Drink Corona: Israel’s rabbis offer mixed advice on outbreak

JERUSALEM: Drink a Corona beer to fortify your prayers or get ready for the arrival of the messiah: rabbis in Israel have a offered an array of guidance on responding to coronavirus.

Some rabbis, as well Palestinian imams and Christian leaders, have sought to influence people to follow health ministry guidelines on containing the outbreak. But several rabbis have dispensed advice with no scientific basis or peddled baseless xenophobic theories related to the origins of the virus.

A video posted on social media by Rabbi Simcha Halevi Ashlag, a leader of Ashlag ultra-Orthodox community, shows him encouraging followers to drink the Mexican beer Corona. “When we pray and drink an alcoholic drink, the prayers have more force,” he said. Rabbi Zamir Cohen, an Orthodox televangelist who is himself under quarantine, said “the virus is the result of the fact that non-Jews eat anything,” in an apparent reference to the belief that the virus originated in animals trafficked for food in China.

Meanwhile, ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Ron Chaya encouraged followers to prepare for the arrival of the messiah. “All the warning signs of the coming of the messiah are there and to remain indifferent would be a tragedy,” he said, in a video posted on social media viewed more than 50,000 times. - ‘Go to a doctor’ -

The Jewish holiday of Purim, which takes place this week, normally includes public celebrations and, for many, services in synagogue. Most public celebrations in Israel have been cancelled, with 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Seeking to promote health ministry advice on limiting large gatherings, some rabbis have given exceptional permission for followers to participate in religious services over the radio. Prominent Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Aviner told his followers that the best course of action for anyone who thinks they are sick is “to go to a doctor”. Israel has ordered tens of thousands of people into home-quarantine, notably anyone who has travelled to European or Asian countries with the highest prevalence.