Former Defense Minister and Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett launched a new civilian organization on Monday called 'Yisraelim Menatzchim et HaCorona,' or 'Israelis defeat the coronanavirus.'
"There is a sense of hardship in Israel. There is a lot of anger and rage at the government's failures, that there is no plan of action to extricate us from this situation. In a normal situation we should just replace the government, but we don't do that in the middle of a war. After the war is over we can have a reckoning," Bennett said.
"I appeal today to the citizens of Israel: Lets work together, as citizens of all sectors of society, to defeat the coronavirus on our own. I announce the establishment of a civilian movement of volunteers from all sectors - 'Israelis defeat the coronavirus.' This is a movement made up of volunteers who want to fight the coronavirus and will help everyone - youth, Arabs, Druze, haredim, secular and religious - in order to encourage Israeli citizens to behave correctly through the spread of information, with a smile and not fines and threats," Bennett added.
Bennett elaborated: "This movement will also engage in mutual responsibility, helping families who have found themselves, through no fault of their own, in a state of existential distress, in caring for those in isolation, in distributing food, and in providing a shoulder for the people affected by the coronavirus."
"Instead of taking shots at the government, which is one of the worst we have seen, we citizens will take responsibility. There are no elections tomorrow and we need to beat the coronavirus now. If we, the citizens, take action, then in three weeks we will be able to say that we have beaten the coronavirus. The government, for its part, will set up a system to remove the carriers and cut off the chains of infection."