Archive for month: October, 2020

News Update

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The Health Ministry reported 630 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The contagion rate is at 1.8%. There are currently 11,254 active cases of which 410 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 190 on ventilators. There have been 2,511 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The White House notified Congress that it intends to sell 50 F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees have the right to review, and block, weapons sales. Israel would ordinarily oppose the sale of advanced weapons to an Arab country, but it is not, based on U.S. guarantees that Israeli military superiority will be preserved.

US and UN sponsored talks between Israel and Lebanon over disputed maritime borders have been productive and are expected to resume next month. Lebanese and Israeli officials have declined to comment on the secret, indirect talks. But Lebanese media, quoting informed officials, said the government is pushing for new maps to demarcate disputed maritime borders that effect potentially lucrative oil and gas deals. An Israeli official said the negotiations should be on the lines previously submitted by the two countries to the U.N.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced yesterday that U.S. citizens born in Jerusalem will now be able to list Israel as their birthplace on their passports. The move is consistent with the recognition by the US of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Norway has agreed to allow Israeli couples to get married at its Tel Aviv embassy. Since marriages in Israel must be registered exclusively through the Rabbinate, many Israelis who want secular marriages usually travel to Cyprus or other nearby countries to marry. Their marriages are then accepted by the government for all legal purposes, albeit not by the Rabbinate. But because of Covid related travel restriction, Israelis must now find an alternative “foreign” territory within Israel. Norway is willing to provide that territory.

News Update

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

The Health Ministry reported 844 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. The contagion rate is at 2.2%. There are currently 12,768 active cases of which 453 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 196 on ventilators. There have been 2,483 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The U.S. is lifting a ban on U.S. funding of Israeli scientific research projects conducted in the West Bank and Golan Heights. Past scientific accords with the U.S. government stipulated that Israeli research projects receiving U.S. grants could not be carried out in areas that came under Israeli administration in 1967. PM Netanyahu and the U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman will sign amended scientific cooperation agreements at a special ceremony in Ariel (West Bank) today.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz is attacking PM Netanyahu for stalling on the passage of a budget for this year and next. He said failure to pass a budget would be, “a crime against the state and its citizens.” Critics accuse Netanyahu of holding the budget hostage because of a clause in the coalition agreement that allows him to remain transitional leader if the government collapses due to failure to pass a budget. If a budget for 2021 is approved, Gantz is guaranteed to take over as prime minister in November 2021, as per the coalition agreement. This budget crisis could lead to a government collapse and new elections.

News Update

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

The Health Ministry reported 559 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. The contagion rate is at 3%. There are currently 13,911 active cases of which 502 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 206 on ventilators. There have been 2,397 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Israel will begin its first clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine on November 1. The trials will last several months. Israel is also working on agreements to purchase vaccines from other companies.

Israel and Sudan have agreed to normalize relations. The deal, brokered by President Trump, includes removing Sudan from the US list of terror nations after they pay several hundred million dollars to American victims of terror. Yesterday, PM Netanyahu announced that Israel will send $5 million worth of wheat to Sudan. Delegations from the 2 countries will meet in the coming weeks to discuss agreements to cooperate on trade and migration issues. There are currently over 6,000 Sudanese illegal immigrants in Israel.

President Trump said on Friday that he expects that Saudi Arabia will soon normalize relations with Israel.

Israel sent medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan over the weekend, to help civilians there affected by the country’s current conflict with neighboring Armenia. Israel has an extensive strategic relationship with Azerbaijan.

News Update

The Health Ministry reported 895 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The contagion rate has dropped to 2.6%. There are currently 17,869 active cases of which 580 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 227 on ventilators. There have been 2,319 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz met U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the Pentagon on Thursday where they signed a joint declaration confirming Washington’s strategic commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East. After the signing of the agreement, a senior defense official remarked that Saudi Arabia may soon enter into peace talks with Israel.

An Israeli delegation visited Sudan on Wednesday to discuss normalizing relations between the 2 countries. Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told Channel 13 News that he believed Israel was “very close to normalizing ties with Sudan.”