06 2020 The government and its agencies agencies its and The government the limit to broadly mobilized occasionally the disease, of spread the boundaries beyond moving democracies. other by upheld elections After three inconclusive the current year, the previous over was agreement government the to a direct as response reached COVID-19 pandemic. pandemic of the impacts Different ethnic and religious different on societal expose underlying groups contentions. has largely succeeded succeeded largely has Israel an uncontrolled in preventing the pandemic. of escalation • • • • Brief Points Peace Research (PRIO) Institute Oslo Peace Research (PRIO) Institute Oslo Peace MIDEAST POLICY BRIEF - - - Bruno Oliveira Martins

Mathias Tjønn Hatleskog

tections to a larger degree than degree other a larger to tections allowing the repurpos democracies, to surveillance tools anti-terror ing of giving and its track cases, infection in helping service leeway intelligence The equipment. medical procure of – with hundreds situation Israeli living citizens in its of thousands and complex, territory is – occupied the pandemic of the management exposedhas pre-existing inequalities between and itself, both within Israel Palestinian the Occupied and Israel Territories. Israel has been affected by affected been has the Israel as though not pandemic, COVID-19 in the re countries other as seriously coronavirus 2020, June 10 As of gion. 299, at in thecasualties country stood has in infections uptick a June but also has Israel uncertainty. generated means, highly use contested to put rights pro and personal setting aside The and government politics of health, security, formation Israel and COVID-19 and Israel

Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) www.prio.org ISBN: 978-82-343-0134-6 (print) PO Box 9229 Grønland, NO-0134 Oslo, Norway Facebook: PRIO.org 978-82-343-0135-3 (online) Visiting Address: Hausmanns gate 3 Twitter: PRIOUpdates Country Overview knowledge is also employed for security and people and COVID-19 tests conducted per strategic objectives. During the COVID-19 100,000 inhabitants, Israeli figures outstrip Israel has a robust health care system, a strong pandemic, this has had two main implications: those of other MENA countries, with 2.99 beds economy and an advanced research sector, all firstly, research units within the military estab- and 6,000 tests being the figures in each metric. mobilized to help respond to the coronavirus lishment, such as the Directorate of Defense Re- The closest case is Turkey, which has tested challenge. The country has a young (median search and Development, have provided input in almost as high a ratio of people as Israel, the age 30.5) and largely urban (93.2%) population the pursuit for solutions to fight the pandemic; current numbers being 5,290 per 100,000. The of 8.65 million, concentrated in several mid- secondly, and more importantly, some military/ picture in Turkey is also quite similar in terms sized and large cities. While Israel has a na- counter-terrorism tools have been employed of hospital beds, with 2.81 per 1,000 inhabit- tional health insurance (NHI) system designed (or considered) for specific COVID-19 related ants. The Israeli numbers are almost double the to provide universal coverage to the population, objectives (such as tracking potentially infected ones for Iran however, which has 1.5 hospital several studies have pointed to health and individuals), which, as we will see below, has beds per 1,000. healthcare disparities, in particular between Is- triggered a political and constitutional crisis. raeli Jews and Israeli Arabs.1 As detailed by the That Israel’s medical metrics in this pandemic World Health Organization, Israel’s NHI system The fight against the pandemic has taken place should be better than those of neighboring is “financed primarily through taxation linked in a highly turbulent political context, with the countries in the region should not surprise to income” and “(t)he government distributes country roiled by the longest political crisis in observers, given that the country has a signifi- the NHI funds among four non-profit-making its history. After a year in which no party had cantly higher GDP than most MENA coun- health plans”.2 The system is compulsory for all the majority needed to form a government, tries. Yet, Ruth Waitzberg and colleagues have Israeli citizens, who can also augment their cov- despite three elections (the last one on 2 March highlighted that in an initial stage, “vulnerable erage with additional private health insurance 2020), a unity government was announced by cultural minority groups became a focus of schemes. Overall, the health care in Israel is the former prime minister and leader of the COVID-19 infection due to their unique socio- seen as very efficient, ranking seventh out of 55 Likud party and his rival economic and cultural characteristics and their countries rated in this year’s Bloomberg Health- , leader of the nascent Blue and previously existing low levels of access to health- Care Efficiency Index.3 The government has a White alliance. This unity government was mo- care services”.9 As explained by Israeli physician Ministry of Health with the overall responsibil- tivated by the necessity of having a functional and professor of government Dani Filc, the NHI ity for the health of the population and the func- executive during a global pandemic. Mr. Ne- creates “health care boundaries that encircle tioning of the NHI. tanyahu will be allowed to keep his position as both Israeli Jewish citizens and non-Jewish prime minister despite his long-standing legal citizens living inside Israel as well as those that Israel has a highly developed knowledge-based troubles and court challenges, although a pow- surround Palestinians living in the Occupied economy with a large number of skilled work- er-sharing agreement with Mr. Gantz means Territories”.10 ers, particularly in the technology sector. Ac- they will rotate the position in 18 months.6 cording to official data from the World Bank, the Despite the fact that Israel’s response to CO- country’s GDP was worth 375 billion US dollars Severity of COVID-19 Outbreak VID-19 has generally been viewed as successful in 2019, while the GDP per capita in 2018 was and that the numbers mentioned above seem- 34,788.70 US dollars in 2018, which is equiva- The initial confirmed case of an Israeli citizen ingly confirm this, there are clear signs as of lent to 275% of the world’s average. testing positive for the coronavirus on 21 Febru- mid-June that a flare-up of infections is under- ary was a cruise ship passenger repatriated from way. The easing of imposed restrictions started The country is host to state-of-the-art research the vessel Diamond Princess moored in Japan.7 gradually in mid-April, but this process was environments in several areas, and its private The first Israeli casualty was reported a month halted on 8 June, indicating that the country sector in research & development and technol- later on 21 March, and as of 10 June the death could revert to more severe lockdown measures ogy is highly dynamic. Some of this domestic toll stood at 299, with 18,268 confirmed cases, should the rate of infections continue to rise.11 scientific and technological expertise has been translating into a death rate of 3.4 per 100,000 mobilized in the response to the COVID-19 pan- and an infection rate of 211 per 100,000.8 Policies to Deal with the COVID-19 demic, where a number of start-ups provided Among the case studies of our project, Turkey Crisis different tech-based solutions, from an Artificial reports a similar infection rate and a higher Intelligence-based triage platform providing death rate of 5.6 per 100,000, while Iran, as the The Israeli state had enacted preventive mea- continuous monitoring of the patterns in which worst hit country in our case study sample, has sures some weeks in advance of the first re- the virus spreads4 to voice bots and a virtual a slightly higher infection rate, but almost triple ported Israeli fatality. On 27 January, a People’s care manager who can call individuals or act as the death rate at 10 per 100,000. Equally, com- Health Decree was signed by the Minister of a hotline to assess risk, manage symptoms and pared to many countries in Western Europe or Health, Yaakov Litzman, giving the Israeli provide guidance.5 the Americas, the situation in Israel has not so Health Ministry greatly expanded powers.12 far been of the same severity. The Israeli government banned flights from Israel is also a highly securitized and mili- China on 30 January, while gradually closing tarized society where this technological In terms of available hospital beds per 1,000 its land, sea and air crossings from 2 February

MIDEAST POLICY BRIEF 06 2020 www.prio.org onwards.13 New measures often came with findings.16 The measure, proposed on 15 March, and Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minor- minimal advance notice, as when passengers on bypassed normal court order requirements and ity Rights, submitted petitions to the Supreme a flight from Italy on 27 February were informed parliamentary checks and balances. The mea- Court of Israel, which issued a ruling on 26 of the entry ban for Italians upon arrival, before sure was approved with some limitations, but April. The ruling did not question the legality of being turned back.14 Despite Italy’s increasingly then subjected to a judgment in the Supreme the emergency measure but stated that its con- apparent status as a pandemic hotspot, this Court of Israel (detailed in the following sec- tinuance would require a change in legislation.22 brisk action was unusual in a climate where sev- tion).17 eral important EU countries were still advocat- Another significant point of contention has ing that borders should remain open throughout Electronic surveillance has been used by some been the apparent double-standard of social the pandemic, discouraging national govern- other democracies, chiefly South Korea and Tai- distancing restrictions, as they have applied to ments acting unilaterally. wan. In the case of Israel, this function creep of high ranking government officials and average a counter-terrorism tool has received criticism18 Israelis. Most notably, Health Minister Yaakov Domestically in Israel, the first restrictions on and illustrates a problematic securitization of Litzman, who himself belongs to the Ha- public gatherings came on 10 March, schools the COVID-19 pandemic through the enmesh- sidic religious denomination, has been accused and universities were closed from 12 March, and ment of the security and military apparatus with of not only personally flouting social distancing more sweeping restrictions on businesses and the civilian one. A second example of Israel’s rules when engaging in group prayer after both the movement of the general population came willingness to enlist its intelligence services in he and his wife had tested positive for the virus, on 14 March. These developments culminated fighting the pandemic can be seen in the world- but also of allowing Hasidic and other ultra- in the declaration of a national state of emer- wide scramble for medical supplies this spring. orthodox Jewish communities to adopt a relaxed gency on 19 March. Further restrictive guide- Media reports have shown how Mossad, Israel’s attitude towards the self-policing of these re- lines were announced on 31 March, including spy agency, played an outsized role in acquiring strictions, contributing to the severe outbreaks avoidance of public gatherings and wearing face- ventilators and other medical equipment for the of COVID-19 in these religious communities.23 masks when outdoors. This set off a gradual rise embattled Israeli health services.19 The case of these ultra-orthodox communities on the stringency index, a measure developed aptly illustrates how some of the frictions exist- by the Blavatnik school of government rating In dealing with the financial fallout of the ing in Israeli society framed, and were impacted states’ “containment and closure” polices, where COVID-19 pandemic, Israel’s government an- by, the management of the pandemic. the maximum score is 100 – indicating total nounced a rescue plan on 30 March, meant to lockdown. Israel’s score rose from 81.5 in March cover a strengthening of the health care sector, Conclusion to 94.4 between 8–10 April. Israel’s rating then secure welfare and unemployment benefits, dipped slightly before attaining the same lev- and aid business owners both large and small, The COVID-19 pandemic has made existing els again in the time period 14–16 April, the as well as function as a fiscal stimulus. The aid tensions both within Israel and between Israel highest stringency scores in an Israeli context. package was expanded on 9 May to total 100 and the Occupied Palestinian Territories more The stringency high points coincided with the billion NIS ($28,5 billion), approximately 5.5% pronounced. These tensions include the difficult religious holidays Seder and Mimouna of Israeli GDP. Israel’s rescue package has been harmonization between a democratic, knowl- respectively, where a lockdown restricting most criticized on the basis that it falls short of what edge-based society and a growing presence of Israelis to their homes and a 100m radius (ex- would actually be needed and commits less than religious orthodoxy, as well as the existence of a ceptions being made for essential workers) was the proposed rescue packages of other econo- highly militarized society in which the security imposed to avoid family gatherings. Violators mies, such as the 15–16% of GDP promised by and defense establishments are very close to the faced fines of up to 5,000 NIS ($1,455) and six the UK and France or the 30% of GDP that Ger- government and are part of decision-making months in prison.15 many plans to spend. However, it is still slightly processes in different areas. At the same time, larger than the rescue packages announced by Israel’s vibrant scientific and technology envi- As of late June the trajectory of the pandemic is Italy and Holland, among other countries.20 ronments have been mobilized to contribute similar to much of Europe, yet there are several with creative thinking, innovative solutions, idiosyncrasies in the Israeli case that bear men- Civil Society Engagement and state-of-the-art science and technology. tioning. First, the government allowed the use The country’s financial and economic outlook of a mass cell phone surveillance system under Despite a slide towards a more restrictive allowed a fiscal and economic intervention in the auspices of (Israel’s internal securi- political climate in recent years, Israel’s civil response to the expected impact of the crisis on ty agency) in order to track infected citizens and society remains active and politically engaged, the Israeli economy. warn people who might unwittingly have come and many constitutional checks and balances into contact with them. This system is part of remain in place. An example of this relates to Many of the issues covered in this brief cannot a number of technological tools with which the the aforementioned Shin Bet cell phone surveil- be fully understood and analyzed without an Palestinian population is surveilled on an every- lance initiative. This was opposed by members acknowledgement of its implications for the Pal- day basis. The Ministry of Health reports that of the , Israel’s national assembly, and estinians, both in Gaza and in the occupied ter- by the end of May, 81,383 isolation orders have civil rights organizations in Israel.21 Two of the ritories in the West Bank. The counter-terrorism been issued based on Shin Bet’s contact tracing latter, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, tools whose employment during the pandemic www.prio.org MIDEAST POLICY BRIEF 06 2020 was pushed through by the Israeli government Norge og verden’, data for 10 June 2020; Daniel blog/2020/06/using-counterterrorism-fighting- are regularly used to monitor and surveil Pal- Estrin (2020) ‘Holocaust Survivor Is First pandemic-israel. Coronavirus Death In Israel’, NPR, 21 March. estinians, while the lockdowns and mobility 17. Judah Ari Gross (2020) ‘Government okays controls have impacted Palestinian citizens in 9. Ruth Waitzberg et al. (2020) ‘Israel’s response mass surveillance of Israelis’ phones to curb harsh ways. Whereas the Sars-CoV-2 virus can to the COVID-19 pandemic: tailoring measures coronavirus’, , 15 March. potentially infect people irrespective of their for vulnerable cultural minority populations’, 18. June Ko (2020) ‘How China used technology social and political status, the broader impact International Journal for Equity in Health 19:71. to combat COVID-19 – and tighten its grip on of the pandemic is contingent on pre-existing DOI: 10.1186/s12939-020-01191-7. inequalities. citizens’, Amnesty International, 17 April. 10. Dani Filc (2009) Circles of Exclusion: The Politics of 19. Ronen Bergman (2020) ‘Israel’s Not-So-Secret Health Care in Israel. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Notes Weapon in Coronavirus Fight: The Spies of University Press: 5. Mossad’, New York Times, 12 April. 1. Some studies are reviewed in Efrat Shadmi (2018) 11. Reuters (2020) ‘Israel stops easing COVID-19 20. The Times of Israel (2020) ‘Finance Ministry ‘Healthcare disparities amongst vulnerable restrictions after spike in new cases’, 8 June. to expand virus rescue package to NIS 100 populations of Arabs and Jews in Israel’, Israel 12. State of Israel Ministry of Health (2020) ‘The billion’, 9 May. Available at: www.timesofisrael. Journal of Health Policy Research 7:26. DOI: Minister of Health Signs the People’s Health com/finance-ministry-to-expand-virus-rescue- 10.1186/s13584-018-0226-z. Decree to Expand the Ministry’s Powers Over package-to-nis-100-billion/; Sue Surkes (2020) 2. World Health Organization (2020) ‘Israel’. WHO the Coronavirus’, 27 January. Available at: ‘Israel’s coronavirus aid package only half that Regional Office for Europe. Available at: www.euro. www.health.gov.il/English/News_and_Events/ of similar developed nations’, The Times of Israel, who.int/en/countries/israel. Spokespersons_Messages/Pages/27012020_3. 7 May. Available at: www.timesofisrael.com/ aspx. israels-coronavirus-aid-package-only-half-that-of- 3. Knoema (2020) ‘Health-Care Efficiency similar-developed-nations/. Around the World’. Available at: knoema.com/ 13. KPMG (2020) ‘Israel’, 11 May. Available at: infographics/opambfb/health-care-efficiency- home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/04/ 21. Judah Ari Gross (2020) ‘Knesset committee around-the-world. israel-government-and-institution-measures-in- chair slams cabinet’s phone tracking decision response-to-covid.html. as “power grab”’, The Times of Israel, 17 March. 4. Wendy Singer (2020) ‘Israeli Innovators Harness Available at: www.timesofisrael.com/knesset- Artificial Intelligence Technologies To Curb The 14. La Reppublica (2020) ‘Coronavirus, il contagio committee-chair-slams-cabinets-phone-tracking- Global COVID-19 Pandemic’, Forbes, 13 April. nel mondo. Israele respinge passeggeri dall’Italia. decision-as-power-grab/. Prima donna recidiva in Giappone’, 27 February. 5. Abigail Klein Leichman (2020) ‘30 Israeli 22. VERSA: Opinions of the Supreme Court of Israel medical innovations to fight coronavirus’, Israel 15. Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman & Anna Ahronheim (2020) ‘Ben Meir v. Prime Minister’, 26 April. 21C, 29 April. Available at: www.israel21c. (2020) ‘Coronavirus: Infected Israelis hit 707 as Available at: versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/ben- org/30-israeli-medical-tech-solutions-to-help- emergency orders roll out’, The Post, meir-v-prime-minister-0. fight-coronavirus/. 21 March; Ruth Schuster (2020) ‘Israelis Told to Wear Face Masks in Public. Here’s How to 23. Jacob Magid (2020) ‘Infected health minister 6. BBC (2020) ‘Israel swears in unity government Do It’, , 5 April; Allison Kaplan Sommer accused of flouting rules, endangering Israel’s after long political crisis’, 17 May. (2020) ‘Explained: Shutdown, Curfew in Israel’s leaders’, The Times of Israel, 2 April. Available at: 7. The Times of Israel (2020) ‘Israel confirms Toughest Coronavirus Restrictions to Date’, www.timesofisrael.com/infected-health-minister- first coronavirus case as cruise ship returnee Haaretz, 7 April. accused-of-ignoring-rules-endangering-israels- diagnosed’, 21 February. Available at: www. leaders/; France 24 (2020) ‘Israel health minister 16. Rachel Noah (2020) ‘Using Counterterrorism timesofisrael.com/israel-confirms-first- under fire over ultra-Orthodox COVID-19 for Fighting the Pandemic: Israel During the Days coronavirus-case-as-cruise-ship-returnee- crisis’, 8 April. Available at: www.france24.com/ of COVID-19’, University of Oxford Centre for diagnosed/. en/20200408-israel-health-minister-under-fire- Criminology Blog, 19 June. Available at: www.law. over-ultra-orthodox-covid-19-crisis. 8. VG (2020) ‘Live: Corona-viruset sprer seg i ox.ac.uk/centres-institutes/centre-criminology/

THE AUTHORS THE CENTRE PRIO Bruno Oliveira Martins is a Senior Researcher ‘Reacting to COVID-19 across the MENA re- The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is a at PRIO and a former political analyst at the gion’ is a sub-project of the PRIO Middle East non-profit peace research institute (estab- EU Delegation in Israel. Centre, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of lished in 1959) whose overarching purpose Mathias Hatleskog Tjønn is a Research Assis- Foreign Affairs through a grant administered is to conduct research on the conditions for tant at PRIO, where he researches migration by the Research Council Norway. This brief is peaceful relations between states, groups and issues, particularly in the Mediterranean. part of a series of MENA country-cases. The people. The institute is independent, interna- other countries in the series are Iran, Jordan, tional and interdisciplinary, and explores is- Palestine and Turkey. sues related to all facets of peace and conflict.

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