According to the Chevra Kadisha in France, at least 1,300 Jews have passed away from the coronavirus, with some sources saying the figure is as high as 2,000, Makor Rishon reported on Friday.
The number reflects only the Jews who received a Jewish burial since there are no statistics available on the religion of COVID-19 patients who passed away but did not receive a Jewish burial.
Hundreds of Jews who passed away from the coronavirus were flown to Israel for burial, the report said.
French Jewry, with about 500,000 Jews, has been the worst hit in Europe from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the tally of 1,300 Jewish fatalities, Jews comprise about 5% of Frances’s 25,897 fatalities from the coronavirus, which reflects a death toll six times that of the general population.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
Those statistics are much worse than the chareidi rate in both the US and in Israel. Despite the French figure representing the entire French Jewish community.
Sadly, some of the Charedim still have not learnt and are ignoring the social distancing instructions from health ministry. It’s painful to watch some parents sending out the kids on the street for HOURS, risking the life from others, since it’s very likely to spread out this virus further like that. I live in a mixed area in Israel…why the chilonim are keeping their kids busy home, while a lot of the Chareidim dont??? Why do they have 10 kids if they don’t enjoy having kids at home??
mwlf, I am not justifying this reckless behavior, but the answer to your question is obvious. The chilonim are keeping their kids busy by gluing them to the TV, while the charedim don’t have TV. Enjoying your kids doesn’t mean keeoing them at home with you 24/7. The parents and the children fell that they need a break. Do you blame them if it is hard to keep a family of 12 cooped up in a 3-bedroom apartment all the time?
mrm: These French Jews are NOT chareidim for the most part.