Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a hearing on Monday with the market committee chairmen to formulate a plan for gradually returning markets to activity.
It was agreed that the Prime Minister's Office, in collaboration with the Economy Ministry, the Health Ministry, the National Security Council, and market committee representatives will formulate an outline to return markets to activity subject to regulating entry into the complex and the maintaining "social distancing" according to what was dubbed in Israel the "Purple Tag" rules.
The meeting was also attended by the Economy Minister, the Mayor of Jerusalem, the Prime Minister's Staff, the NSC, the Prime Minister's Office Director, the Health Ministry Director, the Treasury Director, the National Economic Council, the Vice President of Interior Planning and Development in the Interior Ministry and other entities.
Mahane Yehuda Market Traders Association Chairman Tali Friedman urged Netanyahu to open the markets immediately. "The Mayor of Jerusalem has built an outline that makes the Mahane Yehuda market the safest place among all supermarkets, beauty salons, hairdressers, and IKEA. The damage to us and our farmers in Israel is about NIS 100 million," said Friedman.
"We didn't ask for grants, we didn't ask for compensation, we only asked to let us get up in the morning and come back to earn a living. Supermarkets have become a monopoly and a focal point of enrichment at the expense of the citizens, because without competition, whats the problem to raise prices? Think of us, there are thousands of families here with tears in their eyes and broken hearts. When the kindergartens return, how will the parents pay the kindergarten? Mr. Prime Minister, this is no false alarm, it's a red alert, and unfortunately, no one's providing us with an Iron Dome to protect us from the economic missiles," Friedman emphasized.