Archive for month: March, 2020

News Update

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The number of coronavirus cases in Israel has jumped to 39. One of those infected recently arrived from Moscow. He had previously flown to Barcelona and then to Switzerland. He is under self quarantine. Thirty six infected people remain hospitalized.

Israeli soldiers returning from trips abroad are not being allowed to return to their bases.

El Al cancelled its planned Monday evening flight from Newark Airport to Israel. The PM said yesterday that no decision has been made on travel restrictions for passengers entering from the US, but El Al has cancelled flights from several US cities.

Israel Hotel Association president Amir Hayek warned of mass layoffs and hotels closing down, and that “the hotel sector in Israel is on the brink of collapse.” He called for massive government aid.

The Hotel Association’s figures show that as things stand, the estimated annual damage to the sector is NIS 4.2 billion – NIS 350 million a month. Hotel occupancy has plummeted to less than 40%, an average of 30% less than in the corresponding period last year. The decline is worst in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where occupancy is 30%.

Israel’s stock market is also taking a plunge, along with the rest of world markets.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency conference call with European leaders about the corona outbreak. Participants included the Chancellor of Austria, the President of Cyprus and the Prime Ministers of Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia and Romania.

News Update

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All the votes have been counted and the election results remain:

Likud – 36

Blue and White – 33

Arab List – 15

Shas – 9

Yisrael Beyteinu – 7

Labor-Meretz – 7

UTJ – 7

Yamina – 6

That gives the Right Wing block 58 seats, which means that PM Netanyahu will need to either convince 3 opposition MKs to join his coalition or form a unity government with Blue and White.

Avigdor Lieberman has pledged to support a bill drafted by Benny Gantz that would prevent an indicted MK from forming a government. The Knesset reconvenes on Monday March 16, and Blue and White currently controls the House Committee, which sets the agenda for votes in the Knesset plenum. The bill would be supported by the 62 MKs who are not part of the right-wing block, including Lieberman’s Yisrael Beyteinu.

Israel’s Ministry of Health has announced that 2 more Israelis have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, bringing the total number to 17. One new case is a person who returned from Italy last week but has remained in self quarantine at home. The other is an Arab bus driver from East Jerusalem who drove a tour bus with 21 Greek tourists who subsequently tested positive for the virus.

Israel Police announced it will begin to crack down on citizens who violate the Health Ministry’s quarantine directives. Police said it has opened eight criminal investigations against Israelis who have violated the state’s home quarantine rules or tried to fool health ministry inspectors. Violators could face up to seven years in prison.

Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines have cancelled all flights to Israel until the end of March. On Wednesday the Health Ministry ordered all travelers arriving from Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland to self quarantine. El AL laid off 1,000 of its 6,000 employees earlier in the week.

According to Syrian media reports, at least one Syrian soldier was killed and four others wounded in Israeli missile attacks in south-west Syria yesterday.

Newsweek has ranked Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer near Tel Aviv as one of the world’s top ten hospitals (#9) for the second year in a row. Newsweek cites Sheba as a top general hospital as well as its specializations in rehabilitation, pediatrics, women’s health, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders. Also mentioned are the hospital’s breakthrough research in cardiology, gynecology, genetics and medical education.

News Update

To listen to an audio version click here. (for supporters)

With 99% of the vote in Israel’s elections counted, the right-wing bloc appears to have lost one Knesset seat from earlier results bringing its total number to 58. Blue & White gained one seat at the expense of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

Here are the latest results:

Likud – 36

Blue and White – 33

Arab List – 15

Shas – 9

Yisrael Beyteinu – 7

Labor-Meretz – 7

UTJ – 7

Yamina – 6

These results still do not include the 340,000 votes from military polls, the votes of diplomats overseas and the tally from special polling stations including over 4000 votes from the dedicated stations set up for voters who have been exposed to the coronavirus.

While it’s still possible for the uncounted votes to potentially swing the final results by 1 seat in either direction, it looks like PM Netanyahu has won the mandate to form a new government and will now need to engage in some very serious political deal making to get the 61 seat majority he needs to succeed.

Blue and White sources are saying that party leader Benny Gantz has efforts to pass a law that would prevent an indicted MK from forming a government. The Knesset reconvenes on Monday March 16, and Blue and White currently controls the House Committee, which sets the agenda for votes in the Knesset plenum. The bill would be supported by the 62 MKs who are not part of the right-wing block.

Israel’s Ministry of Health has announced that three more Israelis have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. This brings to 15 the number of Israelis stricken with the virus. The three new cases found are a female soldier who works part time in the Red Pirate toy store in Or Yehuda and a customer who spent 15 minutes in the store. Both contracted the disease from the store manager who returned from northern Italy last week. The third new case is a person who returned from Italy last week but has remained in self quarantine at home. All three new cases are mild.

Around 5,000 people who attended a soccer match at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium last week have been ordered to immediately self-quarantine after it was discovered that a 9th grader infected with coronavirus at the toy store in Or Yehuda was among a crowd of fans.

In addition, the health ministry ordered all 1,150 students and staff at a school in Brenner Regional Council, attended by the infected teenager, to self-quarantine until March 12. The second patient who also contracted the virus at the store is a deputy school principal in the city of Kiryat Ono in central Israel. She and 27 of her students were also ordered to self-quarantine.

News Update

To listen to an audio version click here. (for supporters)

With 90% of the votes counted, Here are the results:

Likud – 36

Blue and White – 32

Arab List – 15

Shas – 10

Yisrael Beyteinu – 7

Labor-Meretz – 7

UTJ – 7

Yamina – 6

The results give the right-wing block 59 seats, which is short of the 61 needed for a Knesset majority and a government. The right-wing block total does not include Yisrael Beyteinu, whose leader, Avigdor Lieberman, has refused to join a coalition with the religious parties in the past.

The final election results will not be released until later today. In addition to the remaining 10% of the votes, 340,000 votes from military polls, the votes of diplomats overseas and the tally from special polling stations including over 4000 votes from the dedicated stations set up for voters who have been exposed to the coronavirus will also need to be reported.

So there is still a chance that Likud or one of the other right-wing parties might pick up another seat or two to give Netanyahu the 61 seat majority he needs to form a government. Or they might lose a seat or 2 and make it more difficult for him.

If, after the final votes are counted, Netanyahu remains 1 or 2 seats short, it is likely that he will try to convince 1 or 2 of the more right-wing members of Blue and White to join his government. Or perhaps Lieberman will be more open to negotiating this time around.

The only thing that is certain is that Israelis do not want a fourth round of elections, so a deal must be made to form a government.

A few observations:

1. Voter turnout was at its highest since 1999
2. The Arab party is the third largest in the Knesset
3. The fact that Netanyahu has been indicted and will be standing trial did not stop people from voting for him