For two months, many Israeli viewers watched TV every night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issuing warnings and announcing developments related to the new Coronavirus and imposed general isolation measures.
When the number of casualties decreased, Netanyahu gave a televised speech on May 26 to brag about his success, saying "Enjoy," which is exactly what many Israelis did.
But cases of the virus rose later, and opinion polls showed a decrease in confidence in Netanyahu, and he is now facing protests across Israel because of the pandemic economy.
Claims to resign
Now - outside his Jerusalem residence - protesters are waving banners and led by young men who hardly remember a leader other than Netanyahu, who has been prime minister since 2009, but they want him to resign.
"Our generation has completely lost faith in the system. Our leaders have stopped serving us, they don't care about us," says Costa Black, 30, who was arrested during the protests and lost his job in a restaurant because of the impact of the pandemic on the economy.
A poll conducted by the Israel Institute for Democracy on July 12 found that 29.5% were confident in the way the 70-year-old prime minister responded to the crisis, down from 57.5% in April and 47% in June, the past two.
But critics say Netanyahu, who is often hailed thanks to his economic policies, has apparently lost interest in managing the crisis and failed to prepare a clear exit strategy after the first isolation measures.
Companies also say the promised aid has been delayed and bureaucratic obstructed.
Some Israelis believe that plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank have distracted Netanyahu, and others say his interest has turned into a corruption case against him, in which he denies any wrongdoing.
He refused and scolded
Netanyahu rejects the criticism, writing this week on Facebook, commenting on delays in providing financial aid: "Money is on the way, we will continue to take care of all Israeli citizens and we will develop more plans soon."
Netanyahu also rebuked the protesters and wrote on Twitter, "Don't drag the country into chaos, violence and attacks on the police."
But a survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed that 55% of Israelis fear having trouble paying their bills, up from 46% during the general isolation in March and April of this past.
Feeling of failure
"The Israelis first understood that the situation was difficult and were ready to accept it because they felt that the government was doing its best," said the head of the Israel Democracy Institute, Johann Plessner, adding that the feeling now is that the government no longer manages the matter economically and healthily.
He explained that the long-term repercussions for Netanyahu are not clear yet, but the latest poll gives his party, Likud, only 31 of the 120-seat Knesset, down five seats, and it is expected that other right-wing parties will improve their positions.
Although the protests did not reach the 2011 levels, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets due to the high cost of living, they are on the rise.
Staff Shaffer - a former Knesset member and leader of the protests in 2011 - who have grown up under Netanyahu, are wondering why there is no money to take care of our economy now during the biggest crisis we have known?
The Israeli authorities registered 68,000 cases of the Corona virus, and 497 deaths. It is now on the "Red List" whose citizens are prohibited from entering the European Union.
Many restrictions were lifted to revive economic activity, but unemployment hovers at 21.5%, and the economy is expected to contract by 6% in 2020.