Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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By Maytal Yasur Beit-Or, Assaf Golan (Israel Hayom via JNS)—There has been a consistent decline in the rate of coronavirus infections in Israel since the last week in March, with infections now doubling at a rate of once every eight days compared to once every three. Professor Gabi Barabash, former director of the Israeli Health Ministry and of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, told Channel 12 News that as this decline has been observed over a three-day period, it could, hopefully, indicate a trend. “If the numbers continue looking lik... Full story
The coronavirus crisis is first and foremost about people. People stuck at home, people out of work. People sick with the virus, people caring for them. People canceling dream weddings and vacations, people deciding public-health policies. Technology is also about people. Here in Israel, a powerhouse of innovative technology, people are busy inventing and adapting technologies to ease the corona burden. “Technology has a great role to play in solving and helping us get through this crisis, from diagnosis, mitigation, patient tracking, c... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-As his Blue and White party was on the verge of breaking up, its leader, Benny Gantz, was elected speaker of the Israeli Knesset on Thursday evening. Gantz has been tasked with forming a coalition government following elections earlier this month, Israel's third vote in less than a year. The split in his party is over a debate about joining a unity government led at first by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What does it mean: A unity government would provide Israel with a... Full story
(ISRAEL21c)—The global Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is donating more than 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets to hospitals across the United States to meet the urgent demand for the medicine as an investigational target to treat COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The Teva-manufactured drug is not approved for use in treating COVID-19. However, it is under investigation for e... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—So I’m just going to come right out and say it: We don’t keep kosher for Passover. I feel a bit like a party-pooping high school senior who chooses not to go to the prom revealing that. After all, we moved to Israel to bring our kids up Jewish and live close to our Israeli family. But we are secular Jews and the simple truth is that we pick and choose how we observe in line with our beliefs about what’s important for us and what’s not. I’ve read on Kveller about how Mayim Bialik makes her Passover meaningful, how Amanda Bradle... Full story
(JNS)—Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that a passenger jet will be sent to Peru to begin evacuating Israelis that were stranded in the South American country when it shut its borders in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Peruvian authorities would provide a police escort as the first planeload of Israelis were brought home by El Al free of charge. The operation was being conducted under “the principle of mutual responsibility under which the State of Israel operates in a tim... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—In late February, I flew to Long Island to help my 77-year-old mom following her knee replacement surgery. I arrived in the United States with the remnants of a mild winter cold, a slight cough and runny nose—nothing I was concerned about. I spent most of my time at my parents’ home, save the occasional outing and a shiva call at the home of a friend whose husband had just passed away. On the flight home, I had a hard time sleeping, which is not unusual for me on a transatlantic flight. I returned to Israel with a heada... Full story
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday called for the formation of an emergency government to confront a growing crisis over the coronavirus, offering a potential way out of the deadlock that has paralyzed the political system for the past year. "I call for the formation now, even this evening, of a national emergency government," he said. "It will be an emergency government for a limited period. Together we will fight to save the lives of citizens," he added, saying that... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will give Benny Gantz the task of forming a new government, his office said Sunday. Rivlin met Sunday with the heads of all the parties that won seats in Israel's parliament in its last election earlier this month. At the end of the consultations, which were broadcast nationally, 61 lawmakers recommended Gantz form the new government, while 58 lawmakers recommended the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Later, Gantz and Netanyahu met with... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Purim celebrations at Oakland Hebrew Day School on Tuesday included a surprise, un-festive addition: farewells to two young Israeli women whose work in the Northern California school was being cut short by the global coronavirus pandemic. The women were assigned to work at the school as part of their national service, an alternative to Israeli army service chosen by many Orthodox girls. They were ordered to return to Israel immediately, along with 2,000 other participants in the program run by Israel’s National Civic Service Aut... Full story
(JNS)-Amid the worldwide tourism slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, Israel Hotel Association president Amir Hayek warned on Monday that the hotel industry is "on the brink of collapse." "Mass layoffs and hotels closing down" lie ahead, stated Hayek, adding that 4,000 of the 41,000 workers in the hotel industry have already been sent on unpaid leave, according to the Globes business daily. This was the worst crisis in the history of the Israeli hospitality industry, he added. "If... Full story
(JTA)—Israel will require all travelers from abroad to complete a 14-day quarantine, according to the latest regulation aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The decision, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Monday, capped days of open deliberations about how far Israel would to go to stop the disease’s spread. The country had taken aggressive early action against the disease and last week began requiring quarantines for travelers from more than a doz... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel held its unprecedented third election in less than a year on Monday and, yet again, the results raised more questions than answers. At first it seemed as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had finally garnered the votes he needed to break the longstanding impasse and consolidate his power. The final tally, however, paints a less than clear picture. But the numbers aren't the only issue creating news. In fact, Monday was only the start of a new round of negotiating, debat... Full story
MODIIN, Israel (JTA)—When our seventh day of quarantine began with a knock on the door from a guy in a hazmat suit, it was almost a relief finally to have a visitor in the house. He had come to test my wife and me for coronavirus. My four children eyed the man warily as he unpacked the testing kits at our dining room table. Barely halfway through a mandatory 14-day quarantine, we were beginning to go a little stir crazy. Our kids, who range in age from 2 to 10, could not attend school or leave home. Our living room was littered with board g... Full story
(JNS)—In what is being dubbed as a historical development, Israel’s Transportation Ministry announced this week that it is moving forward with plans to extend the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed rail line in order to connect Ben-Gurion International Airport directly to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The new route for the railway extension was approved by the National Planning and Construction Commission. It will feature a 1.8-mile underground tunnel with two new stations, including one adjacent to the Khan Theatre Complex in downtown Jer... Full story
“This is the biggest victory of my life,” Netanyahu said, according to Israeli news website N12, after winning 60 Knesset seats, one short of a majority. Last September, Likud won 56 seats—not a majority, which led to the third elections. “Together we did the impossible,” the prime minister added, saying, “Together, we turned Israel into a superpower,” citing growing relations with Arab and Muslim countries and promising to sign peace treaties with them. Netanyahu also promised to secure future generations by annexing parts of the West Bank... Full story
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis told the Jerusalem Post that Israeli scientists are on the cusp of developing the first vaccine against the novel coronavirus. If all goes as planned, the vaccine could be ready within a few weeks and available in 90 days, according to a release. “Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough,” Akunis said. “I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat,” Akunis said, referri... Full story
(JNS)-At least 14 Palestinian rockets rained down on southwestern Israel on Monday, with one striking and damaging a playground in the town of Sderot and another shattering a car windshield in Nir Am. Twelve of the rockets intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air-defense system, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The rocket fire was a continuation of Sunday's attacks, which saw some 30 projectiles launched at Israel. The attacks were claimed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Iron Dome is... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Over 200 Israelis, most of them middle school students, have been ordered into quarantine after coming into contact with a group of South Korean tourists, some of whom were infected with the coronavirus. Students and teachers from three Israeli cities have been ordered by the Health Ministry to self-quarantine in their homes after visiting tourist sites at the same time as the group from South Korea. Nine members of the group, who returned home last week after a two-week visit to Israel, have since tested positive for c... Full story
(JTA)—The owner of a toy shop near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport infected his wife with the coronavirus, bringing the number of known cases in that country to three. The man, who was not named, spent about 30 hours at the Red Pirate costume shop at the height of costume sales for the holiday of Purim in Yehuda, a suburb of Tel Aviv that borders on the airport’s perimeter fence, The Marker reported Friday. He also attended services at the synagogue of Irus, a town near Rehovot. The man, who earlier this week became the first Israeli diagn... Full story
(JNS)-For months, the Israeli government has pursued the objective of trying to stabilize the Gaza Strip. It tried to reach new truce understandings with Hamas through indirect negotiations-brokered by the Egyptians and others-and avoid a new war. But the latest incidents show that the goal of stabilizing Gaza is growing increasingly distant by the day. On Sunday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad attempted to carry out a border bomb attack, which was foiled successfully by the Israel Defense Forces,... Full story
(ISRAEL21c)-Israel-based company Watergen has begun supplying water to a Gazan neighborhood via its water-from-air machine that can generate up to 800 liters per day. Watergen's 780-kilogram GEN-M atmospheric water generator was placed last Wednesday in the Gazan neighborhood of Abasan al-Kabira. It will provide the local municipal building with fresh drinking water. Gaza suffers from a rapidly depleting water supply. Its main source of water is its coastal aquifer, which has been... Full story
(JNS)—Foreigners who recently traveled to countries in Asia where the coronavirus has spread will be barred from entering Israel, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced on Monday. Deri said that guidelines by Israel’s Ministry of Health and general concerns about the possibility of an outbreak in Israel was behind the move, according to a report by i24 New. The new restriction will come into force in the coming days and be for foreigners who have traveled within the last two weeks to Thailand, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore. Israel has alr... Full story
(JNS)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial will start on March 17, just two weeks after Israel holds its third election in less than a year, the country’s Justice Ministry announced on Tuesday. The Justice Ministry said the trial will begin on March 17 at 3 p.m. The prime minister will be required to attend the Jerusalem District Court for the first session to hear the indictments against him. On Jan. 28, Netanyahu was formally indicted by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, where he faces charges on fraud... Full story
In a first-ever for Israel and the IDF, recently a Christian Israeli Arab enlisted as an Israeli Air Force cadet. Nationally, only 10 percent of cadets who begin the prestigious course graduate and earn their pilot wings. Yet, for this Christian Arab, whose name cannot be revealed for security reasons, just passing the rigorous medical, physical, and psychological tests is a historic achievement to be celebrated, with wide implications throughout Israeli society. “This is a proud day for Israel’s army,” stated Dr. John A.I. Grossman, chair... Full story
