TEL AVIV, Israel — The story of an embattled political leader facing deep social divisions in his country and allowing political interests to steer his handling of the coronavirus crisis sounds like a uniquely American one.
But these days it’s also the story of Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has imposed a second nationwide lockdown to halt a spiraling infection rate, even as he rejected the opinions of experts and succumbed to assorted pressures from ultra-Orthodox groups that give him his governing majority in parliament.
