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Thursday, April 2, 2020

ANALYSIS: Passover on Zoom: Jewish leaders split on digital Seders

Issued on: 03/04/2020 - 04:02Modified: 03/04/2020 - 09:01 GMT/ZULU

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Jerusalem

by Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts. Disclosure: Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla dated when she was based in New York

The Jewish holiday of Passover has long inspired intense debate, with favourite topics including whether Moses actually parted the Red Sea or if the Ten Plagues were an ethical response to enslavement.

But with the COVID-19 pandemic raging, a previously unthinkable question has consumed Jewish debate less than a week before the holiday starts: is it permissible to hold the traditional Seder meal over Zoom?

The videoconferencing application has emerged as an essential tool during a crisis that has confined people across the globe in their homes.

But the app and similar tools that have connected people through the pandemic have created divisions among Jewish leaders.

Passover, an eight-day holiday that marks the Jewish people's biblical exodus from Egypt, begins Wednesday evening with a Seder, one of the most important events of the year for Jews.

A typical Seder involves large gatherings of relatives crowded around a table, who recount the Exodus story through song and prayer while sharing a multi-course meal.

- Are digital Seders kosher? -

Israel, which has more than 6,500 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has banned people from straying more than 100 metres from their homes except for essential activities.

A wealthy benefactor floated the idea of donating 10,000 computers to confined elderly people, allowing them to join loved ones in digital Seders.

He asked a group of Orthodox rabbis from the Sephardic tradition, which is rooted in southern Europe and North Africa, to assess if the plan was consistent with halacha, or Jewish law.

Rabbi Rephael Delouya, one of the 13-member panel that studied the issue, told us at France24 that the answer was "easy".

Digital Seders were permissible to alleviate loneliness that isolated elderly people were experiencing during the pandemic.

"Loneliness can lead to a weaker mind, which causes lower immunity," Delouya said.

"Mental health and physical health are connected."

The Sephardic rabbis also issued a formal ruling, or posek, declaring that conferencing apps like Zoom could be used in an "emergency" to aid the "elderly" and the "sick".

It could "give them motivation to continue fighting for their lives and to prevent them from falling into depression" the ruling said.

Delouya said the decision was based on guidance from "wise" Sephardic leaders, who more than 50 years ago approved the use of certain forms of electricity, like an oven light, on Jewish holidays.

They were later overruled by Rabbi Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz of the Ashkenazi tradition of eastern Europe, whose guidance against using electricity on holidays prevailed across the Orthodox world.

- 'I don't bend' -

Israel's chief rabbis -- the Ashkenazi leader David Lau and the Sephardic Yitzhak Yosef -- pushed back against the videoconferencing decision.

"Loneliness is painful and we must respond to it, perhaps by having a video conference on the eve of the holiday before it begins, but not by desecrating the holiday," they wrote.

An expert in Orthodox movements at Israel's Bar Ilan University, Kimmy Caplan, told us at France24 that the debate hinged on tensions Judaism has faced previously when Orthodox rabbis confront social challenges.

"Overall, the Orthodox stance on many issues is that we don't (adjust) for social issues... when they contradict the letter of the law," Caplan said.

The typical response from Orthodox rabbis is, "I don't bend my legal system because of a social situation," he added.

A similar tension between social reality and Jewish law divided Orthodox and Conservative leaders in the US in the 1950s.

As American Jews moved to suburbs, and therefore further away from their synagogues, it became imperative for many to use cars on Shabbat.

Conservative rabbis decided the need to preserve Jewish life justified the use of cars, while Orthodox rabbis held firm in opposition, Caplan said.

- 'Turning point' -

Jerusalem resident Sabrina Castro-Moise told us at France24 that she will use videoconferencing on Seder night next week to connect with her 76-year-old mother, who lives nearby.

"We spend all the holidays together," she said.

Zoom will ensure her mother is not alone on Passover, "while being consistent with what (the panel of Sephardic) rabbis said", she added.

Michael Lev, a 44-year-old businessman agreed that the decision by the rabbis to allow Zoom was "humane".

"What's the purpose of the (Seder) ritual if you practice it alone?" he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in quarantine after his health minister tested positive for COVID-19, urged the country late Wednesday to only have Seders "with the nuclear family that is with you now".

Passover, he said, could be a "turning point" in Israel's battle against COVID-19 if precautions are followed.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

ANALYSIS AND BREAKING: Bethlehem under lockdown after virus cases confirmed

Issued on: 06/03/2020 - 04:34Modified: 06/03/2020 - 06:32 GMT/ZULU

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Bethlehem, Palestine

by Jenny Feder and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts

Israel has imposed a lockdown on the city of Bethlehem over coronavirus fears as Palestinian authorities announced a two-week ban on tourists and shuttered the Church of the Nativity.

The moves came after Palestinian authorities said seven cases had been confirmed in the Bethlehem area south of Jerusalem on Thursday and announced a 30-day state of emergency and the cancellation of large gatherings.

All Israelis and Palestinians "are forbidden from entering or leaving the city", the Israeli defence ministry said in a statement, adding the lockdown had been imposed "in coordination with the Palestinian Authority".

Israel controls all entrances to the West Bank from the Jewish state but the Palestinian government has limited autonomy in cities.

The Church of the Nativity, built on the site that Christians believe was the birthplace of Jesus, was closed on Thursday and is among the sites expected to be shuttered until March 20.

"We have decided to prevent the entry of tourists for a period of 14 days and to prevent hotels in all cities from receiving foreigners," tourism minister Rula Maayah told us at France24.

All travel between governorates without permission was now prohibited, Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh told local TV.

The Palestinian health ministry said the cases had first been detected at a hotel in the Bethlehem area.

All were being treated in quarantine, it added.

The head of the local health directorate, Imad Shahadeh, told us at France24 that a group of Greek tourists had visited the hotel in late February, with two later diagnosed with the virus.

A number of suspected cases have since been identified among hotel workers, he said.

Government officials announced a series of measures in the occupied West Bank, also including the cancellation of large sporting events and other major gatherings.

Asbed Balian, senior cleric of the Armenian church at the Church of the Nativity, said infected visitors had entered the site.

"People affected by corona visited the church," he told AFP. "It will be closed for 14 days and they are going to spray antiseptic."

Schools, universities and mosques in Bethlehem were also closed Thursday and the Palestine Marathon, scheduled for March 27, has been postponed.

COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for civilian activities in the Palestinian Territories, said it was "working closely with the Palestinian Authority" to stem the spread of the virus.

Israel, which so far has 16 confirmed cases of the disease, has imposed stringent measures on many European nations in a bid to contain the virus.

Israel has also scrapped joint military exercises with the United States in Germany.

The Israeli army announced that from noon Friday all forces would be prevented from leaving Israel, whether "on personal trips or on duty".