Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Prime Minister-designate, Mr. Health Minister, honorable cabinet members:
I find it appropriate to write to you because, at least as far as the coronavirus pandemic is concerned, you and I appear to be living in two different countries. Where I live, the number of confirmed cases is on the rise, doubling itself every few days, and more and more children who are too young to be inoculated are entering quarantine and are spending their summer indoors. Where I live, uncertainty is the only thing we can count on.
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You don't need to be an epidemiologist to realize your apparent intention of taking the issue of mandatory quarantine for all those returning from overseas off the agenda is no less than shocking. You and all your esteemed advisers know this is the right thing to do and what you should have done 15 minutes after entering office. Yet you prefer to wait for "broad agreement" on the matter. Until that time comes, coronavirus carriers will continue to enter the country through Ben-Gurion International Airport, infecting more and more Israelis on their train ride home.
The so-called "happiness badge" you put together is a joke. In the coming days, we should expect to be inundated with images of police officers issuing fines to poor couples at their weddings. Then everyone will go back to ignoring the rules, just as they did with the requirement to check everyone entering a restaurant had been vaccinated or recently tested negative for the coronavirus in previous waves of the pandemic. The same is true of the mask-wearing requirement indoors. I suggest you take a walk and see for yourselves how that is playing out in the real world.
The Education Ministry is unprepared for the upcoming school year and has missed a golden opportunity to reduce overcrowding in classrooms and implement long-distance learning in routine times. It's unclear what exactly they are waiting for. It's understandable to be taken by surprise the first time; but by the fourth time, you should have some idea of what to expect.
There is no enforcement of quarantines, and anyone who says otherwise is lying to the public. Are they difficult to enforce? Absolutely, but you need to find a way and the resources necessary. By simply saying they cannot be enforced, the government has adopted a defeatist attitude toward the problem.
In closed talks, your cabinet ministers speak of an "inevitable" lockdown in September, as though this was not an assessment but a done deal. Asked in those close talks why they would wait another month and a half when daily infections are on the rise and unlikely to decrease without drastic steps, they mutter something about "no one wanting a lockdown over the summer." You know exactly what you need to do to get these numbers under control, so why aren't you doing it?
You decided you were going to make decisions based on the number of Israelis in serious condition? You are the ones calling the shots, so it's your gamble to make. The way things look now, you are gambling with our children's education, our livelihoods, and our children's, parents', and in fact all Israelis' health.
You promised change, but it is nowhere to be found. You accuse the previous government of failing to enforce the rules, but in the meantime, you haven't exactly excelled at that either. You criticize the previous government for its lack of decision-making, but in the meantime, you don't have much to brag about. You hold the previous government responsible for allowing new variants to enter the country from overseas, but you don't appear interested in closing Ben-Gurion International Airport anytime soon.
Mr. Prime Minister, at a press conference in which you demonstrated how to wear a mask last week, you placed the responsibility on us, Israel's citizens. No, sir. The responsibility lies with you and your government. You are the ones making the decisions, so stop threatening and start acting.
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