Archive for month: May, 2020

News Update

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Deaths from the coronavirus in Israel have risen to 266. There are 50 people on ventilators. 10 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

The government has approved the complete reopening of schools starting Sunday except for in areas with high infection rates including Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak and areas of Jerusalem. All earlier guidelines limiting the number of students per class and separating children into study groups to isolate them from other children will be canceled. Schools will maintain social distancing between students during meals and on breaks and will require children to wear facial masks when outside of their classrooms. Children from fourth grade and up will have to wear their facial masks in class too.

Ben Gurion Airport is preparing to get back to some semblance of normalcy. To read about how that will look, click here.

An IDF soldier was moderately wounded when a terrorist rammed his vehicle into him at a checkpoint near the settlement of Negohot. Another soldier shot and neutralized the terrorist, who later died of his wounds. The 19 year old attacker left a suicide note in his car. The wounded soldier was evacuated in stable condition.

PM Netanyahu yesterday delayed the swearing in of his new government until Sunday, because he has not been able to finalize ministerial posts for 7 of his closest Likud allies and former ministers. Benny Gantz agreed to the postponement, and will remain in his post of Knesset speaker until the government is finalized and he becomes Defense Minister.

Among the prominent ministerial appointments in the new government are Blue & White MK Gabi Ashkenazi, who will become foreign minister, Likud MK Israel Katz who will serve as finance minister, Blue & White MK Avi Nissenkorn who will take on the justice portfolio and Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, who has already replaced Yaakov Litzman as health minister. Likud MK Yariv Levin is expected to become the next Knesset speaker, Labor MK Amir Peretz will be Economy Minister and Labor MK Itzik Shmuli Welfare Minister. Former Health Minister Yakov Litzman of UTJ will become Housing Minister. Education Minister Rafi Peretz of Yamina will join the government as Minister of Jerusalem, but Yamina leader Naftali Bennett will not join the government. To see more ministerial appointments, click here.

Israel has approved the export of medical cannabis.

News Update

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Deaths from the coronavirus in Israel have risen to 262. There are 51 people on ventilators. 13 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry yesterday warned the residents of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of Beit Shemesh and Mea Shearim in Jerusalem that they face a renewed lockdown after hundreds of people gathered in both locations to mark the festival of Lag BaOmer. Riot police were called in to break up the gatherings. 317 men were arrested and fined when hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men tried to enter the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron last night, against police orders.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with PM Netanyahu and Benny Gantz in Jerusalem today during a 6 hour stopover in Israel. The leaders discussed the planned Israeli annexation of Jewish settlements, dealing with the Iranian threat and the fight against the Coronavirus. US Ambassador David Friedman did not meet with Pompeo because he is suffering from an upper respiratory illness. He has tested negative for the Coronavirus.

One person was hurt today when a man tried to stab a security guard at the entrance to Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest hospital, near Tel Aviv. Security guards shot and wounded the attacker. Police suspect that the attack was criminal in nature and not terror related.

IDF Sergeant Major Amit Ben Yigal, of the Golani brigade, was killed Monday night while participating in the arrest of four terror suspects in the village of Yabed. As the troops were leaving the village, a large rock was thrown from a rooftop, hitting Ben Yigal in the head. Ben Yigal was killed one month before the end of his IDF service. He was laid to rest yesterday. Ben Yigal was an only child, and had begged his parents for their permission to allow him to serve in a combat unit. May his memory serve as a blessing.

IDF troops searching for Ben Yigal’s killer in a refugee camp near Hebron were attacked by rioters who threw rocks and improvised explosive devices at them. The troops were forced to use live fire to defend themselves. One Palestinian teenager involved in the rioting was hit by a bullet and killed. The IDF is continuing the manhunt.

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset speaker, will become the new Health Minister. The appointment came shortly after Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov submitted his resignation. Outgoing health minister Yaakov Litzman is set to receive the housing portfolio. Naftali Bennett, who wanted the Health Ministry for himself, accused the PM of humiliating his Yamina party and working to keep it out of the new government.

News Update

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Deaths from the coronavirus in Israel have risen to 254. There are 64 people on ventilators. 34 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours. The country continues to ease corona related restrictions.

The IDF demolished the West Bank home of a terrorist involved in the attack that killed Israeli teen Rina Shnerb in August of 2019. During the operation, dozens of Palestinians lit tires and threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at the troops. Last month the IDF demolished the homes of 2 other terrorists involved in the same terror attack.

Two small earthquakes were felt in northern Israel today. According to seismic experts, Israel experiences a massive quake approximately every 100 years, and the last major tremor was on July 11, 1927. That means Israel is due for another one in the near future.

Israel’s new government will be sworn in on Thursday. Finally.

Tonight and Tuesday is Lag B’omer, the 33rd day in the traditional counting of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. During that time period the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva were stricken by a plague and died as punishment for their lack of mutual respect and brotherly love. But on the 33rd day, Lag B’omer, the dying ceased.

The day also marks the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), the second century sage who is believed to have authored the Zohar, the cornerstone text of the Kabbala (Jewish mysticism). Normally, hundreds of thousands of Jews gather at his tomb in Meron (near Tzfat) and light bonfires and pray and sing. Jews throughout Israel and the diaspora do the same. Unfortunately, this year there will be no large gatherings anywhere. And the police in Israel will fine you 500 shekels for a bonfire. Only 3 rabbis and less than 200 participants will be allowed to light the bonfire at Rashbi’s tomb in Meron.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate, and keep the fire of holiness and spirituality burning brightly in our own homes. May we merit to see the end of this corona plague very soon.

News Update

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Deaths from the coronavirus in Israel have risen to 245. There are 68 people on ventilators. Only 28 new cases have been reported. Outdoor markets and malls opened in Israel yesterday, with limits on the amounts of people allowed in.

President Rivlin yesterday gave PM Netanyahu the mandate to form a new government, based on the recommendations of 72 Knesset members. Of the 72 MKs who supported Netanyahu, 36 were members of Likud, 16 came from Blue & White, two were from Derech Eretz party (formerly part of Blue and White), two from Labor, nine from Shas and seven from United Torah Judaism. Members of Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party did not add their support, and it is unclear whether they will be part of the government. The PM now has 2 weeks to form a new government, which will apparently be based on the agreement he has already signed with Benny Gantz, in which he will serve has PM for 18 months and then Gantz will become PM for the next 18 months.

Cordoned-off prayer areas have been set up at the Western Wall, which will permit up to 500 people from praying there at one time. All worshipers will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures taken. These requirements will continue over Shabbat, with temperatures being taken at the site until several minutes before Shabbat begins. Those wishing to enter afterwards will need a declaration that their temperature was taken on Friday before Shabbat and that they have no symptoms or other health issues.

A senior member of Hamas has denied reports that progress has been made in negotiations to release 2 Israelis and the bodies of Israeli soldiers from Gaza.

News Update

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

Deaths from the coronavirus in Israel have risen to 239. There are 70 people on ventilators. Only 25 new cases were reported yesterday, of which 20 were in the Bedouin town of Hura in southern Israel.

Israel is set to conduct 100,000 serological tests for COVID-19 in an effort to determine the degree of infection in the population. Director General of the Health Ministry Moshe Bar-Siman-Tov said the testing will take place in the coming weeks. The results, he noted, would be significant to determine if Israelis are close to developing herd immunity or should be preparing for a resurgence of the virus. Serological tests work on blood samples, rather than nasal swabs. The tests can determine if someone is either currently carrying the disease, or has previously been exposed and developed antibodies against the virus.

The Health Ministry is calling for an additional 2,000 hospital beds, 3,500 new doctors, nurses and hospital staff and additional equipment and medication to prepare for an expected resurgence of the virus.

El Al is postponing the restart of passenger flights from May 16 to May 30. Until May 16, Israelis returning from abroad must undergo compulsory self-isolation for 14 days and no non-Israelis are allowed in the country at all. The policy will be reviewed on May 15.

A rocket was fired into Israel from Gaza late last night. The rocket fell in an open field causing no damage. The IDF responded with tank fire at 3 Hamas positions in Gaza.

Two German intelligence officials, a Swiss diplomat and an Egyptian general are the international mediators reportedly working to arrange a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel. The trade would return 2 Israeli citizens along with the bodies of 2 soldiers. The number of Hamas terrorists who would need to be released is unknown. The negotiators are reportedly making progress.

An Israeli security official said that Iran has begun pulling troops out of Syria. Israel has significantly increased its attacks against Iranian troops and installations in Syria during the past few months. At least five attacks on Iranian targets in Syria have been reported in the past two weeks.

The Defense Ministry has approved plans to make the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron handicap accessible, without obtaining the agreement of the Hebron municipality, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The $1.4 million project includes an elevator, a path to reach the entrance from the parking area and a bridge connecting the elevator to the entrance. The Hebron municipality and the Waqf, which oversees Muslim holy sites in the Palestinian territories, objected to what it described as the expropriation of Palestinian land for the project.

US Ambassador David Friedman said in an interview that Washington is ready to recognize Israeli annexation of Jewish settlements, as long as the annexation is done within the framework of the Trump peace plan. According to the new coalition deal, the government can begin passing legislation to annex the Jordan Valley and West Bank settlements after July 1.