The Israeli cabinet on Monday approved the reopening of stores, gyms, hotels, and other venues starting on Sunday, February 21. The decision constitutes a major easing of the sweeping lockdown measures imposed six weeks ago to slow the spread of COVID-19. Many of the institutions set to open Sunday have been shuttered for the better part of the past year due to the pandemic.
While street-front shops, malls, markets, museums, and libraries will be open to all Israelis, only people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from the contagion will be able to use gyms, enter sporting and cultural events, hotels, and swimming pools.
In addition, synagogues and other houses of worship will be permitted to reopen on Friday, with attendance limited to 10 people indoors and 20 outside. However, the coronavirus cabinet has barred festivities and other gatherings during next weekend’s Purim holiday.
The decisions come amid a continued decline in morbidity rates, particularly among high-risk groups, thanks to the country’s rapid vaccination drive. Almost 4 million Israelis have had at least one vaccination dose and 2.5 million — over a quarter of the population — have received both shots.
Meanwhile, Israel’s largest healthcare provider has reported a 94 percent drop in symptomatic COVID-19 infections among the 600,000 people who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Health maintenance organization Clalit, which covers more than half of all Israelis, said the same group was also 92 percent less likely to develop severe illness from the virus.
Israel’s military launched a surprise air force drill Sunday night in the country’s north, as preparations for a potential confrontation with Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah continue apace. The exercise called “Galilee Rose” is set to conclude on Wednesday, and will test the Israeli Air Force’s ability to maintain aerial superiority, protect the Jewish state’s skies, as well as gather intelligence.
The drill began hours after Syrian state media reported that the IDF had launched a series of strikes on targets around Damascus, through which Iran has been attempting to transport advanced munitions.
Tensions between Jerusalem and Tehran have been escalating ever since Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated in November. In January, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned the Biden Administration against rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, adding that he had ordered the military to ramp up preparations for possible offensive action against the Islamic Republic.
Kochavi said that a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action , the formal name of the 2015 agreement, would be “an unacceptable threat and lead to nuclear proliferation across the region,” even with some improvements to the deal.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Defense Ministry announced on Monday that they had blocked the transfer of over $100,000 worth of Turkish merchandise and money intended to fund terror group Hamas. According to the Defense Ministry, the funds were slated to be used by the Gaza-based group to develop its terrorist infrastructure, including the production of weapons and paying of salaries to terrorists.
The source of the funds is the Iranian regime, the ministry noted. In December, Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order to seize $4 million that the Islamic Republic had transferred to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has an official office building in Istanbul. Jerusalem has on multiple occasions demanded that Ankara boot the terrorist organization out of the country. “We will continue to be relentless on terrorism and track down its infrastructure anywhere it exists in Israel or beyond,” Gantz said following the operation.
Jewish communities across the Persian Gulf countries announced on Monday the founding of the region’s first communal Jewish organization. The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC) unites Jews in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. UAE-based Rabbi Elie Abadie will head the organization.
The announcement comes in the aftermath of the UAE and Bahrain establishing diplomatic relations with Israel in September as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
“We thought that as the future has been changed in the last six months here, as this region is opening up to the presence of Jewish people… As communities we ought to get together and try to have the infrastructure necessary to service the local Jewish community and all those Jews who are passing through,” Rabbi Abadie said.
The rabbi will preside over circumcisions, bar and bat mitzvahs, and weddings.
The organization is also creating a Jewish court, called the Beth Din of Arabia, which will adjudicate civil disputes and issues over personal status and inheritance. Moreover, the association will assume responsibility for kosher supervision in the Gulf countries through its Arabian Kosher Certification Agency.
After several weeks of unusually warm weather in Israel, meteorologists are now predicting winter’s comeback. Rain is expected to hit Israel’s capital on Tuesday night, and might even turn into a snowstorm by Wednesday evening. With weather forecasts anticipating below freezing temperatures, the snow is expected to stick around for a day or two.
The Jerusalem municipality announced that it is completing its preparations for the stormy weather by clearing out rainwater drains, amongst other steps being taken. If snow falls in the Holy City, the local government said snowplows will be ready to clear roads. Jerusalem will also carry out patrols to locate and care for homeless people.
The capital received approximately 20 centimeters of snow six years ago. Since then, there has been little to no snowfall in Jerusalem. “The city is making all the necessary preparations for this to be a positive experience for all,” according to Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum. “This is a great way to ease us all out of the lockdown and back into normalcy,” she added.
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