“The Orthodox Jews are going to bring us all down to the grave,” can be heard everywhere. Between 50 and 60 percent of the Corona patients in the Israeli hospitals are Orthodox Jews. In the Orthodox towns and neighborhoods the number of those infected with the coronavirus is twice or three times higher compared to other residential areas. Particular hotspots are Modiin Illit, Bnei Brak, Elad and Beit Shemesh.

“As long as the anger of God has not yet passed over, I will not go to the Orthodox town of Beitar Illit again,” my neighbor Amit, who works there in the field of security, told me. The voices against the disrespectful behavior of the Orthodox Jews in the Land are getting louder and louder. They are not taking the regulations issued by the government seriously and often get into conflicts with the Israeli police, who have to hermetically seal off streets, synagogues and residential areas for hygienic security purposes.

“They are like a ticking bomb in the nation,” police officers have even told us. Entrances to synagogues and ritual baths have already...