Tel Aviv, March 24: Israel Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, a deeply conservative politician, drew flak from the nation's progressive circles after he suggested that the cure for coronavirus would come along with "The Messiah". His remarks, at a press conference on March 19, led to questions being raised on whether a man with deep theological roots should be heading the Ministry of Health in such a critical stage. Coronavirus Live Map: How to Track The Spread of COVID-19 Across The Globe With This Dashboard.

Litzman, who heads the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, is a key constituent of the Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel. In a press conference addressed in Hebrew on March 19, Yaakov said the coronavirus crisis indicates that the world is moving towards its end, and the days are near when "The Messiah" would descend upon the earth and relieve the plight of Jewish community.

“We are praying and hoping that the Messiah will arrive before Passover, the time of our redemption. I am sure that the Messiah will come and bring us out as [God] brought us out of Egypt. Soon we will go out in freedom and the Messiah will come and redeem us from all the troubles of the world," Haaretz quoted the Health Minister as saying.

As per the Jewish belief, the Messiah would be the a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who would save Israel from a major catastrophe. The Jewish estalogy attributes him as "a savior or redeemer who would appear at the end of days and usher in the kingdom of God". The arrival of Messiah would also lead to the final phase of world before the doomsday, the Jews believe.

The Health Minister's remarks comes at a time when coronavirus infections toll in Israel has topped the 1,600-mark. At least one COVID-19 patient, a holocaust survivor, was confirmed to have succumbed to death on Sunday. The country has been put under a nationwide lockdown till at least April 8.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2020 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).