Host Simon Spungin is joined by Amos Harel and Anshel Pfeffer for a pre-Pesach podcast dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on Israeli society.

As ultra-Orthodox rabbis and politicians finally seem to be getting the message about the severity of the threat posed by COVID-19, we ask why it took so long and whether swifter action could have contained the spread in Haredi enclaves.

Haredi leaders learn harsh corona lesson as Israel sends in the troops Credit: Haaretz

We also ask how Israel has fared on a national level, what unorthodox branches of the military have been enlisted in the fight against corona and whether the measures enacted thus far have successfully flattened the curve.

Looking beyond this pandemic, we ask whether Israelis’ attitude to their ultra-Orthodox compatriots will change – and what Haredi society needs to do in order to survive.

Recommended related reading:

Coronavirus, the Greatest Challenge to ultra-Orthodox Jewish Life Since the Holocaust / Anshel Pfeffer

In the Battle Against Coronavirus, Israel Was Both Early Enough and Too Late / Amos Harel

The Silence of ultra-Orthodox Politicians in Israel Betrayed and Imperiled Their Own Community / Anshel Pfeffer

Israel to Deploy Troops to ultra-Orthodox City Hit by Coronavirus Outbreak / Amos Harel