Israel, along with the rest of the world, has lost so much during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
In just a matter of months, we've lost some of our most basic freedoms – which many of us have taken for granted. We've lost our freedom of movement. We've lost our freedom of assembly. We've lost the right to practice our religion freely. We've lost our right to education as schools, universities and other places of learning have been shuttered. Many of us have lost our right to work as non-essential businesses have been forced to close.
In fact, our present reality is so bleak that we can't even do something as simple as leaving our homes to visit family and friends. But the biggest loss that we have sustained is the loss of life.
To date, the world has lost more than 160,000 people to the coronavirus. Israel has lost more than 170 of its own citizens, and it is almost guaranteed that more Israelis will be lost to COVID-19.
But there is hope. Some countries, including Israel, are beginning to flatten the curve with the number of new infections and deaths slowing. As the situation improves, people inevitably talk about when life can return to normal, and pressure builds on our leaders to lift restrictions that have been placed in order to reduce the spread of the virus.
Recently, Israel's government has responded to this pressure by easing some of the restrictions that have prevented Israelis from living normal lives, despite objections from the country's health authorities. But why object to the gradual re-opening of Israel's economy? Why object to allowing more Israelis to work and travel more freely? Because as most health experts in Israel and the rest of the world will probably tell you, easing the restrictions meant to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while we're just starting to see favorable results will allow the virus to come back with a vengeance.
The reality is that now is not the time for Israel to let up on measures designed to contain the coronavirus. The country still has entire cities and neighborhoods locked down. The virus' spread amongst the country's Arab citizens is getting worse, not better, and most alarmingly, people are still dying.
It is true that the restrictions have stifled the Israeli economy, to say the least. More than one in four people in the Israeli workforce are now unemployed. But while the economy – not to mention the general mood – of the Israeli populous may improve if restrictions are eased, now is not the time to let up on Israel's fight against COVID-19.
Quite the opposite, actually. Now is the time that Israel should double its efforts to contain the disease.
The coronavirus is only the most recent enemy that Israel has had to face. When your enemy is down but not out, is it time to allow that enemy space and time to regroup so that it can regain strength and challenge you again? No! It is time to beat down that enemy until it no longer has the strength to fight.
This is the kind of strategy Israel used against its enemies for the first twenty years of its history, which led to massive victories over our adversaries. Think 1948, 1956, and 1967. Since then, Israel has gradually gotten softer on its enemies, especially at the turn of the century.
We withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, allowing Hezbollah to sit right on our border. This led to the Second Lebanon War, which saw the death of dozens of Israelis. Then in 2005, we withdrew from the Gaza Strip, allowing Hamas to eventually seize control of the territory and use it as a base to attack Israel, bombarding our people with tens of thousands of rockets and building countless tunnels from which to launch incursions into our territory. The threat from Gaza, as we all know, continues to this day.
If Israel eases the restrictions that are keeping COVID-19 in check, the virus will get up and attack us again, just like Hamas. Instead, the country's leaders should stick to the restrictions and not ease them until health experts say it is safe to do so. Returning to normalcy is important, but saving lives is more important.
If maintaining measures to prevent the pandemic from spreading saves even one life, it is worth it, for as Jewish tradition teaches, saving one life is like saving the entire world.
