Arab-Israelis shocked by virus czar's 'terror attack' comment
Many Arab-Israelis found coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu's recent comments about their allegedly irresponsible behavior counterproductive and insulting.
Israel's coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu apologized Aug. 16 for remarks he made earlier in the day, likening the behavior of Arab-Israelis during the pandemic to a "terror attack." Gamzu had accused the Arab community of acting irresponsibly, stating, “The Arab community has committed in the past fortnight, since Eid al-Adha, almost a terror attack, with hundreds of sick people. Gatherings, parties, celebrations, complacency, indifference — the feeling that the coronavirus can’t hurt them."
An apology statement issued by his office read, "Gamzu wishes to clarify that what he meant by the term 'terror attack' was in the context of the virus and its morbidity and not the Arab community." Gamzu categorically rejected claims the Health Ministry's policies toward the Arab community during the crisis have been racist. "I received a phone call from [the Druze village of] Yarka a week ago. They described to me what was happening there and said, 'Come in, restrict, people here are sick. Why don't you impose a closure on Yarka.’ … You call that racism?"
