Covid-19 and Riots in Israel Similar to United States

Rueters

Israel has a story similar to the United States to report about their Covid-19 experience, followed by rioting – even some of their slogans sound similar to ours.

Israel’s lock down came a few weeks earlier than the United States’ lock down. After imposing tough measures to tackle the virus, Israel has fared relatively well in the initial months of the pandemic. The United States can say the same. For Israel, more than 17,700 infections were registered among a population of nine million, with nearly 300 deaths. As the country gradually opened, recent weeks brought new outbreaks and residents have been warned not to become complacent.

Following the first wave of the pandemic, several thousand left-wing protesters rallied in Tel Aviv against plans to annex parts of the Jordan Valley and settlements in the West Bank. As the United States began to open back up, we also experienced rioting, but for different reasons. Some of the rioting slogans were similar in both countries:

Americans chanted “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter” while Israelis chanted “I Feel Lost” and “Palestinian Lives Matter.”

Protesting in face masks and keeping their distance from each other under coronavirus restrictions, the demonstrators gathered under a banner "No to Annexation, No to Occupation, Yes to Peace and Democracy." Some waved Palestinian flags.

Israel is now preparing for a second wave of the virus to pass through and have begun production of stronger and sturdier N95 masks. Schools are beginning to close again. The United States waits for protests to end and hopes there will be no second wave of the pandemic here.