Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night declared a strict lock-down for the night of the Passover Seder, including a curfew on Wednesday night from 6 p.m. until Thursday morning at 7 a.m., during which Israelis will be barred from leaving their homes. The prime minister urged Israelis to celebrate the holiday “only with the immediate family members who are now with you at home.”
“I know that this is very onerous but there is simply no choice. We will strictly enforce the lock-down,” he said, announcing the new restrictions aimed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“We are in a fateful week, for the world and for the State of Israel,” continued the prime minister. “It is fateful because in the battle to block the coronavirus, these days will determine the direction—progress or retreat, and for many people, life or death.”
This decree is eerily similar to what the Israelites were commanded by God to do in Egypt to protect against the plague of the first born.
None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. (Exodus 12:22)
This is the second half of the passage. The passage in its entirety is as follows:
Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. (Exodus 12:22)
Netanyahu also announced a “general lock-down” from 4 p.m. Tuesday until 7 a.m. Friday, during which inter-city movement, as well as movement between “certain neighborhoods in Jerusalem,” will be restricted.