“We must take steps to prevent infections at events and weddings and in schools,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday night.
One in nine Israelis tested for Covid-19 are now being found to have contracted it.
The country’s coronavirus czar Ronnie Gamzu had pressed for a lockdown in 10 cities.
But the plan was denounced in an open letter from four Charedi mayors who accused the government of not listening to their voices.
They said previous lockdowns imposed on Charedi cities had made little difference.
“We will stop co-operating with the various authorities on anything connected with the lockdown,” they said.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who met Mr Netanyahu yesterday with another strictly Orthodox politician Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, said the Prime Minister had assured him that synagogues would remain open for the High Holy Days.
