44 Middle East & Africa The EconomistMarch 21st 2020
2 tributes more than $10bn to the Saudi
economy. Pilgrimages are the kingdom’s
largest source of revenue after oil.
Coptic churches in Egypt have suspend-
ed most activities. Instead of holding one
large mass they plan to conduct several, to
limit crowds. The Maronite church in Leba-
non ordered priests to hand communion
wafers to worshippers, instead of placing
them on their tongues. Holy water has been
replaced with hand sanitiser. In Jerusalem
the Western Wall, the holiest site where
Jews are permitted to pray, is largely desert-
ed. Rabbis have urged the faithful not to
kiss the stones.Qom on Iran
The outlier has been Iran. It has the third-
highest number of confirmed cases of the
virus, behind only China and Italy. Yet for
weeks it refused to close the bustling
shrines in Qom, a holy city that is the cen-
tre of its outbreak. When the authorities
shut them at last on March 16th, small
crowds broke through the doors in protest.
A few other congregations have been res-
tive: a mass in Ajaltoun, a village in the
mountains north-east of Beirut, had to be
halted when worshippers complained
about the changes to communion.
Most have accepted them with equa-
nimity, though. Some even find small
cause for amusement. The new taboo
around social contact is alien to many in
the region, used to clasping hands or kiss-
ing on the cheeks. But it is old hat for con-
servative Muslims, who avoid physical
contact with the opposite sex. Instead of
awkward innovations like the elbow bump,
they greet as they always have: a hand on
the heart, a slight bow of the head. Not
everything has changed. 7Spray, pray and keep ten feet awayB
inyamin netanyahu, Israel’s prime
minister for the past 11 years, is never
one to waste a crisis. In recent days he has
used his televised briefings on the covid-19
pandemic to exhort the leader of the oppo-
sition, Benny Gantz, to join an emergency
unity government—under Mr Netanyahu,
of course. The prime minister seems unde-
terred by the failure of his coalition of
nationalist and religious parties to win a
majority in the parliamentary election on
March 2nd (see chart), or by the charges of
bribery and fraud that he faces.
On March 16th Mr Gantz was given the
first shot at forming a government, having
received the endorsement of 61 members of
the 120-seat Knesset (Israel’s parliament).
He vowed to “form a national unity govern-
ment, as broad as possible, within days”.
But his allies are united only in their desire
to replace Mr Netanyahu. They include Yis-
rael Beiteinu, a Jewish nationalist party led
by Avigdor Lieberman, and the Joint List,
an alliance of Arab-majority parties that is
now the third-biggest bloc in the Knesset.
They are unlikely to sit in government to-
gether. Even some in Mr Gantz’s own party,
Blue and White, oppose a government that
is supported by Arab lawmakers.
Mr Gantz’s preference would be to form
a unity government that includes Mr Net-
anyahu’s Likud party. “I extend my elbow,”
said Mr Gantz, referring to new guidelines
barring handshakes. But Mr Netanyahu has
always insisted that, if the premiership
were to rotate between them, he should go
first. Mr Gantz and his colleagues are loth
to accept this proposal as they believe Mr
Netanyahu would not abide by the deal.
Moreover, they think he will use his posi-
tion to try to shield himself from legal ac-
tion. Mr Gantz could try to pass legislation
preventing a politician facing criminal
charges from forming a government. But
right-wing politicians might accuse him of
sabotaging the effort to fight covid-19.
The outbreak in Israel has given the ne-gotiations a sense of urgency. There have
been over 400 confirmed cases but no
deaths yet. Israel is refusing entry to all for-
eigners. Citizens returning from abroad
must self-quarantine for 14 days. Schools
and restaurants have been ordered to close,
and indoor gatherings of over ten people
are banned. The government has also taken
the controversial step of using mobile-
phone surveillance technology, normally
reserved for counter-terrorism operations,
to track virus-carriers. By designating the
move an “emergency measure”, Mr Netan-
yahu was able to bypass the Knesset.
A more comprehensive response, in-
volving emergency funding, will be diffi-
cult to implement without a new govern-
ment or oversight committees in the
Knesset. Yet on March 18th the speaker of
the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, a Likudnik, ad-
journed the body for five days. Mr Gantz,
backed by a majority, had been trying to re-
place Mr Edelstein and form the commit-
tees in a way that reflected the minority
status of Likud and its allies.
Mr Netanyahu accuses Mr Gantz of
practising “small politics” at a time of na-
tional emergency. But the same accusation
has been levelled at the prime minister. His
critics claim that he delayed the order to
quarantine American visitors to Israel be-
cause of pressure from the administration
of President Donald Trump, and that he de-
lays the publication of public-health or-
ders until his own televised briefings, so
that he can strike the pose of a leader. “A
small group of officials are really doing the
hard work,” says a minister.
Mr Netanyahu’s trial, originally due to
begin this week, has been pushed back to
May 24th. Some have viewed this as a polit-
ical decision—made by judges, but under
pressure from the justice minister, a Net-
anyahu appointee. Mr Gantz, upon accept-
ing the mandate to form a government,
spoke of “illegitimate efforts by the current
prime minister to evade justice”.^7JERUSALEM
Binyamin Netanyahu vows to save Israel from covid-19. But his rival has been
asked to form a governmentIsraeli politicsBibi and the virus
Until next timeSource:CentralElectionsCommitteeIsrael’s Knesset, number of seats by party, March 2020 election, 120 total seats
PartiessupportingBennyGantz(61) PartiessupportingBinyaminNetanyahu(58)Ya m i n a 6Jointlist 15 Blue & White 33 Likud 36 UTJ 7 Shas 9Labour-Meretz 6 Yisrael Beiteinu 7 Gesher 1↓ ↓