The Israeli cabinet in a conference call Monday night approved an amendment to the Emergency Regulations Restrictions on Activity, pursuant to its earlier decision (PM Netanyahu Convenes Corona Cabinet for Further Discussion of Necessary Restrictions in Light of High Morbidity Data).
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Cabinet’s decision, until Thursday, July 9, 2020, weddings and bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies (or similar events in other faiths), shall be permitted to take place with up to 250 people in attendance. For other events, no more than 50 people may attend.
The next part of the amendment attests to the fact that no ministers representing religious parties participated in Monday night’s meeting, or that they weren’t checking their calendars or that their Zoom connection went out. See if you can tell what the problem might be (hint: read the headline again):
Weddings and bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies (or similar events in other faiths), from July 10-31, 2020, that take place indoors, shall be limited to no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue, with no more than 100 persons in attendance. (Events that take place in open areas shall continue to be limited to no more than 250 people.)
Yes, you probably guessed it, the period between July 9 and July 31 also happens to be the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, commemorating the destruction of two temples and many other catastrophes in our history, when no one gets married and very few, if any, celebrate anything (although, who knows, since the mitzvah part of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah has long since lost any meaning).
The draft order approved by the Cabinet will be tabled forthwith before the Knesset House Committee for approval.
Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levy will presently sign an order on an outline for summer camps and the remote holding of higher education exams.
The Health Ministry calls on the public to strictly uphold the basic directives on maintaining social distance, wearing masks and maintaining hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to register a high rate of coronavirus infections, with 686 new cases over the past 24 hours, including 42 in serious condition. 319 have died since the start of the outbreak.