6th letter from Tel Aviv-The Return of Corona… and Israeli culture

Yes-700 new cases a day and going strong. Corona is all over Israel. And the numbers are soaring. Five will get you ten old Mackie’s back in town.

It’s close to home as well. A verified Corona carrier swam at my country club three times (I was not there at the time); one Corona carrier ate at the Thai food joint I frequent one day after I last downed my ultra spicy corn soup and Phad Thai with tofu, and there are 4 recorded visits in a shopping centre near my home.

Israel which prided itself on an early flattening of the curve, now is getting the full monty. 

Initially, the response to the virus was based on paranoia, which is a national characteristic which we came by honestly given our history. The response was a fast a shutdown, followed by a severe and total curfew. Cases dropped off.

But paranoia is useful only for so long, especially when the enemy seems vanquished. Subsequently,  the next enemy surfaces, IE, the economy is destroyed. (And it is indeed destroyed). So all people need to back to work, immediately, now, which means we need to open schools instantly. Schnell!  No time for a plan.

The open schools let loose a massive number of  corona cases. From child to child to grandparent to old age homes. It’s everywhere.

Why no plan you may ask? Because Israeli culture is characterized by paranoia and improvisation. Planning is what others do. We act quickly, and then we’ll have time to figure things out on the fly. That’s a major component of Israeli culture.

But it did not work this time. Like a boxer who does see the opponent`s lightening punch, the back-to-school policy and lack of a plan when the shit hit the fan caused a disaster.  We have been knocked out. Not down, out. Corona is everywhere.

All this is exacerbated because our government is morally corrupt. So the scum at the top compete to open facilities such as movie theatres and sports matches as fast as possible. And Netanyahu is busy with his upcoming trial, and steps aside so that the stench of failure sticks to his enemies.

Indeed our government cares for the dead more than the living. The glorification of death gets more attention than the sanctity of life. The population is now blamed. For example a girl who did not feel well asked for a test. She was put through the grill of the Israeli bureaucracy (which has not yet decided who can be tested on demand) and denied the test-and she went on to infect 30 people. Yet politicians blame “youth, pubs, weddings and the beach.“

And to make things worse, the government is composed of either of indicted criminals, ex army hacks who are clearly clueless, lack-lustre conformists and survival agenda-driven, scum that floats to the surface from the bottom of the barrel of municipal politics or tycoon lobbyists. (Truman was so right about army men being useless in politics).

Let`s add to this a lack of discipline on the part of the public,  like the uneducated religious mob who either listen to rabbis (who have had their heads up their ass since the plague broke out), or the secular Israelis who tune into Israeli TV which is staffed by uninformed panic mongers, or more often to their smartphones.

With no clear, consistent plan in place, an incompetent government, systemic ignorance, a lack of discipline, too few regulations and almost no enforcement, a huge black cloud is moving in.

We are in deep trouble.

 

 

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13 thoughts on “6th letter from Tel Aviv-The Return of Corona… and Israeli culture

  1. P.S. We have our share of ignorant, corrupt and incompetent politicians, too. That said, I think Ohio governor Mike DeWine has done a good job in handling the virus here.

  2. There is a an archetype personality for each country and clearly the Americans lack the will and are devoid of leadership resulting in now pure chaos. In Canada it remains to be seen who we are and what we ultimately will no but for now we are driving better than our normal neutral gear and are still focused with lockdown mentality. Trudeau doing well on this score and sets example. Pierre Elliot would be proud. Your blog one of the best you have written.

  3. Stay safe Allon. as Fred pointed out, the US has more than its fair share of knuckleheads, corrupt and incompetent “leaders” and the religious fanatics. Andrew Cuomo demonstrated that leaders can overcome serious mistakes at the beginning and learn to plan, compensate to a more positive outcome.

  4. You could just as well be describing The Narcissist & the situation here in the U.S., Alon. Except I don’t hear any reports from Israel of militias armed with AR15s demanding that barbershops reopen.

  5. I’ll pray for you my friend and for those of us in less organized places (hint: our President is named Trump…no…really…). May these immortal words of Monty Python provide some small comfort:

    So remember, when you’re feeling very small and insecure,
    How amazingly unlikely is your birth;
    And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere out in space,
    ‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth!

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