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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians on Sunday congratulated US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their projected victory in the US presidential elections.
Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 8, 2020
In a subsequent tweet, Netanyahu thanked President Donald Trump:
Thank you @realDonaldTrump for the friendship you have shown the state of Israel and me personally, for recognizing Jerusalem and the Golan, for standing up to Iran, for the historic peace accords and for bringing the American-Israeli alliance to unprecedented heights.
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 8, 2020
President Reuven Rivlin also expressed congratulations to Biden and thanked Trump for his support for the Jewish state during his tenure:
I send the blessings of the Israeli people and of the State of Israel, to our friend Joe Biden on your election as the 46th President of the United States of America. I also send congratulations and best wishes for your success, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) November 8, 2020
This is also the time to thank President Trump for four years of partnership in strengthening Israel’s security, and to thank the American people for their steadfast support and friendship.
— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) November 8, 2020
Earlier on Sunday morning, Defense Minister Benny Gantz had this to say about the development:
As the election results become final, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to @JoeBiden, a long-time supporter and friend of Israel, and to his running mate, @KamalaHarris, who has made history as the first woman elected VP.
— ??? ??? – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) November 8, 2020
Opposition leader Yair Lapid was the first senior Israeli politician to congratulate Biden on Saturday evening:
Congratulations to my friend President-Elect @JoeBiden and Vice President-Elect @KamalaHarris.
The relationship between our countries is based on deeply held values and critical shared interests which I know will be at the heart of your administration.— ???? ???? – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) November 7, 2020
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday called on Biden to “strengthen” bilateral relations, which collapsed during President Donald Trump’s term in office. In a statement congratulating Biden and Harris, Abbas urged the incoming administration “to strengthen the Palestinian-American relationship” and to strive for Middle East “peace, stability and security.”
Street shops in Israel on Sunday reopened their doors after seven weeks, sending some 80,000 people back to work. The stores were shut down in September as part of a nationwide coronavirus-related lockdown; this, prior to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah – one of the most lucrative times of year for retail establishments.
As businesses reopened, the country’s downward trend in coronavirus cases continued throughout Saturday as only 207 new infections were recorded. New data released by the Health Ministry showed that of the 8,310 tests conducted, 2.6 percent tested positive. There are currently 8,638 active cases in the country, among those 319 patients in serious condition — including 143 on respirators. In addition, there are 92 individuals in moderate condition with the rest having mild or no symptoms.
According to a report compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Israeli government spends proportionate to the country’s GDP the most money in the world on research and development. The Jewish state invested 4.9 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on research and technology in 2018. Most of this was allocated to fields such as computer systems, cybersecurity, AI and medical research.
Israel is also a leader in drone technology, according to the WEF report, with funding going into building that sector as well.
Here’s who’s investing in our future.
? Learn more about the world’s most innovative economies: https://t.co/j1l61D9vbW pic.twitter.com/eUM7ndbBgj
— World Economic Forum (@wef) November 5, 2020
Israel has long put a premium on R&D projects. In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the nation would pour $60 million into the developmentment of a coronavirus vaccine. The Israel Institute for Biological Research began Phase I clinical trials on humans last week.
Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former UK chief rabbi whose reach extended far beyond the local Jewish community, died of cancer at the age of 72 over the weekend. Sacks was the Orthodox chief rabbi for 22 years until stepping down in 2013.
He also wrote more than 30 books, with the most recent – Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times – having been published earlier this year.
In response, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks. His leadership had a profound impact on our whole country and across the world. My sincere condolences to his family, friends and the Jewish community. May his memory be a blessing.”
Keir Starmer, the British Labour Party leader, added that Sacks had been “a towering intellect whose eloquence, insights and kindness reached well beyond the Jewish community. I have no doubt that his legacy will live on for many generations.”
Sacks repeatedly warned of rising antisemitism, telling the House of Lords last year that “there is hardly a country in the world, certainly not a single country in Europe, where Jews feel safe,” and that societies tolerating antisemitism had “forfeited all moral credibility.”
Ukraine will build a synagogue at the memorial site commemorating the victims of Babi Yar, where one of the biggest single massacres of Jews took place during the Nazi-era Holocaust.
The synagogue is expected to open next year to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the mass killings, and would be the city of Kiev’s first new Jewish house of worship to be built since Ukraine’s independence in 1991.
The Babi Yar massacre marked the beginning of the decimation of a pre-war Jewish population of about 1.5 million people, most of whom did not survive the WWII genocide. Mass shootings, mainly by automatic gunfire, on the edge of the Ukrainian capital killed nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children from Sept. 29-30, 1941.
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International March of the Living Shines Light on Kristallnacht with New Campaign (Yori Yalon, Israel Hayom)
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From Prison to Politics to an Exodus from Africa: The Life and Legacy of Natan Sharansky (Clifford D. May , Jewish News Syndicate)
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Who is Lebanon’s Gebran Bassil? (Reuters)
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Portugal Has Naturalized 23,000 Applicants Under Jewish Law of Return ( Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
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6 Jewish-Themed Films in NYC Online Documentary Film Festival (Curt Schleier, Times of Israel)
