popularity of TV shows
like "Shtisel" and "Unorthodox"
Haredi culture can seem monolithic to outsiders.
In fact, it's very diverse.
Some Haredim are Hasidic
and follow single spiritual leaders
who are often dynastically appointed.
Others have their roots in a scholarly tradition,
derived from Lithuania.
Those of Sephardic descent maintain unique customs
that originated in the Iberian Peninsula
and that they took with them when they migrated
to North Africa, the Levant and across Europe.
Meanwhile, Mizrachi Haredim
trace their lineage and traditions
back to Georgia, Uzbekistan, Iraq
and other countries throughout the Middle East
and Central Asia.
While the majority of Haredim today
live in the United States and Israel,
there are also major communities
in France, Belgium, Canada, Australia
and the United Kingdom.
But despite the diversity in the Haredi world,
that outsiders often fail to see,
experts believe a number of
common socio-cultural characteristics
are responsible for the quick rise of coronavirus
in Haredi communities, globally.
First, Haredim tend to have large families.
Families often live in small apartments
in dense urban environments.
The Haredi lifestyle is also strongly communal.
Men pray in quorums of 10 or more, up to three times daily,
and families frequently congregate
in synagogues and neighbors homes
for holidays, Sabbath meals and family celebrations.
Some Haredim are just as technologically plugged in
as the average 21st century person.
They own smartphones, use Twitter and Instagram,
and watch Netflix.
There are prominent Haredi influencers,
like Chanie Apfelbaum,
a popular Hasidic food blogger.
Others are more conservative in their media consumption
and may avoid watching television
and limit their use of the internet.
Posters printed with local news, called "Pashkevillim",
and robocalls are common ways of disseminating information
in more tight knit communities.
Owing in part to a history of persecution,
some Haredim can also be distrustful of secular authorities,
though they are not anti-Western medicine.
The weariness of government authority,
combined with often limited means
of transmitting information,
made it challenging to keep some Haredi groups up to date
with the rapidly changing,
and sometimes contradictory, safety protocols
at the beginning of the pandemic.
Poor timing probably played a role
in the early wave of coronavirus among Haredim.
The virus reached Israel and New York City
in late February and early March,
right before the holiday of Purim,
when Jews of all denominations gathered together
for services and celebrations.
While many synagogues
canceled their customary Purim celebrations,
some did not,
either because they downplayed or misunderstood
the severity of the situation,
or because in more insular communities,
they simply didn't know
about the increasingly strict guidelines.
In the coming weeks,
health care workers and funeral homes in these communities
were overwhelmed by the number of COVID cases.
As stories of illness mounted
and several beloved Rabbi succumbed to the virus,
many inside and outside the Haredi world
argued over how much to blame their community leaders,
the Rabbis, for failing to properly head
or broadcast guidelines.
Some Haredi spokespeople told the press
their Rabbis encouraged adherence to the guidelines
as soon as they were issued,
learning on the fly like everyone else.
But critics pointed to numerous documented incidents
of Rabbis stating that schools and synagogues
should not be shut down,
despite the government's advice to the contrary.
This is because in Orthodox Judaism,
prayer and study are
not only the foundations of the community,
but also the foundations of divine protection.
In a March 11th video, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky,
a revered figure in Israel's Lithuanian Haredi community,
told his grandson that closing schools
was more dangerous than keeping them open.
Later Rabbi Kanievsky changed his message
and asked his followers
to be as stringent as possible when socially distancing.
Despite the efforts of many her Haredim
to observe guidelines,
there were also a number of highly publicized incidents
of Haredim disobeying government mandates
to socially distance.
While it was the exception, not the rule,
footage of police in New York and Israel
rading packed synagogues and schools,
and breaking up large gatherings,
drew widespread condemnation from viewers who were angry
at what they saw as mass defiance among Haredim.
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn,
home to a large population of Satmar Hasidim,
thousands congregated at a funeral
for beloved Rabbi Chaim Mertz.
The incident prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio
to tweet a message
chastising "the Jewish community",
which sparked outrage
among the city's large diverse Jewish population,
who felt De Blasio was blaming all New York's Jews
for the failure of a small group.
It also raised concerns
that her Haredim were being overpoliced
and at risk of being scapegoated,
which Jews have experienced
during plagues throughout history.
In Israel, where there's often tension
between Haredim and the rest of society,
a viral video of police officers
rebuking a young Haredi girl
for wearing her mask incorrectly
incited a similar reaction.
Whether or not some Haredim
were slow to adapt to our new global norm,
it's clear that just as many reacted quickly and creatively.
Many of the rituals
that would have normally been performed
in large groups,
like weekday prayer services,
were done from balconies or rooftops.
In the Hasidic village of New Square, in upstate New York,
prayers were blasted from a synagogue's loudspeaker
so community members
could pray from nearby homes or passing cars.
Hotlines were set up
so patients with poor prognoses
could hear final prayers
when family members weren't allowed inside hospitals.
Traditionally huge Hasidic weddings
were replaced with socially distant parades,
like this one in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,
home to Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim.
In early April
families were told to have the Passover meal at home
and not travel to see relatives or have guests over.
When Bnai Brak was quarantined,
Haredi mayor Avraham Rubinstein
solicited the Israeli military for help.
This was an unprecedented move,
considering the long standing tensions
between the IDF and Haredim.
IDF soldiers helped deliver food to quarantined residents
and set up testing centers,
while entertainment,
such as these street dancers,
was provided for children stuck indoors.
In the United States,
Haredim who have recovered from COVID
have also given back to those
who are still fighting the virus
by donating antibody rich plasma
for use in experimental treatments.
Some doctors have estimated
that Haredim could be responsible
for over half the plasma that's been donated
in the entire country
to treat more than 5,000 patients nationwide.
Have their efforts to stop transmission paid off?
In Bnei Brak, it's been two steps forward,
one step back.
After a sharp decline in positive tests in mid April,
Bnei Brak has emerged as one of the hotspots
of Israel's second wave.
In New York, the scene is somewhat brighter.
The city began opening up in June after months of lockdown,
and Haredi worshipers are returning to their synagogues
with stringent hygiene
and distancing protocols in place.
Haredim are a minority
who have proven susceptible to COVID-19,
due in large part to circumstances
outside the control of most of them.
Perhaps the most salient lesson from this,
is that governmental authorities
and Haredi religious leaders
should be building trust
and strengthening lines of communication
so they can work together to protect these communities
from excessive harm in future health challenges.