A number of spray-painted graffiti denouncing Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman were discovered on the walls of Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood on 12 April, The Times of Israel reports.
According to the newspaper, the graffiti, which brand Litzman as a "murderer" and "Amalek" (biblical enemy of the Israelites) appears to be an act of protest against a lockdown of the areas of the city where high rates of coronavirus infections were detected, as some of said areas apparently include ultra-orthodox districts.
While municipal officials were dispatched to clean up the "vandalism", the police have already opened an investigation into the matter.
Citing data released by Israel's Health Ministry, the newspaper noted that "about 75 percent of the infections in Jerusalem have occurred in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods".
So far, Israel's Health Ministry has documented over 10,000 cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 100 deaths.