Jews and Christians join forces to help West Bank coronavirus patients
A car delivering supplies to a coronavirus hotspot outside Bethlehem, Beit Jala, in West Bank. Photo courtesy of Shai Fund.
JERUSALEM — While news of the coronavirus pandemic has brought the Jewish state to a standstill, an unusual ecumenical initiative is delivering urgently needed supplies to residents in the Israeli-controlled West Bank who are stricken with the contagion.
At least 30 people in Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Tulkarm in the West Bank have contracted coronavirus. As of Mar. 13, 143 Israelis were reported to be infected with the coronavirus, with four recovered. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and a popular tourist destination, became a hotspot for coronavirus after 21 Greek pilgrims who had visited were diagnosed with the virus.
The volunteer project, started by The Jerusalemite Initiative and the Shai Fund, came about after members of Bethlehem's Christian community contacted their counterparts in Jerusalem to ask for assistance, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The group delivered ibuprofen, multivitamins, gloves, masks and snacks, and also aided a group of 13 quarantined pilgrims from the 3Circle Church in Fairhope, Alabama who are in a mandatory 14-day quarantine at the Angel Hotel in Beit Jala immediately west of Bethlehem.
“Troubled times also bring opportunities to build bridges,” The Jerusalemite Initiative said in a press release. “By our actions, we are expressing our solidarity with the residents of Bethlehem, and we pray that the corona crisis will pass as soon as possible, allowing humanity to return to normality.”
The Jerusalemite Initiative is a non-profit organization that helps Arab-speaking Christians in Israel integrate into Israeli society. The Shai Fund is an NGO that provides humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Bethlehem has been in lockdown for over a week, following the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health's confirming the first seven cases of coronavirus – which was spread by a group of Greek pilgrims who had toured holy sites in Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. One of the tourists has since died after returning to Greece.
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, jointly controlled by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, and adjoining Roman Catholic Church of St. Catharine are both closed to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 disease, as is Bethlehem’s central Mosque of Omar in Manger Square.
Similarly, in Jerusalem, many synagogues have cancelled Sabbath services Friday and Saturday. For the first time since the 1967 Six Day War when Israel united divided Jerusalem, the Western Wall is largely deserted of the throngs who flock there. The enclosed area beneath a 2,000-year-old Herodian aqueduct called Wilson’s Arch has been sealed by the Israeli Health Ministry.
Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, an American-British-Israeli biophysicist who teaches structural biology at Stanford University and spends much of his time in Tel Aviv, predicts the pandemic will come to an end by mid-March in China, according the Israeli news site Calcalist.
Meanwhile, scientists from Israel’s Institute for Biology Research are expected to announce a vaccine for COVID-19 soon, according to Haaretz. A series of tests and experiments would still. take months to clear the vaccine as safe and effective to use.
On Mar. 13, the Israeli Health Ministry confirmed that 2,479 healthcare workers had entered quarantine. The total number of people in self-isolation is unclear but may be from 30,000-80,000.
Gil Zohar is a Jerusalem-based correspondent for Religion Unplugged. He also reports for the Jerusalem Post.