Rivlin says coronavirus lockdown necessary 'so we do not kill each other!'

• Date: 07 January 2021
• Published date: 07 January 2021
• Author: GREER FAY CASHMAN

"Whatever your position, this lockdown is the decision of the government, Israel's elected government, on the recommendation of the professional medical advisers responsible for our health, the health of the people as a whole without any deviation or political views.

"We are going into lockdown so as not to kill each other," he said.

He explained that a lockdown is necessary so as not to overload the hospitals and ICUs. "All sectors of society, Jews and Arabs, secular, religious and ultra-Orthodox," he said. "Not only because equality before the law is a cornerstone of our democracy, but because disobeying the law erodes the basic principle that allows us to continue living together in this land.

"I would like to say at this point that even if there are or will be those who disobey the regulations or the law, that does not give anyone else, nobody at all, the right to break the law," he continued. "I know health and economic stability, the most basic of all things, seem harder than ever. Israeli society faces a complex challenge, and we must do all we can to meet it. I believe with all my heart that we can do so, to buckle down, stay at home and obey the law."

On his Twitter account he wrote, "There will be better days. We have gone through bad times in the past and overcome them. The effect of the vaccine is close at hand. We will return to normality. Until then, be patient and...