Thousands flout gathering ban for rabbi’s funeral

JERUSALEM — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis on Sunday thronged the funeral of a prominent rabbi in Jerusalem, flouting the country’s ban on large public gatherings during the pandemic.

The funeral procession for Rabbi Meshulam Soloveitchik, who died at age 99, wended its way through the streets of Jerusalem in the latest display of ultra-Orthodox Israelis’ refusal to honor coronavirus restrictions.

The phenomenon has undermined the country’s aggressive vaccination campaign to bring a raging outbreak under control.

Israel has recently been averaging over 6,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus each day, one of the highest infection rates in the developing world.