How much longer until Israel heads into a third lockdown? That is the question many people are asking. According to Channel 12 News, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to enact a nationwide closure in a bid to arrest the climb of coronavirus infections, and wants it to commence within a matter of days, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday.
The news comes on the heels of the latest coronavirus statistics, in which Israel documented 2,821 new infections and a positive test ratio at 4.1%. The coronavirus cabinet is also preoccupied with the potential arrival of a virus mutation from abroad, notably from the UK. That particular strain is believed to be significantly more infectious, but not more fatal.
Moving to prevent the import of the mutated form of the virus, Israel media reported, the coronavirus cabinet is looking to greenlight a decision banning the entry of non-Israelis from the country, and forcing all returning Israelis to quarantine in state-run hotels as of Wednesday.
After the much-reported flurry of Israeli tourists to Dubai, is Morocco next in line? Israelis are eagerly awaiting developments after national airline El Al announced it would operate the first direct flight from Ben Gurion Airport to Rabat this week.
The first official flight from Israel to Morocco will depart on Dec. 22 and is due to carry a joint US-Israeli delegation, according to El Al. The direct flight, designated LY555, is scheduled to take six hours.
White House special adviser Jared Kushner and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will be aboard the flight. Upon their arrival in Morocco, the two will likely participate in the signing of documents as part of the historic Israeli-Moroccan normalization deal,
Israel Police are looking into the cause of death of a 52-year-old woman after her body was discovered on early Monday morning near Tel Menashe in Samaria. Esther Hurgan, a mother of six, left her town to go for a jog in the nearby Reihan forest on Sunday but never came home. After Hurgan’s family reported Esther missing, search teams were dispatched, and her body was found in the early hours of Monday morning.
According to multiple news reports, Israel’s police service and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are attempting to determine whether the murder was a terrorist attack.
Antisemitism Watch: The runner-up of the recent Miss France beauty contest has been targeted after disclosing her Israeli heritage. During Saturday’s event, April Benayoum revealed that her father is Israeli, sparking a torrent of antisemitic tweets and other nasty online abuse.
During the show, Benayoum responded to a judge’s questions about her origins: “I have an array of origins: my mother is Serbo-Croat, my father Israeli-Italian. This gave me a passion for geography and the discerning of other cultures.” Sadly, and predictably, a swell of hate-filled comments arose soon after, with comments such as “Hitler forgot to exterminate you” and calls to boycott Benayoum because of her Jewish and Israeli heritage.
The antisemitic abuse drew swift denunciations from Jewish groups and French politicians, with French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeting he was “deeply shocked,” adding that police were “mobilized” to locate those behind the reprehensible tweets.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, Israeli companies have sent ten million flowers this month to European markets ahead of the Christmas holiday, according to the Arava Development Company.
Although the figure is a dip of some 20 percent from the number shipped abroad this time last year, increased flower prices mean that exporters have nevertheless made higher profits.
Take that, BDS!
- Cutting-Edge Scientific Analysis Reveals Secrets of Ancient Jewish Purim Scroll (Stuart Winer, Times of Israel)
- Will the Biblical Star of Bethlehem Appear in the Sky Ahead of Christmas? (Tobias Siegal, Jerusalem Post)
- Historian: Polish Society Shunned Jewish Survivors Returning From Nazi Camps (JP O’Malley, Times of Israel)
- The Welcome Extradition of Malka Leifer (Ruthie Blum, Jerusalem Post)
- Arabic Inscription Found Under Tower of David Rewrites Ancient Citadel’s Past (Amanda Borschel-Dan, Times of Israel)
