Many were not even of voting age when Mr. Netanyahu took office in Israel 11 years ago. But their anger signaled that his storied political survival skills are confronting a new risk.
“We’ve learned that we have to look out for ourselves,” said Maayan Shrem, 25, a youth counselor and former combat soldier who came to the protest Thursday night from his hometown, Karmiel, a two-hour bus ride from Jerusalem. Holding a placard that read “We will not cease to fight for our country,” his friend, Oren Gery, 26, added, “Change has to come from the bottom up.”
Mr. Netanyahu was praised for his initial success in handling the pandemic. As coronavirus wards closed for lack of patients, he abruptly reopened the economy in late May to try to resuscitate jobs and commerce, telling Israelis in a televised victory address to get some air, grab a coffee or a beer and, while taking the necessary precautions, to “Go out and have a good time.”
Within weeks, everything went awry.
Children were sent back to school to finish the semester before summer break, which caused new outbreaks. The government zigzagged on the opening and closing of restaurants, swimming pools and beaches, leaving Israelis bewildered. Nearly a million people were left unemployed out of a population of nine million. And daily infections rapidly spiked, from double-digit figures in May to about 2,000 per day now.
In other news from around the globe:
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France reported a sharp uptick in new cases on Thursday, with more than 1,000 new infections recorded in 24 hours. The rise confirms a weekslong upward trend. Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Friday that travelers from 16 countries arriving in France will have to present a recent negative test or be tested upon arrival. Countries affected by this new measure include the United States, Turkey, India, Israel and Brazil, according to French media, some of which are already barred by the European Union from traveling into the bloc.
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Masks are now required in shops, supermarkets, transportation hubs and when picking up food and drink from restaurants in England. Those who refuse to wear a face covering could be fined up to 100 pounds, or $127. But as the new guidelines came into force on Friday, some supermarkets and coffee shop chains said they would not challenge customers who enter their businesses unmasked.
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Germany will offer free tests to citizens returning from abroad as part of new measures agreed to on Friday to curb the virus’s spread. Those who fly in from countries considered to be high-risk can undergo tests directly at the airport upon arrival, Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister said.
Reporting was contributed by Dan Bilefsky, William J. Broad, José María León Cabrera, Julia Calderone, Ben Casselman, Niraj Chokshi, Emily Cochrane, Michael Cooper, Melissa Eddy, Manny Fernandez, Gillian Friedman, Michael Gold, Joseph Goldstein, Abby Goodnough, Rebecca Halleck, Maggie Haberman, Hikari Hida, Andrew Jacobs, Annie Karni, Josh Keller, Anatoly Kurmanaev, Patricia Mazzei, Patrick McGeehan, Jesse McKinley, Constant Méheut, Raphael Minder, Elian Peltier, Alan Rappeport, Motoko Rich, Frances Robles, Giovanni Russonello, Nate Schweber, Mitch Smith, Megan Specia, Kaly Soto, Jim Tankersley, María Silvia Trigo, Daniel Victor, Lauren Wolfe and Will Wright.
