Archive for month: October, 2020
Israel News for 10-16-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 1,608 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. The contagion rate has dropped to 4.2%. There are currently 44,000 active cases of which 713 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 247 on ventilators. There have been 2,128 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Israel’s coronavirus cabinet voted to reopen small businesses that do not involve interaction with the public, kindergartens, take-away food services and beaches starting Sunday. The ban on the public to leave home beyond one kilometer was also lifted. Cities and communities classified as “red”, indicating high coronavirus infection rate, will remain in lockdown until the contagion rate in those areas is lowered.
Yitzhak Ilan, a former deputy director of the Shin Bet domestic security agency who oversaw hundreds of counterterrorism operations, died of COVID-19 today at the age of 64.
The Knesset yesterday officially approved the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE by a vote of 80 to 13. The Arab List party voted against the agreement.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, the top American diplomat for the Middle East, met with the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament yesterday in Beirut. This comes a day after US and UN sponsored talks began between Lebanon and Israel to solve a territorial dispute related to offshore exploration rights.
Thousands of demonstrators, in various locations, protested against PM Netanyahu and called for his resignation.
Shlomo Sulayman, the oldest person in Israel and one of the oldest in the world, passed away earlier this week at the age of 117. Sulayman was born in Yemen in 1903 and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1949. He lived on his own after his wife died several years ago at age 94. He walked to synagogue every day until the coronavirus kept him isolated at home. His grandson said, “His mind was clear until his last moment. People would come and ask him questions about the faith and do exactly as he told them after he looked over the texts.” He passed away with his family by his side and is survived by his six children and dozens of grand, great and great-great grandchildren.
Israel News for 10-14-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 2,255 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. That puts the contagion rate at 5.4%, which is the lowest since July. There are currently 48,000 active cases of which 808 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 240 on ventilators. There have been 2,255 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Two IDF soldiers were wounded while conducting an arrest near Nablus last night. One of the soldiers was moderately wounded and the other lightly hurt from what seemed to be shrapnel from an explosive device thrown at them during the operation in the Balata Refugee Camp.
In a rare cross-border raid, Israeli special forces destroyed two Syrian military posts in the demilitarized zone separating the two countries last week. No casualties were reported. The raid came in response to the Syrian military’s growing presence in the buffer zone, in violation of international agreements.
Israel and the UAE will reportedly be signing a commercial air traffic agreement in the next few days that would allow flights between both countries.
Lebanon and Israel, still technically at war, will begin talks today to settle a maritime border dispute and clear the way for hydrocarbon exploration. The talks are sponsored by the US and the UN and will be held at the headquarters of UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in the Lebanese border town of Naqura. U.S. envoy David Schenker will facilitate the opening session along with U.S. Ambassador to Algeria John Desrocher, who will mediate in the talks. Lebanon insists that negotiations are purely technical and don’t involve any political normalization with Israel.
Israel News for 10-12-2020
News Update
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The Health Ministry reported 1,609 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. The significant drop in cases may be a result of the lockdown restrictions combined with a major drop in testing in ultra-orthodox communities as a result of the Sukkot holiday. There are currently 51,698 active cases of which 823 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 224 on ventilators. There have been 1,983 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic. Since the start of October, 394 have died of corona.
The cabinet officially approved the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE yesterday. PM Netanyahu said that he would meet with the UAE crown prince soon. A delegation from the UAE is expected to arrive in Israel on October 20 to finalize the details of the normalization agreement.
Israel and Hamas are reportedly close to reaching an agreement on a six-month ceasefire along the Gaza border. A growing economic and humanitarian crisis exasperated by the coronavirus is pushing Hamas to reach an agreement. As part of the agreement, Qatar would transfer $100 million to Hamas in exchange for a total stop to attacks from Gaza. Israel is demanding the release of two Israelis believed to be held captive in Gaza and the return of the bodies of two IDF soldiers who fell in the 2014 Gaza war.
Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said yesterday that Israel will oppose any U.S. sale of F-35 warplanes to Qatar. Cohen made the comments on Israeli Army Radio when asked about a Reuters report that Qatar had submitted a formal request to Washington to buy F-35 fighter jets. The US is reportedly planning to sell F-35s to the UAE.
Chief Rabbi David Lau urged the government to ease travel restrictions for members of wedding parties, so that weddings can continue to take place during the current lockdown. The weddings will still be limited to 20 participants outdoors and 10 indoors.
Gal Gadot, the Israeli actress who achieved fame playing Wonder Woman, will play the role of Cleopatra in an upcoming blockbuster movie. [is that newsworthy? These days, we’ll take any good news…]
Israel News for 10-2-2020
News Update
The Health Ministry reported 7,639 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, following a record breaking 9,000 on Wednesday. There are currently 70,660 active cases of which 807 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 196 on ventilators. There have been 1,622 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The PM said yesterday that if the current nationwide lockdown does not show any success in stemming the spread of the virus, “we will need to tighten it.”
The IDF announced yesterday that it will open two dedicated coronavirus wards at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, which will be manned by medical officers and personnel.
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, 92, the leader of the non-Chassidic ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and one of the most senior rabbinic authorities in the world, has been diagnosed with coronavirus. He is reportedly in good condition. Several members of his close family have also tested positive.
The 65 year old Rebbe of the Karlin-Stolin Chassidic group has been hospitalized in Netanya after developing pneumonia as a complication from coronavirus. This Chassidic group has been meticulous about observing government Covid related regulations.
Security forces arrested Hassan Youssef, the leader of Hamas in the West Bank and one of the terror group’s founding members, this morning in Ramallah. No specific charges were revealed.
Armenia has recalled its ambassador to Israel to protest the supply of weapons by Israel to Azerbaijan, which is fighting Armenia over disputed territory.
The holiday of Sukkot begins tonight, last for 7 days and is followed by the holiday of Shmini Atzeret – Simchat Torah (which share one day in Israel and are 2 days everywhere else). During Sukkot Jews live (eat and sleep) in a hut-like structure called a Sukkah.
The Talmud states two reasons for the mitzvah of living in the Sukkah for seven days.
The first is to commemorate that our ancestors dwelled in Sukkahs in the wilderness. The second is to remember the “clouds of glory” that surrounded and protected the Jews in the desert. The Talmud seems to lean towards the second explanation. If this is the case, then why do we use a hut to represent the clouds? Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to live out in the open air, under the clouds? Wouldn’t that give us more of a feeling of complete dependence on the protection given us by God?
Although, in truth, living out “under the clouds” does starkly represent total dependence on God, real life isn’t as clear cut. We all try to build structures to provide us with security and protection. We live in these structures and feel safe and in control. We view these structures as permanent and without them we could not function. The reality, however, is that our structures are really just flimsy huts that create for us the illusion of permanence and security. They fall apart when we least expect them too.
The Sukkah that we live in for seven days reminds us that our own structures of security – our houses, careers, social status – are just temporary. They last for a week, a month, a year, several years, but are then taken down. The Sukkah reminds us that our real security and protection comes not from the walls that we build but from the graces of God.
May we all be blessed with the wisdom to differentiate between the security that is true and comes only from God and the false security of the hut that just looks real, but is only an illusion.
Taken from Deep Waters.