Archive for month: March, 2021

News Update

With 100% of the votes counted, the final election results are:

Likud – 30
Yesh Atid – 17
Shas – 9
Blue & White – 8
Yamina – 7
Yisrael Beitenu – 7
United Torah Judaism – 7
Labor – 7
Meretz – 6
New Hope – 6
Joint Arab List – 6
Religious Zionism – 6
Ra’am – 4

Yisrael Beitenu and New Hope have pledged not to join a Netanyahu led coalition. That leaves the right wing block of Likud, Shas, UTJ, Yamina and Religious Zionism with 59 seats. Even though the Arab party Ra’am has expressed potential willingness to join the coalition and give Netanyahu his ruling majority, The Religious Zionism party has said that will not sit in a government with them. That means Netanyahu must flip 2 MKs from a different party over to his side, which he has done before.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Thursday that Washington will restore financial aid to the Palestinians, halted by former U.S. President Trump. She said that the U.S. will be sending $15 million to support vulnerable communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with COVID-related issues.

She said, “President Biden is restoring U.S. assistance programs that support economic development and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people. This urgent, necessary aid is one piece of our renewed commitment to the Palestinian people. The aid will help Palestinians in dire need, which will bring more stability and security to both Israelis and Palestinians alike. That’s consistent with our interests and our values, and it aligns with our efforts to stamp out the pandemic and food insecurity worldwide.”

She added, “the United States will continue to steadfastly stand by Israel, especially when it is unfairly singled out by one-sided resolutions and actions in international bodies.”

Turkish President Erdogan asked Kosovo’s Prime Minister to reconsider establishing an embassy in Jerusalem. Kosovo formally opened an embassy to Israel in Jerusalem last month.

Daylight savings time began in Israel today.

Passover begins Saturday night, commemorating our redemption from Egyptian bondage and the formation of a free Jewish nation. Israel will be on vacation next week, and so will this newsletter.

Happy Passover!

News Update

The Health Ministry reported 669 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, putting the contagion rate at 1.5%. There are currently 529 people hospitalized in serious condition. There have been 6,098 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic. Israel’s coronavirus czar said yesterday that although he doesn’t expect another COVID-19 wave to hit the country, a mask mandate will continue for the foreseeable future.

Election day in Israel is tomorrow. There are 24 parties running for the Knesset. Parties must get at least 3.25% of the total vote to enter the Knesset with the minimum of 4 seats. To read more about the the last minute efforts of the major parties, click here.

Here is the average of the 3 latest election polls with the projected number of Knesset seats for each party:

Likud – 30
Yesh Atid – 18
Yamina – 10
New Hope – 9
Joint Arab List – 8
Shas – 8
Yisrael Beitenu – 7
United Torah Judaism – 7
Labor – 5
Religious Zionist – 5
Blue & White – 4
Meretz – 4
Ra’am – 4

There is no clear path to the 61 seat majority required to form a government.

To learn more about each political party, click here.

News Update

The Health Ministry reported 1,472 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, putting the contagion rate at 2.1%. There are currently 578 people hospitalized in serious condition, of whom 202 are on ventilators. There have been 6,051 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Over 4 million Israelis have already received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine and are eligible for a green pass that grants them access to restaurants, cultural and sports events, travel abroad and more. An additional 1 million have had their first dose.

The Labor and Meretz parties have both said that they would support Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid for prime minister. The latest poll published yesterday projects 30 seats for Likud, 18 for Yesh Atid, 10 each for Yamina and New Hope, 8 each for the Joint Arab List and Shas, 7 each for Yisrael Beitenu and United Torah Judaism, 6 for Labor, and 4 each for the Religious Zionist party, Meretz, Blue & White, and Ra’am.

Syrian media reported an Israeli airstrike against a target near Damascus last night, after a number of cargo flights between Iran and Syria were reported earlier in the day.

El Al has begun laying off 2,000 temporary and full-time employees as part of a plan to receive a large rescue package from the state.

Israeli archeologists have discovered a new batch of Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave in the Judean wilderness. The latest scroll fragments are written in Greek with the name of God written in Hebrew. They contain verses from Zechariah 8:16-17 and from Nahum 1:5-6, both from the biblical Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. One of the verses says, “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates. And do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate — declares the Lord.”

News Update

The Health Ministry reported 2,331 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. There are currently 708 people hospitalized in serious condition, of whom 223 are on ventilators. There have been 5,899 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

PM Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein met the five millionth Israeli to receive the coronavirus vaccination this morning. The PM announced that Israel would be building factories in Israel to produce vaccines within the country.

IDF troops entered the Palestinian city of Tobas in the Jordan Valley to arrest a terror suspect. The suspect attempted to stab one of the soldiers, but was stopped by the commander, who fired at him.

Early this morning a Palestinian woman entered the Sde Efraim farm in the West Bank and attempted to stab the wife of the owner. Local residents stopped her. No one was injured.

Israel Police arrested two suspects allegedly involved in assaulting an IDF soldier and stealing his weapon last week in the Haruvia Forest in northern Israel. The suspects are residents of the Bedouin village of Ibtin. One of them was a former soldier in the IDF.

News Update

The Health Ministry reported 4,240 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, putting the infection rate at 4.8%. Almost half of those newly infected are under the age of 19. There are currently 717 people hospitalized in serious condition, 224 of whom are on ventilators. There have been 5,797 coronavirus related deaths since the start of the pandemic. The government voted to open event halls and restaurants starting next week, and to reopen Ben Gurion airport to up to 3,000 daily returning Israelis.

4,811,712 Israelis — 52% of the total population — have received the first vaccine dose, and 3,503,621 (38%) have also received the second.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday that Israel and the United States have agreed that neither nation will make decisions pertaining to Iran and the Iran nuclear deal without informing the other first. He also said that he expected Israel to establish relations with more Arab countries in 2021.

The IDF will award a special medal to IDF and South Lebanon Army (SLA) soldiers who fought in the buffer zone in southern Lebanon between September 1982 and May 2000. During that period, 559 IDF and 660 SLA soldiers were killed while serving in the buffer zone. Following Israel’s withdrawal, nearly 6,000 SLA soldiers and their families fled to Israel.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion yesterday inaugurated a new youth center in the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in East Jerusalem. The youth center will provide various activities for east Jerusalem’s young population, along with community-based programs expected to include youth movements, leadership workshops, a volunteering center, career development and guidance, and social activism, all intended to strengthen the local Arab community. The center will also provide professional training programs in various fields, with an emphasis on digital literacy.