The Mountain Is Coming

 In 1959 the American ad agency of  Doyle-Dane-Bernbach launched a campaign for the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. The slogan was “The Mountain is Coming.” What mountain, which mountain, why is this mountain important? Eventually, the meaning became clear. Juan Valdez, a fictional Colombian coffee farmer,  showed the world that Folgers coffee, using 100% Colombian coffee beans grown in the mountains of Colombia, was coming to America.

 

Today, instead of a mountain of coffee we have Omicron. The WHO warned Europe to  expect a veritable Tsunami of the Covid variant called Omicron. This while Britain has reported nearly 100,000 cases of Covid a day, and France nearly 150,000 daily cases. Seemingly, the mountain has arrived in Europe. Nearly 260,000 cases a day of Covid have been reported in the USA.

In Israel, health officials warn that the tsunami of Omicron is due within two weeks or less.  Media reports health officials are concerned that the wave of covid cases threaten to overwhelm the hospital system, already suffering from understaffing and overworked doctors and nurses.

The rise in cases has already begun. Israel reported nearly 4,000 cases of Covid yesterday, the highest number in months. The contagion rate is nearly 3% and the R factor is 1.62. So far in Israel 1,374,453 cases have been reported, with 147 hospitalized, of them 89 in serious condition and of them 39 on ventilators. 78% of the serious cases are unvaccinated. 

In Israel, there are now about 2 million children between the ages of 0-15. So far in Israel 36% of the cases of Covid are children, but this is down from 50%. The drop is attributed to the fierce campaign the government is waging to vaccinate children. The government has  begun sending out mobile vaccination vans to schools across the country.

However, Ynetnews  reports that the Israeli government is now zig-zagging. There is talk in the health ministry of trying ‘herd immunity’ since the new Omicron variant rarely causes serious illness. On the other hand, the government has reinstated the use of the Green Pass for all but vital stores, like supermarkets, pharmacies, HMOs, in the malls. There is also talk of a lockdown of the population to prevent the spread of the Omicron. Which is it to be, pundits ask, herd immunity, or a lockdown.

Worldwide, the number of cases has risen by 11% according to the World Health Organization, with 284,955,429 cases, 5,439,362 deaths, and 27,662, 287 active cases.  In the USA, 54,656,866 cases have been reported, with 844,272 deaths and 12,404,303 active cases. Back in mid-November the USA had 9,239,157 active cases, a rise of over 4 million active cases in about six-weeks. In New York City nearly half of the children hospitalized in New York are under 5.

Israel has 1,374,453 cases with 8243 deaths and 18,652 active cases. Back in mid-November, Israel had only 5,300 active cases and a contagion rate of .95% of those tested.

If there is any good news it’s that that the death rates have not climbed precipitously. In mid-November the death toll in the USA was 787,984, a rise of about 55,000 in six-weeks. 

And some health officials predict that the Omicron will drop off as quickly as it came. According to Bloomberg News, the rate of hospitalization in S. Africa has plunged dramatically, suggesting that the Omicron variant may have peaked there, and provide a harbinger of what’s to happen in the rest of the world. “

So far in South Africa, only 1.7% of identified Covid-19 cases were admitted to hospital in the second week of infections in the fourth wave, compared with 19% in the same week of the third delta-driven wave, South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla said at a press conference. “Health officials presented evidence that the strain may be milder, and that infections may already be peaking in the country’s most populous province, Gauteng.” South Africa announced the discovery of Omicron on Nov 25, 2021.

 

                                                                            Pfizer’s anti-Covid Paxlovid pills arriving at Ben Gurion Airport

Another positive item is that the first shipment of Pfizer’s Paxlovid, the C-19 fighting pill, has been delivered to Israel. Reportedly, the pill, that has been approved by the FDA in the United States. Paxlovid is said to be over 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths from Covid in high-risk patients . Israel will also receive Merck’s Molnupiravir pills, also granted FDA approval, in the coming weeks.

Israel has also begun testing a fourth vaccine since scientists have discovered that the efficacy of the third “booster” vaccine dwindles after 4-6 months. So far, health care workers, those at risk, and those 70+ will be eligible for the fourth vaccine. Media reports that the fourth vaccine may be available as soon as January.

However, this is the flu season, Israel is reminded by the Health Ministry. As of today, nearly 2,000 people have been hospitalized with the flu. And one woman was diagnosed with “Flurona” a combination of the flu and covid viruses. 

So, while the mountain is coming, there is hope that it is made of freeze dried coffee and will dissolve and disappear as quickly as it came.

Meanwhile, as 2020 comes to an end Israel’s population has climbed to nearly 10 million. According  to the Israel bureau of statistics, the total is 9.45 million. 73.9% are Jewish. 21.1% are Arab. Israel also received 25,000 are new immigrants. 30 % from Russia, 14.6% France, 13.9% USA, 12.4% Ukraine.

And as New Years approaches, Israelis are advised not to attend large events, to keep social distance and wear masks. Time will tell if the advice is heeded.

So, as one pundit pointed out, no matter where you are, don’t forget to heed what the health experts say, “Get vaccinated, keep your hands clean,  and wear your masks.”

Happy New Year to all. Stay safe and well

Watch The Numbers

 

It’s all about the numbers. Israel has shut its borders to non-Israelis until at least Dec 22, 2021 but that date is expected to be pushed back again. No date has yet been set to reopen those borders. Tourism has been hard hit. This is after all the Christmas season.

Tourism workers striking at Ben Gurion Airport

Israel’s Finance Minister Avigdor Leiberman didn’t make the tourism industry happy when he said on Sunday that workers in the tourism industry should find other employment. 

Jobless tourism workers took to the streets demanding compensation caused by the country’s moves. According to media reports, travel agents and tour guides are fuming as foreign tourists are still banned from entering. Nachman Shai, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, said at a conference in Florida that he hoped the ban on non-Israelis entering Israel would end soon.

Not only have non-Israelis been barred from entering Israeli, Israelis have now been barred from traveling to nearly 50 countries. And those who return from one of the “Red” countries must submit to a 10-day stay in a government-run hotel, or if they show a negative test after 72-hours to home quarantine for the remaining week. Israel is also considering a regulation that prohibits entry to  public areas like malls, restaurants, or stores, including large venues like IKEA, without showing a “green pass” that certifies they’ve had all three vaccines.

Up until recently, Israel’s Covid-19 numbers had been dropping steadily. Then came Omicron. South Africa had first noticed the Omicron variant and health officials there said that the variant was not as dangerous to those inoculated with the vaccines but that the Omicron variant was considerably more contagious. This, while many in Israel felt the danger had passed.

Recently, a group of researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said Israel was entering a 5th wave of Covid infections. Some speculated that as many as 10,000 cases a day might again be seen in Israel. Israel’s PM Bennet reportedly took the Hebrew University researchers conclusions to heart and went all out on a vaccination campaign. “Vaccines are the only way to protect against the virus,” Bennet said. On Sunday, Dec 12th, PM Bennett said, “We want to delay [Omicron’s] entry into the country through the restrictions at Ben Gurion Airport, and, at the same time, take advantage of these precious days to increase everyone’s immunity. We are not protected enough at the moment.”

In order to protect citizens, Israel has passed regulations allowing children from 5-11 to receive the vaccines. Regulations were already in place for children 11-18. So, in effect, anyone over 5 could get vaccinated. However, not everyone took the Prime Minister’s advice. Out of the 9.5 million Israelis, 4,125,553 have received all three doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 5,790,662 have received two doses, and 6,408,357 only one dose. As if backing Bennet’s claim,  Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated recently that those vaccinated with all three Pfizer shots were protected from the Omicron variant. Two shots, according to Bourla, were not enough.  Israel has also been considering administering a 4th vaccine to fight the Omicron variant, fearing the effectiveness of the 3rd vaccine waned after several months, but the Health Ministry announced today the 4th vaccine had been postponed.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

According to a Reuters report, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the first patient in England with the Omicron variant has died. Johnson said that ”the Omicron variant now accounts for around 40% of infections in the capital… And that the infection rate from the virus doubles every 2-3 days.” 

Johnson spoke after UK scientists raised the COVID alert level to 4 on a 5-point scale. Johnson said in an interview, “Britain faces a ‘tidal wave’ of the Omicron variant of coronavirus and two vaccine doses will not be enough to contain it.” Johnson also said he’d accelerated the booster rollout program.

Before the death was announced, Britain said 10 people had been hospitalized with the Omicron variant in various parts of England. Their ages ranged from 18 to 85 years and most had received two vaccination doses. The UK Health Security Agency said Omicron - first detected in South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong in late November - can overcome the immunity of those who have had two shots of vaccines such as AstraZeneca, or Pfizer-BioNTech.

Infection Statistics according to ncov2019.live/data

World: 270,458,346 infections, 5,322,991 deaths, and 23,439,638 active cases. In the USA, 50,801,455 cases, 817,956 deaths, 9,979,825 active cases. In Britain, 10,819,515 cases, 146,439 deaths, 985,934 active cases. Israel has experienced 1,350,215 cases, with 8,216 deaths, currently 94 in serious condition, most unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, of them 21 on ventilators, and 5,608 active cases. Israel reported 444 new cases on Sunday. And so far Israel has 67 confirmed Omicron cases. The death of a 6-year-old boy in Netivot was reported today. He had recovered from Covid, but collapsed at home, where he died. His 3 siblings, who had also previously contracted Covid, were all taken to the hospital suffering from difficulty in breathing.

One observer, when asked when Israel’s borders will again be open to non-Israelis, said, ‘Watch the numbers. As long as they keep going up, the borders will remain closed. When they start dropping, the borders will open up again.”

Meanwhile, Israel is playing defense, trying to keep the Omicron variant out of the country, and trying to vaccinate as many people as possible. The problem is, not everyone wants to be vaccinated nor believes the vaccine is safe, no matter what doctors and health experts around the world have to say.

Winds of War

 Israel’s war on Covid-19 isn’t the only battle although the Covid war is still ongoing while the other two battles have yet to get nasty.

COVID-19, NUMBERS AND NEW RULES FOR TOURISTS

In Israel, since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, 1,327,458 cases of C-19 have been reported with 8,100 deaths and 7,823 current active cases with 218 serious cases. Of the serious cases, @130 on ventilators with 82% of them unvaccinated. The number of daily cases has fallen precipitously to @472 at 0.68% of those tested. Numbers far below the 10,000 a day back in July. Health experts credit Israel aggressive booster vaccination program with the stark downturn that, according to these experts, seems to have stemmed the tide of the C-19 delta variant. 

 

The world numbers are 247,483,942 cases with 5,015,400 deaths and 24,900,805 active cases. The USA still leads the world with 46,823,938 cases, 766,299 deaths, and 9,342,326 active cases. However, according to the Washington Post, the USA is also experiencing a downturn with only 1,000 deaths reported daily from the virus. The US FDA has approved vaccines for children 5-11.

Following the FDA approval, Israel has also ordered vaccines from Pfizer for children 5-11. Israeli media sources speculate that since the Coronavirus Committee in Israel’s Knesset approved the 5-11 vaccines last week all that is now needed is Knesset approval which is expected in the coming days.  The campaign to inoculate these children 5-11 should begin in a matter of weeks.

TRAVEL & C-19

For the first time since March 2020 Israel has opened her borders to tourists. As of Nov 1, 2021 vaccinated tourists, those vaccinated in the last 6 months, or those who have proof they have recovered from C-19, may now enter Israel. Even the Russian Sputnik V vaccine will be recognized,  but a serology test will be required. Since Russian children have not been vaccinated they will not be allowed into Israel. Most travelers must wait 14 days from their last vaccine before being allowed into Israel. One shot is not enough to be allowed entry unless the traveller can prove they have had the virus and have recovered.

All travelers must take a PCRs test upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport and quarantine for 24 hours or until they receive a negative test result. Incoming passengers will receive a “green pass” granting entry to Israeli venues where such a document is required.

There are punishments for breaking the following rules: Those who arrived and test positive for C-19 will be taken to a government isolation facility for 14-days where they will stay at their own expense. Those infected who refuse isolation or break the rules will be denied entry to Israel for 5 years. Those caught with forged documents stating they are negative for C-19 will be banned for five years. Those who arrive and don’t abide by the 24 hour isolation rules and are caught will be banned for three years.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Israel’s Prime Minister Bennett attended the International Climate Conference in Glasgow, Scotland. This, as the UN says the world has experienced the hottest 7 years in recorded history. Israel has reportedly experienced global warming twice that of the rest of the world.

PM Bennet has appealed to the leaders at the summit to use Israel as their laboratory for green energy saying he is setting up an Israeli fund to encourage investment in green technology. Bennett points to Israel’s success with C-19 as the laboratory used by Pfizer to test the C-19 vaccines as a selling point for countries to set up their experiments in Israel.

WAR

Thomas Friedman, writing in the New York Times, believes that the next war in the middle east won’t be over political or religious differences but over water. He believes that unless global warning and climate change aren’t addressed, with monies put into desalinization plants and solar energy fields to power those plants, the scarce water supply in the middle east will be the cause for friction leading to armed conflicts.

However, Israelis have, according to the media, more immediate concerns. Writing an opinion piece on Ynetnews,  Giora Eiland, IDF Major General (Ret.) and former head of the Israel National Security Council, now a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies, said, “Iran poses an existential threat to Israel. In the last decade Iran has been the source of 80% of Israel’s security problems.

Eiland wrote that in 2013 former Prime Minister Netanyahu prepared plans to strike Iran’s nascent nuclear facility under the assumption that the USA would join Israel in fighting Iran should Iran strike back, which was considered inevitable. But that plan was scotched in 2015 when a nuclear armaments deal was reached between Iran and the USA, the UN and other countries.

Eiland said that Israel has to be prepared for an Iranian and Hezbollah strike or, alternatively, an attack by Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The chances of a direct military confrontation between Israel and Iran, or even Israel and Hezbollah, are slim, according to Eiland. However, Israel has no choice but to improve both its defense and attack capabilities, including cyber units. Recently, Iran’s gas station computer infrastructure was hit, shuttering gas stations across the country for nearly a week. Iran blamed Israel. Both countries have been engaged in cyber warfare for a few years.
 

Israel’s media has pointed out that verbal attacks on Iran are occurring on a daily basis. But, Amos Harel, writing in Haaretz, says that Israeli’s daily verbal attacks and warnings on Iran are falling on deaf ears in Washington.  Still, some pundits speculate that these statements are an attempt to create an atmosphere of fear that will drive Iran back to the negotiating table. Iran has been stalling a return to negotiations while ostensibly continuing the development of nuclear weapons. Some Israeli experts say Iran is only months away from a nuclear weapon.

In a report by a Bahrain newspaper, Tal Kalman, chief of staff of the Israeli Air Force, alluded to a possible strike on Iran  at a conference in Tel Aviv last week, should diplomatic efforts fail to curtail Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.  Kalman said Iran’s nuclear program represented a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world.

“We don’t want war. We don’t want conflict. We want to resolve this diplomatically. But when you have a side that is aggressive…building military capabilities, we have to be prepared for other scenarios.  In January IDF Chief of staff Aviv Kohavi said the army was drawing up plans to strike Iran. The Israeli government has reportedly allocated billions of shekels to implement the plans.

According to Gen. Kalman, the recent Abraham Accords, peace agreements between Israel and moderate Arab countries, opened the way for these countries, Bahrain, the Emirates, Egypt and other countries, to form an alliance against extremists in the region like Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. All, according to Kalman, led by Iran.

According to Haretz’s Harel, even the cyber attack on Iran’s gas stations and a recent Israeli air force attack on a convoy of weapons near Damascus, Syria that was headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, were all attempts to get the attention of US President Biden in order for him to increase the pressure on Iran to come back to the negotiating table. This, even though US Sec of State Blinken has said that all options to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon are still under consideration.

Some observers point out that PM Bennet, in Scotland for the Climate Change conference, bringing up the Iranian threat even at that conference. Bennett is quoted as saying that Iran is still a major problem for the world.

News sources are now showing Israel’s top secret nuclear sites, containing what are considered to be Israeli missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Lately, secret weapons like the “Tamuz”, a smart guided missile with a range of 24 kilometers (@15 miles) that can be fired from a tank or an Apache helicopter at an opposing tank, or even a car carrying enemy terrorists, have made their way to the media. Reportedly, this system, has been sold to 38 countries around the world.

Pundits opined that the flurry of information of Israel’s military capability is linked to the almost daily threats against Iran. Even US Sec of State Anthony Blinken has said that the US is considering other options to stop Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon should Iran not return to the negotiating table. Biden has also warned that the US will respond to Iranian attacks including those by drones that recently hit  an American base situated at the a remote al-Tanf outpost in Syria, where the US is training Syrian forces to counter Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad forces.

Media reports point out that Iran also attacked US forces in January 2020 when a barrage of ballistic missiles hit the al-Asad air base in Iraq. More than 100 US service members received traumatic brain injuries as a result of the blasts. That Iranian attack was supposedly in response to a drone strike earlier that month that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and an Iraqi militia leader.

According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, referring to the attack on US forces in al-Tanf, “…if there is to be a response, it will be at a time and a place and a manner of our choosing.:.”

Iran, for her part, recently held a parade showing her long range missiles. Iranian politicians have also replied to these implicit threats with threats of their own of vast destruction of enemies of Iran. Iran linked hackers  recently leaked personal data from an Israeli LGBT dating site.

This cold war of words and hot cyber warfare may lead to a diplomatic resolution. Iran has said they are willing to return to the negotiations but have so far made demands the other side considers unrealistic.

According to media reports, Iran, which has stalled indirect negotiations with the United States in Vienna regarding a mutual return to the nuclear deal, said last week that it would soon announce a resumption of negotiations to take place by the end of November.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, according to an article in the Times of Israel that,, “The US is in full agreement with its allies on bringing Iran back into compliance with the nuclear deal, including willingness to look at “all of the options necessary” if diplomacy doesn’t work.

Recently, Israel held a large multi-national air force exercise that even included Jordan, in what observers say was a rehearsal for an attack on Iran. Also, the Israeli army conducted large-scale exercises in the north preparing for possible battle with Hezbollah. Israel even called up reserve soldiers as a mock emergency to simulate a war and, according to experts, be better prepared than they were last May.

To Chania and Back Under C-19

 Crete has a climate similar to that of Israel. Not surprising since the flight time from Tel Aviv to the Cretan city of Chania, is only about 90-minutes. As one pundit quipped, ‘Less time than it takes me to drive from Manhattan to New Jersey.’

 

                                                           View of the Chania port.

Once the necessary paperwork to leave Israel and enter Greece was completed online, with hard copies of vaccination records printed and placed in plastic sleeves along with passports and tickets, all that was left
was the necessary PCR test. An appointment was arranged through the Test&Go website and the test administered at a marked off area of Ben Gurion airport’s old terminal 1, now used mainly for charter flights. Results came back within 12-hours, plenty of time to make the flight. Cost of the test 44 shekels (@$15 per) person.

Ben Gurion’s staff were very careful to check the test results were negative and that all the necessary exit from Israel forms were filled out and the entry into Greece forms were completed.

The plane was nearly full. Ryan Air, a low-cost carrier, had offered tickets to the city of Chania, population @100,000, on the Greek island of Crete, population @600,000, for only 9 Euro (@$10) and a return ticket from Chania to Tel Aviv for 24 Euro (@$28). Baggage was extra, so that the total was about $100 per ticket round-trip including one normal suitcase and one carry-on. Masks were mandatory on the plane and most of the passengers abided by the rules. Some were double-masked.

Flying into Crete during a pandemic carried its own risks. At passport control, the border police asked to see a passport and the Greek arrival form filled out on line. No PCR test results were required. So far during the pandemic Greece, nationwide, has seen 697,033 cases with 15,418 deaths and has been experiencing about 2,550 new infections every day. This compared to Israel’s 1,317,758 cases, with 8010 deaths, but with a recent a drop in daily cases in Israel to about a thousand.

However, while Israel has a positivity rate of 1.7%, the rate on Crete, with a population of about 600,000, was only 0.23%, according to the ECDC( European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control). Crete reported 984 new cases in the last two weeks. 58% of the population of Crete has received two vaccinations. A booster is not yet available on the island.

As reported on the https://corissia.com/en/coronavirus website, “As a holiday guest in Crete, you have no significant restrictions. All shops and shops are open, there are no exit restrictions. There is no obligation to wear a mask outdoors, only a simple surgical or fabric mask must be worn in all closed rooms accessible to the public. Restaurants and bars (except in hotels), theatres, cinemas, nightclubs etc. may only serve vaccinated or recovered, seated persons indoors, only a minimum distance must be kept outdoors. Larger gatherings of people where a safe distance cannot be maintained are to be avoided at all costs. In all good hotels, predefined COVID-19 protocols have been used consistently since 2020 very successfully and are strictly controlled. The situation on site therefore still remains relaxed and you can, just like very many holiday guests before you, experience a completely untroubled holiday and return home healthy.”

In reality, shops display signs demanding customers wear masks, but the rule is not strictly applied. This compared to Israel where masks are nearly mandatory in all indoor venues. In Crete, masks were worn by hotel and most restaurant staff. Masks were of course not worn at the beaches. Walking around the old Venetian port of Chania some of the tourists wore masks, most did not.

Leaving Crete was more of a problem than leaving Israel. A PCR test was mandatory. The cost was 60 euro ( @$70) per person, and experts said this was the fee all across Greece. “Bit of tourist gouging,” said one pundit. In Chania the test was administered in a recently constructed aluminum ‘caravan’ outside the entrance to the IASSI hospital by an attendant covered head to toe in a gown, booties, head covering, mask, plastic shield and surgical gloves.

At the Chania airport, leaving for the return flight to Tel Aviv, no one asked to see the PCR test results, nor the on-line form required by Greece to leave the country. Perhaps, one observer opined, the results went right to a government computer.

The return flight to Tel Aviv was full. Again, most people wore masks. Landing in Ben Gurion was, as usual, very hi-tech. Scanners for the passports, scanners for the entry slips, then, before baggage claim, the signs leading to the PCR test required of all those arriving in Israel. Without a pre-ordered appointment the cost was another 100 shekels (@$30) per person. A Test results arrived within 12-hours but a 24-hour isolation period was required after arrival.

Back in Israel PM Bennett declared that the fourth wave of the Coronavirus was over. But Corona czar Salman Zaka warned, “We are optimistic, we see a downward trend…but the fourth wave is still here.” He also said he fears a fifth wave. Other health experts echoed Zaka’s warning, stressing that the upcoming flu season may complicate the fight against C-19. Some talk about an ‘Omega’ variant that has surfaced in Britain.

Meanwhile, according to The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, 31% of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) population of Israel contracted the C-19 virus compared to 13.7% of the non-religious Israelis.  The number of serious cases in Israel has dropped precipitously to just 357 cases, of them 75% were unvaccinated. 168 were on ventilators. Israel has recorded 8010 deaths since the pandemic began, and yesterday recorded about 1,000 new cases, with 17,692 active cases.  Health officials say this drop is a result of Israel’s vaccination campaign. As of now, 6.2 million Israelis have received 1 vaccine dose, 5.7 million two doses,  3.8 million three doses. Israel also approved the British-Swedish AstraZeneca vaccines starting Oct 21, with a doctor’s referral, for those over 18 who are unable to get the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA based vaccines.

Dr. Dorit Nitzan, the World Health Organization’s (WHO)European Regional Emergency Director, has said that Israel was correct in administering the 3rd ‘booster’ vaccine even without FDA approval.

World wide that are 241543051 cases, with 4,915,607 deaths, and 24,411,977 active cases. The USA is still number one in cases with 45,792,532, and 744,546 deaths with 9,673,391 active cases.

Diplomacy

 Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde meets with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on October 18, 2021. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde was the first Swedish diplomat to visit Israel in over a decade. Sweden and Israel had a falling out over Sweden’s recognition of Palestinian statehood in 2014. Recently, Sweden hosted world leaders at a Holocaust Remembrance even in Malmo, Sweden. “On behalf of Sweden I promise that we say, ‘never again,’ and meant it,” FM Linde said after visiting Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.

In Memory
Oct 18th marked the 26th anniversary of the assassination of Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid raised the hackles of some right-wing politicians when he said in a speech marking Rabin’s assassination that far-right members of the Knesset are the “ideological heirs” of Rabin’s assassin, Yigal Amir.  Ayelet Shaked of the Yamina party said in a Facebook post that the “wild incitement” must stop.

 

Too Much Or Not Enough

Jerusalem Magazine

Larry Price 43 min ago

SOME THINGS SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SAID

Israel’s Prime Minister Neftali Bennett, speaking in his first appearance at the UN on Wednesday, didn’t take the same aggressive posture as his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, who appeared at the UN with charts and graphs showing Iran’s increasing proximity to a nuclear weapon. According to Israeli press reports, Bennett spoke in general terms about Iran, mentioning that country 26 times during his speech. Critics pointed out the he never once mentioned the Palestinian issue.

Bennett advised the world on how to handle the Covid-19 pandemic. “While doctors are an important input, they cannot be the ones running the national initiative. The only person that has a good vantage point of all considerations is the national leader of any given country. to let the leaders of countries make the decisions related to Covid-19 and not allow the health experts and medical professionals to make those decisions.”

Bennett’s statements brought about a plethora of harsh criticism from Israel’s health officials. Health Minister Neitzan Horowitz called the remarks “unfortunate.” Health Ministry Director-General Nachum Ash said he was saddened by Bennett’s statements. “It is an unpleasant reality. We didn’t expect such comments…We will continue to make our opinions heard.” Another official said, “We’re giving our all…and yet he attacks us off the UN stage."

Bennett has reportedly been at odds with the health officials who have called for more restrictions, while Bennett reportedly thinks more restrictions would harm the economy and do nothing to help defeat the virus.

However, in a reported attempt to ameliorate the disagreements, Bennet met on Thursday with Israeli health officials: Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, Health Ministry director general Nachman Ash, head of the ministry’s public health services, Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, and coronavirus czar Salman Zarka. The office also issued a statement:

According to the Prime Ministers Office. “The prime minister and the health minister stressed during the conversation that they give great importance to the position of the professional officials, even when it differs from the position of the policy-makers,” says the PMO.

AND SOME SHOULD HAVE

Another official was criticized for not saying enough. On Tuesday, America’s Vice-President Kamala Harris was a guest in a class at George Mason University’s Fairfax, VA campus in commemoration of National Voter Registration Day, when a student who identified herself as a Yeminite/Iranian non-American Moslem, said that American military aid for Israel should be stopped and accused Israel of “Ethnic genocide.” The student also expressed outrage at US funding of the Iron Dome.

According to the Jewish Press, the student said “I see that over the summer there have been, like, protests and demonstrations in astronomical numbers… Just a few days ago there were funds allocated to continue backing Israel, which hurts my heart because it’s ethnic genocide and displacement of people, the same that happened in America, and I’m sure you’re aware of this.”

Harris reportedly listened quietly, nodding, as the student spoke. Then, according to the Times of Israel, Harris said to the student, “Your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth should not be suppressed and it must be heard, right? And one of the things that we’re fighting for in a democracy, right, a democracy is its strongest when everybody participates…: “VP Harris added, “…policy that relates to Middle East policy, foreign policy, we still have healthy debates in our own country about what is the right path, and nobody’s voice should be suppressed on that.”

According to the New York Post, “The exchange took place days after left-wing House Democrats forced the removal of language providing $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system from a continuing resolution to fund the government through early December.”

The Israeli press thought Israel felt betrayed by Harris who should have at least pushed back on the student’s statements and corrected them. The Jerusalem Post reported that US Vice President Kamala Harris applauded a student who accused Israel of “ethnic genocide,” saying, “your truth cannot be suppressed.” Some critics speculated VP Harris was showing her pro-Progressive streak allowing Israel to be cast as an enemy of freedom in the Middle East.

However, Haaretz reported that “Guy Ziv, an associate professor at American University who writes on Israeli history, posted in reply to the incident: "While it's understandable that Israelis would bristle at claims of 'ethnic genocide,' there's nothing in the VP's record to suggest that she agreed with anything this student said. Nodding and listening to a student's perspective doesn't mean embracing it.”

Journalists from various Israeli news outlets asked Harris’ office for a clarification but said they’d received no response.

C-19 ECMO

Israel is facing a crisis over the demand for patients requiring the life-saving ECMO machines. Some Israeli media outlets report that almost all of the machines in Israel are presently in use. According to interviews with doctors on Israel TV, a choice now has to be made which patient lives by getting the ECMO treatment and which will die.

The problem is two fold, said one pundit. On the one hand Israeli hospital officials claim that the vast majority of the patients needing ECMO, between 80-100 percent, depending on the hospital, are unvaccinated or without the third ‘booster’ shot. Should those people have had their vaccinations then the life-and-death decisions wouldn’t be necessary?

The pundit added, that the other problem is staff. According to a report on Israel TV’s Channel 12 News that showed footage of rows and rows of ECMO machines, the problem is not equipment but that there are not enough trained health workers to run the ECMO machines.

Whichever explanation one accepts, said one observer, the result is more people are dying then need to. Another observer said that perhaps the hospital chiefs meant more funds were needed for staff not machines.

The number of people on ECMO machines has risen dramatically with most of the unvaccinated patients in their twenties, thirties and forties, according to physicians interviewed for the report on Israel’s Channel 12 news. According to Channel 12 news, there are currently 53 patients on the ECMO machines.

A health expert explained that ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines oxygenate a patient’s blood outside of the body, unlike ventilators that just assist with breathing. ECMO machines do the work of a person’s heart and lungs in order to allow them to recover from serious respiratory illness. Israel now has 641 seriously ill patients, with over 200 on ventilators.

But Israel has just finished the month-long High Holiday and Festive Holiday season. Schools have been closed most of the time and many offices. Because of this, testing has been done less often and results of new cases consequently lower. Israel reported only 3,819 new cases on Wednesday with an R rate of 0.78 and infection rate of 4.19, some of the lowest numbers in months. Health researchers from the Hebrew University expect the numbers to stay low as more people are vaccinated.

Even so, Israel has also imposed a new regulation on the Green Pass requirements. As of Monday, Oct 3, unless someone can show they’ve have all three vaccines their Green Pass will expire. The Green Pass allows people into events, gyms, pools, and other highly-regulated facilities. The Minister of Education also announced that should a teacher not be able to show they’d been vaccinated with the booster they will not be allowed into the classroom.

Nearly two million Israeli students returned to class on Thursday with nearly 100,000 in quarantine. Students had to show a negative test result, either from a home test or from a facility before being allowed into the classroom. However, Education officials were concerned that only 81% of the parents have claimed the free home testing kits needed for kids to gain entry to school.

According to the health ministry, many parents won’t send their children to school in the coming days fearing a positive test result would require a need to quarantine the children, resulting in their parents losing workdays.

Around the world 234,072,325 cases of Covid-19 have been reported, with 4,788,397 deaths, and 24,873,079 active cases, according to ncov2019.live/data. The USA is still number one with 44,199,496 cases, 713,953 deaths, and 9,850,841 active cases. Israel is number 30 with 1,277,270 cases, 7,732 deaths, and 49,142 active cases.

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Faucci, US chief medical adviser, said in an interview with Israel Galei Zahal Army radio, that the US is receiving information from Israel on the booster. He said that the US was interested in the results of the booster on IDF troops and also said that “Israel’s trailblazing move to offer the third vaccine doses to its population will ultimately prove justified and eventually be adopted by the United States…I think ultimately there will be enough data to show that Israel is doing the right thing….I am very favorably disposed to what the Israelis have done and we get a lot of good information from them,” he said.

DIPLOMACY

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid had a historic meeting with Bahrain’s crown prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in Bahrain on Thursday. Lapid was in Bahrain to open an Israeli embassy in the capital Manama. The nations’ representatives were also to meet and confirm water, environment, sport deals, and direct flights between the two countries.

This was the highest-level Israeli visit to the Gulf state since the countries established formal relations last year, according to Reuters. Lapid met with the crown prince in Rome in June.

Bahrain and Gulf neighbor United Arab Emirates normalized relations with Israel last year in a U.S.-brokered deal known as the Abraham Accords that built on shared business interests and worries about Iran. Sudan and Morocco followed suit.

Later on Thursday, a Bahrain’s Gulf Air airplane landed in Tel Aviv, marking the first commercial flight between Bahrain and Israel.

Also, in Iraq on September 24th, some Iraqi activists called for Baghdad to join the Abraham Accords, and normalize ties with Israel. This happened at a conference of over 300 Iraqis from across the country who had gathered in the Kurdish capital of Erbil. Iraq has formally been at war with Israel since 1948. According to the New York Times, the conference was sponsored was a little-known nonprofit group based in Brooklyn The Center for Peace Communications, run by an Iraqi-born American Jew named Joseph Braude, the center’s founder and chief executive.

“We knew that this would trigger enormous controversy and a backlash,” said Braude. “We nonetheless did it because the people in Iraq who wanted to do this asked for our help…I feel like this is a long term effort.”

Three arrest warrants were issued following the conference, according to media reports, for Wisam al-Hardan, a tribal leader, Iraqi Culture Ministry official Sahar al-Ta’i, and Mithal al-Alousi, an Iraqi parliamentarian who advocates normalization with Israel. However it is unclear if anyone has been arrested. After death threats, mainly from pro-Iranian Shiite sources, all of the speakers have now recanted the conference’s call for normalization.

TECHNOLOGY

Gauzy, an Israeli company that develops lighting and shading systems for industrial and home applications has signed an agreement with BMW, the German automobile maker, and LG, the South Korean electronics maker, to use smart glass technology in their products. BMW will use the glass to control headlights and LG plans to use the glass on buses that can dim the light by up to 99 percent. The glass can also be used to make full-blown displays for advertising and entertainment.

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Testing The Limits

Israel is now the 5th most infected country, per million citizens, in the world. The first is Czechia, then Bahrain, Georgia, Slovenia and then Israel, followed by the USA, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Argentina, Estonia and Sweden, according to ncov2019.live/data.

Some have said that Israel’s high rate is due to the inordinate amount of testing. School children have to show proof they’d been tested before going to class. Israel’s Ministry of Health has passed out rapid tests to be performed at home, and the Ministry has also encouraged citizens to buy over-the-counter rapid tests if they suspect they are ill, and only then go to a certified testing center.
 

As the recent Jewish High Holidays approached, Israel TV reported seemingly endless lines of cars stretched from the testing booths to the far horizon. Israelis complained they’d waiting between an hour to two-hours for a test. Some critics have pointed to a certain hypersensitivity among the Jewish people when it comes to health and storming the gates of testing centers only underlines this tendency.

 

 

The website ourworldindata.org explained the positive testing rate as, “… the share of tests returning a positive result – known as the positive rate.This metric offers us two key insights: firstly as a measure of how adequately countries are testing; and secondly to help us understand the spread of the virus, in conjunction with data on confirmed cases.…“According to criteria published by WHO in May 2020, a positive rate of less than 5% is one indicator that the epidemic is under control in a country.”1

 

 

In the chart above, from September 20, 2021, Israel had a positivity rate of 5.8% and conducted 14,201 tests per million cases with 829 confirmed cases per million, compared to the USA’s 10% positivity rate and just 4,266 tests per million, with 407 daily confirmed cases per million people. The UK with a positivity rate of 3.0 tested 14,163 daily with 450 confirmed cases per million. Not surprisingly, New Zealand, that has essentially closed her borders, had only a 0.10 positivity rate, and Australia only 0.8 positivity rate.
 

In Israel, as of Tuesday, 4,800 cases were reported, the lowest since August. But health officials attribute this to the Jewish High Holidays and the slacking off of demand at the testing centers and not to an actual decline of the pandemic. On Tuesday the positivity rate had dropped to 4.6% and a R factor of 0.83. 42% of the new cases were under 11-years-old, an age where they could not yet be vaccinated.
39% of all those positive were from the Arab sector. Arab sector C-19 czar Ayman Saif says the high number was because Arab students did not take off school over the High Holidays as did the Jewish students.
 

Pfizer has announced that their vaccine is effective for those under 11. Israel is only waiting for FDA approval to begin vaccinations of children 5-11, who will be given a smaller dose of the Pfizer vaccine.  
As of Wednesday, Covid-19 has claimed 7,582 deaths in Israel, 1,123 people were hospitalized, and of them 723 were in serious condition and 152 were on ventilators with approximately 50 people on ECMO (machines that recycle the blood and add oxygen). Nearly 70% of those in serious condition were unvaccinated.  84% of those in serious condition who were under 60 were unvaccinated. 3.4% of those in serious condition had three vaccines.
 

Around the world, there are 230,446,353 confirmed cases of Covid-19, with 4,725,198 deaths, and 24,943,529 active cases.  The USA still leads the number of confirmed cases at 43,246,791, with 696,918 deaths and 9,719,817 active cases.
 

According to a report in Huffpost.com, Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic: approximately 675,000 people. However, the US population was then only one-third of what it is today. Worldwide, the 1918-19 influenza pandemic killed 50 million people. This at a time when the world’s population was a quarter the size of today’s.
Medical experts now criticize leaders in some parts of America over a failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available today compared to the 1918-19 pandemic. “Big pockets of American society-and, worse, their leaders- have thrown this away,” according to Dr. Howard Market of the University of Michigan. Experts go on to say that Covid-19 may not entirely disappear, but hope it will become a seasonal bug as immunity strengthens through vaccination and repeated infection.
 

BDS & The ‘Squad’
 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid downplayed the turmoil surrounding the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s exclusion from the proposed federal budget bill of a $1 billion allocation to Israel to finance the vital Iron Dome missile defense system.
 

The vocal opponents of the Iron Dome inclusion were the ‘Squad’ of progressive lawmakers led by “Reps. Alexandria Ocasion-cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, rashjida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, along with fellow progressives Betty McCollum and Pramila Jayapal.” This ‘Squad’ “had warned House leadership that they would not have their votes if the bill proceeded with the extra $1 billion.”
 

According to a statement by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, “Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday night spoke with US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. During the phone call, Lapid was reassured that the move was a ‘technical delay’ related to discussions over the US debt ceiling and that the defense funding would be approved at a later date.”
 

Media sources said that Pelosi had included the $1 billion for the Iron Dome at the last minute in a bid to get Republican supporters of Israel to vote for the budget bill.  The ‘Squad’ protested to this last minute inclusion of the Iron Dome support, with no strings attached. In the past the ‘Squad’ has been quite vocal in opposition to military support of Israel. Senate sources say that the support for the Iron Dome will be submitted separately later in the week and is expected to pass without incident.
 

In the recent May war with Hamas, when Hamas attacked Israel with hundreds of  missiles, the Iron Dome anti-missile system saved many Israelis from death and prevented untold destruction. One analyst pointed out that had the Iron Dome not done such a good job Israel would have been hit hard ,eliciting a destructive counter-attack on Gaza resulting in the loss of countless Gazans’ lives. The ‘Squad’s objection, rather than helping the Palestinians, said one pundit, only put the Palestinians more at risk. And, said the pundit, the ‘Squad’ is supporting Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the USA and many European countries. AIPAC (American Israel Pubic Affairs Committee) said that “extremists in Congress are playing politics with Israeli & Palestinian lives.”
 

In a related matter, the US state of Arizona joined other states in withdrawing their pension fund’s monies from Unilever, the parent company of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s.  According to Ynetnews, the decision was taken in compliance with a 2019 law barring local government agencies from holding investments in firms that boycott Israel. Ben & Jerry’s board of directors announced recently it would ban sale of its products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.



Escapees
 

All six of the prisoner that had escaped from Gilboa prison last week have been captured. Reportedly, they dug a tunnel using spoons and other make-shift implements. Four of the prisoners were captured in a field a few days after the escape. The other two were captured in the West Bank town of Jenin. No one was injured in the captures.
 

Also, 80% of Palestinians have said in a recent poll that they want to replace PA president Mahmoud Abbas. The survey was conducted by Khalil Shikaki, a veteran Palestinian pollster. Abbas was elected to a four-year term in 2005. No national election has been held since then. Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Gaza, is the Palestinian Authority’s chief rival, and while Hamas has a relatively low support, according to the timesofisrael, Hamas’ popularity skyrocketed during the May war with Israel. According to reports, many Palestinians see Ramallah, the seat of the PA, as corrupt and ineffective in achieving statehood. Recently, Israeli officials have spoken about strengthening the PA. The poll also showed 56% of the Palestinians viewed such measures positively.  

Diplomacy
 

Israel’s Prime Minister Neftali Bennett will address the UN General Assembly on September 27th. Reportedly, Bennett will speak on the subject of Israel’s national security and regional issues. Iran’s rapid advancement towards a nuclear weapon will also be brought up. This will be Bennett’s second trip to Washington since the elections. He met with U.S. President Biden in August. Bennett will be in New York over the upcoming Simchat Torah holiday.

Taking Dangerous Chances

 COVID-19

11% of Israeli children who were infected with Covid-19 suffer from what is called ‘Long-Covid,’ according to a recent study by Israel’s Ministry of Health. 30% of those with ‘Long Covid’ suffer from cognitive, and mental health issues as well as continued illness, fatigue or breathlessness. However, the study points out those side-effects could have been caused by the lockdown, shutting everyone indoors, school closures and the recent war with Hamas in Gaza last May.

The study, reported in the TimesofIsrael,  looked at 13,864 school children between the ages of 3-18, 11.2% reported symptoms of Covid-19. More than 200,000 children under 18 have tested positive in Israel and half of those were asymptomatic.  A recent Yale University study showed that ‘Long Covid’ affects 10% of those aged 18-49 and 20% of those over 70.  

                                            Israeli children undergoing Covid-19 tests

According to the Israel Health Ministry, school aged children currently account for 56% of those who tested positive this past Sunday. There are presently 41,000 active cases among school-aged children, and 108,000 school aged children are in isolation.Children returning to school all had to undergo a C-19 test and researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem  say this inordinate testing probably accounted for the spike in number of cases recorded.

This, researchers say, is what accounted for when the daily infection rate over the weekend that  reached over 10,000  while the R factor climbed back up to 1 after falling to .83 last week.

Dr. Eran Segal, a researcher at the Weizman Institute in Rehovot, and an advisor to the government on the pandemic, speaking on Israel radio’s Kan Reshet Bet, said he expects to see a slow-down in the number of cases in Israel during the month of September, crediting the vaccine campaign and the 3rd booster shot for helping slow down the 4th wave of the pandemic caused by the Delta variant.

Today, Israel’s Ministry of Health reported 7,781 cases, with 684 hospitalized, 247 in critical condition, 186 on ventilators, and 7,406 deaths. Covid-19 cases around the world, according to nCoV2019.live, show that 226,177,356 people have been confirmed with C-19, 4,654,317 have died, and there are 25,014,944 active cases. In the USA, there were 42,140,103 confirmed cases, 680,274 deaths, and 9,396,924 active cases. The USA is still number one in confirmed cases followed by India, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Turkey, Iran and Argentina among the top ten.

According to YnetNews, 61% of those testing positive in Israel were not vaccinated, 32% had received 2 shots, and 4% three shots. One health ministry expert said that after between 5-8 months the first and second vaccines lose their effectiveness and the booster shot is needed.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Israel Ministry of Health, said that “Almost every Covid-19 patient on ventilators was unvaccinated and under the age of 60 as were 90% on the ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine.

Even though Israel has found the 3rd booster shot extremely effective in preventing serious illness, experts in the USA and Europe are still at odds over the necessity of the 3rd Booster shot. Some have questioned the Israeli findings. A report in the prestigious Lancet medical journal stated that “booster doses for the general population are not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic.”

However, the lead author of the Lancet report was Ana-Maria Henao-Restrepo, of the WHO (World Health Organization). The WHO has been very critical of “wealthy” nations administering a 3rd vaccine when there were many poorer countries who had not yet had their first shot. This report came out after a Pfizer executive recently stated that that pharmaceutical company is using Israel as their test laboratory for the C-19 vaccines. “Seems as if there’s a lot of politics involved in this WHO opinion, and perhaps even more than a bit of anti-Israel bias,” said one observer.

In Israel, with a population of just over 9 million, 6.5 million people have received one shot, 5.5 million 2 shots, and 2.8 million three shots. According to sources at Israel’s Minister of Health, those without a booster shot are 3x more likely to be sick and that those 60 plus who have received all three shots are 10X more protected than those who have not been vaccinated.Those over 60 who are unvaccinated are 40x more likely to get C-19.

Israel TV’s Channel 12 news reported that Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz was overheard saying, in a hot-mike recording at a discussion in a health committee meeting that, “people need to get vaccinated…otherwise…we will not get out of this (4th wave of the pandemic).”

One pundit said, “Not taking the vaccines is like going to a casino. You might win, but you will probably lose. So, take your chances, if you want, and hope for the best. But remember, the odds are against you.”.

NETANYAHU’S TRIAL

The trial of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for three felonies continued yesterday. The trial began in January and the Netanyahu legal team has been quite successful in a series of postponements. Baruch Kra, legal reporter on Channel 13 TV news, thought the ongoing postponements a disgrace, taking 9 months until now without even a real beginning of witness testimonies. Other observers say the trial could drag on for five years, not counting the appeal process that could add on another five to eight years. Meanwhile Netanyahu, head of the Likud party, leads the opposition to the Bennet/Lapid coalition in Israel’s Knesset.

Haim Garon, 69, and his wife Esti, 69, were killed yesterday when Garon’s small plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, considered a safe and reliable aircraft, crashed on the way from Haifa just one mile from the Greek island of Samos where the plane was to land and refuel on the way to Northern Greece. CNN reported that evidence seemed to suggest a technical fault with the engine. Israel radio reported that Garon had delayed take-off from Haifa but the reason was not immediately available. Garon, who was a prosecution witness, but not a key witness, in the Netanyahu trial, had been a deputy director of the Communications Ministry while Netanyahu was Prime Minister.

Case 4,000, where Garon was to have been a witness against Netanyahu, accuses Netanyahu of making a deal with Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch, also on trial, for passing regulations financially favorable to Elovitch in exchange for Elovitch providing positive coverage of Netanyahu in the popular website Ynetnews, and his other media outlets.

In a side issue, according to the Globes news site, a Tel Aviv District Court dismissed Netanyahu’s son Yair’s petition for a stay of execution of the award of 250,000 shekels in damages for libel against an Avi Alkalay, an Israeli reporter. Netanyahu claimed in a social media post that Alkalay was appointed to his job at the Walla news site in order to report negatively on then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has pleaded with the judge to reduce the fine since he was didn’t have the funds to pay the fine. However, Alkalay’s lawyers showed evidence that the young man had nearly a million shekels in liquid assets. According to media reports, the Netanyahus have a reputation for not paying if they can get around it, or if they can get someone else to pay.

PRISON BREAK

Six Palestinian security prisoners escaped from the Gilboa high security prison last week. Reportedly, they dug a tunnel from their cell using the drain under their shower stall. A massive manhunt was launched and within days four were captured, tired and hungry, hiding in a field in the Galilee. After capture, one of the prisoners said the six had made arrangements with a contact to meet them with a car, clothing and false identity papers, but the contact never arrived at the agreed upon location. Two of the prisoners are still at large. Police Minister Omer Bar-Lev has said that “sooner or later we will lay our hands on them.” While there was a fear that the six, all convicted as terrorists, might try to launch an attack within Israel, the four captured said they had no plans to do so. However, the two still at large are considered a risk, and there is a concern that they might launch some sort of attack.

While the manhunt went on protests broke out around the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Hundreds of rioters, reportedly encouraged by Hamas in Gaza, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli police. Observers say that the prisoners’ escape and capture spurred other violence. Two terrorist attacks took place within the last five days. One when Basil Shawamra, a 17-year-old Palestinian with a knife attacked two yeshiva students at a pharmacy in Jerusalem’s central bus station. The students were moderately injured. The attacker was shot by police on the scene and is in serious condition at Jerusalem’s Share Tzedek hospital. Police said Shawamra did not have a l work permit and was unauthorized to enter Israel legally.

Another Palestinian attempted to attack soldiers with a screwdriver at the Gush Etzion checkpoint on the West Bank. The man was shot in the hand by soldiers at the scene and taken to the hospital in Jerusalem. Palestinian prisoners have called for a hunger strike this Friday in sympathy with the prisoners still at large, and those who were captured. Police Minister Bar-Lev said he wasn’t worried about the hunger strike. “We have two or three hunger strikes a week.”

The government has called for an investigation in the circumstances around the escape. Critics, like right-wing Knesset Member Betzalel Shmotrich, have lambasted the prison authority for lax practices and indulging Palestinian prisoners, like tacitly allowing them to have forbidden mobile phones, conditions that  resulted in the the escape. The exit of the tunnel was not far from a watchtower but it turned out that the guard was watching television rather than the monitors trained on the prison perimeter. The prison authority did not have the prison’s phone jamming equipment turned on.

The government ordered all the shower stalls and all the cells examined in a move to prevent any other escapes. A previous escape was carried out by prisoners digging a tunnel using the drainage canal of the toilet. The prison authority sealed up the weak point of those drainage canals with steel plates to prevent another escape using that method but the authority did not make a similar correction to the showers.

GAZA

Hamas fired rockets at Israel three nights in a row last weekend. This is the fourth Hamas rocket attack from Gaza since the ceasefire last May. All the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome missiles. Israel responded with attacks on Hamas positions in Gaza.

Residents of Sderot, who had to flee to bomb shelters each night when the sirens sounded, complained that they were not “Second class citizens, but Israelis just as those in Tel Aviv and deserved the same protection.” Aviv Kohavi, Israel’s Army Chief of Staff, has warned Hamas that “Israel will not accept any violation of sovereignty. .. If the situation escalates, Hamas and the Gaza Strip will pay a heavy price.

Meanwhile, Israel has approved the transfer of funds from Qatar to pay for salaries of the Hamas government in Gaza and $100 cash payments for 100,000 poor Gazan families. Israel has objected to allowing Hamas any payments until Hamas releases the bodies of Israeli soldiers killed ruing the Gaza War in 2006. Israel does not want Hamas to receive the millions of dollars in cash which Israel claims Hamas uses to build attack tunnels and buy arms and ammunition with which to attack Israel. However, Israel is allowing the funds to be transferred under a deal reached with the UN where the money will go to the Palestinian Authority who will be in charge of paying the salaries.

TECHNOLOGY

The Israeli American company Eviation, based in Seattle, has announced a deal with DHL, the giant delivery service, for 12 airplanes powered by electric engines to be used for hauling DHL’s cargo. Eviation’s Israeli founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay says this is a “new age of aviation.” Bar-Yohay said he has orders for 150 planes from private airlines who plan to use the plane in short flights from say San Jose to San Diego. The plane, now called the Alice, has a payload of 2,500 pounds (1.1 tons), can be fitted to carry 9 passengers, and has a range of 440 nautical miles (815 kilometers), According to Eviation, the plane takes 30-minutes to receive a full battery recharge and be ready to fly again.

Eviation recently sold a 70% share of the company to a Singapore-based conglomerate the Clermont Group that supplies Eviation with the two Magni 650 electric motors used in the Alice.

DIPLOMACY
Bahrain’s first ever envoy, Khaled Yousif Al-Jalahma, has presented his official credentials to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog. This takes place approximately one year after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, when the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Bahrain normalized relations with Israel. The UAE will reportedly begin regularly scheduled flights to Israel once the pandemic has receded.

BOOSTERS? LOUIE ARMSTRONG & ALEXANDER HAMILTON

 

 

 

Covid-19

Israel saw a significant jump in Covid-19 cases with 10,946 testing positive for the virus, the highest number since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Israel. This puts Israel at #6 per capita in the world. However, health officials were upbeat since the numbers of seriously ill was dropping and indication that the vaccine was still having an effect on the virus. Israel is only 57th in the world in deaths per capita.

Israel’s Health Ministry reported that those 60+ who were unvaccinated were 13x more likely to get seriously ill than those vaccinated.  So far in Israel, there have been 1,066,352 cases, an infection rate of 7.5%, with 738 in serious condition, 160 on ventilators, 80,183 active cases, and 7049 deaths. In August alone over 500 people died of the virus.

Israel is now involved in a massive campaign for those who have had two shots to take the booster. PM Bennet has called on all eligible Israelis to take the booster. Nachum Ash, director-general of the Health Ministry, has said the booster is the way to quell the fourth wave outbreak.  Israel Corona Cabinet has now opened up the booster to everyone over 12 years of age.

The cabin also ruled that once someone has received the booster they no longer have to go into isolation when returning from a trip abroad, unless they're returning from a "red" country. Because of that ruling reservations to travel abroad in September have skyrocketed)

So far, 2,157,299 Israelis have taken the third ‘booster’ shot. 5,482,062 have received two shots, 5,974,921 have received the first shot.

But are booster shots really necessary? This was the question New York Times columnist David Leonhardt asked in a recent piece. Leonhardt questioned the Israeli study that showed a decrease in the Covid vaccines’ effectivity as time went on thus necessitating a 3rd ‘booster’ shot.

According to Leonhardt, who interviewed a number of scientists in the USA, the Israeli study was flawed and the necessity for a booster was far from certain. Leonhardt also hinted that some of the results may have been influenced by companies like Pfizer and Moderna who stood to make a nice profit from the sale of the booster shots.(  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/30/briefing/vaccine-immunity-booster-shots.html  )

“Leonhardt’s article is very interesting,” said one observer, who added, “Questioning the Israeli research and even pointing fingers at the drug companies who are touting the booster to raise their own profits makes sense.” Another pointed to an Israeli article that also raised questions about the booster. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-claims-major-drop-in-vaccine-protection-experts-dont-believe-it/

However, skewing results would assume that those who carried out the Israeli research were influenced somehow in their work and manipulated the results to the benefit of big pharma, said an observer.

Other pundits doubt that those involved in the push for the booster are being paid off by big pharma. “Some, perhaps, but all?” asked one observer. “Not unless those ‘some’ are the decision makers, does the taint of corruption hold.”

Another wrote, “I doubt Bennett is on the take. Or Prof. Ran Balicer, considered one of Israel’s top coronavirus experts and head researcher for Clalit, Israel’s largest HMO. Balicer led the recent study that showed that the vaccine didn't cause heart problems but C-19 did.

In another article in Haaretz, Prof. Balicer is quoted as saying, that infection rates among Israelis 60 and over are "slowing down, as a renewed COVID outbreak has triggered soaring infection rates… In fact, over the past two days we see a curb in the number of new cases in 60-year-olds and over, who are mostly inoculated with a third dose," said Balicer. So far 80% of those 70-79 have received a third dose, according to the Health Ministry.

In addition, one of Israel's health maintenance organizations (HMOs), Maccabi, on Wednesday released its findings on the effectiveness of booster shots. According to the study a third shot of the coronavirus vaccine is 86 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 infection among 60-year-olds and over.

“The outbreak hasn’t been stopped but there is definitely a drop in the rate of serious infections,” said Dr. Eran Segal of the Weizman Institute.”

While some critics agree with the NYTimes article most agree that the Israeli studies may have faults, but strongly doubt the Israeli scientists are completely wrong.

Bottom line, said one health expert, why take the chance, take the booster. Just stay aware that the virus is still rampaging, wear a mask, stay out of crowds, keep your
hands clean, and be careful.

Meanwhile, school starts in Israel on September 1st. Over 91,000 students have tested positive for C-19 and are in isolation. The Corona Cabinet ruled that if 70% of a high school class have received a vaccination than remote learning is not necessary. Less than that and classes must be held remotely. The cabinet also ruled that teachers must be vaccinated or take a C-19 test twice a week to be allowed to enter a classroom. Students are also undergoing rapid serology tests and must show a negative result before entering school.

Israel’s Coronavirus czar Salman Zaka said, “There will probably be a fifth wave. We have to learn to live with the virus. To find a balance.” But Galia Rahav, head of Sheba Medical Center’s Infectious Disease Center said, “We have to be very careful as school starts. Not complacent.”

GAZA

Israeli border policeman Bar El Shmueli, 22, has died of his wounds. Shmueli was shot in the head at point blank range during a riot at the Gaza/Israel border 10-days ago. Riots broke out again on Saturday night and have continued for the fourth consecutive night. This even as Israel has loosened restrictions of goods entering Gaza and allowed for the transfer of some disputed funds. According to reports, 1,000 Gazans were involved in the riots, throwing stones and firebombs. Palestinian sources report that 14 Gazans were injured during the riots.

ARAB ISRAELI MURDERS

A rash of murders that one critic says is starting to resemble that on the South Side of Chicago continues in Israel. So far 71 Arabs have been killed this year mostly by gunfire as rival gangs carry out targeted assassinations. The Israeli police have been harshly criticized for their inability to control the street. Arab lawmakers have long called for a stronger police presence in Arab towns and villages.

    

                                             Iyad Shalabi at Tokyo Paralympic Games

PARALYMPICS

Israeli athletes have garnered 7 Paralympic medals, six in swimming.  Iyad Shalabi, 34, a Muslim who is both deaf and paraplegic, was the first Arab-Israeli to win a gold medal. He already held the record for the same event, 150-meter medley.
Mark Malyar won two gold medals and one bronze, setting two world records in the process. Ami Dadon won a silver in the pool.

HURRICANE IDA AND LOUIS (LOUIE) ARMSTRONG’S 2nd ‘JEWISH’ HOME

According to theweek.com  Hurricane Ida destroyed a New Orleans landmark, the 2nd home to a young Louis Armstrong. “The storm also felled the Karnofsky Store on South Rampart Street, one of the last remaining landmarks from early New Orleans jazz history.” The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “The Karnofsky Store was, beginning in 1913, the shop, with residence above, of the Jewish family that provided a second home to the young Louis Armstrong…He worked for the Karnofskys on their coal and junk wagons, tooting "a small tin horn," and ate meals with the family, either in their earlier home on Girod Street or here, or maybe both. The Karnofskys loaned Armstrong money for his first cornet. ... Morris Karnofsky, the son of the family and Armstrong's boyhood friend, opened the first jazz record store in town, Morris Music.”

ALEXANDER HAMILTON WAS JEWISH   

For all those Hamilton fans, researcher Andrew Porwancher, who had written “The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton” before the hit Broadway play ‘Hamilton’ was ever written, turned up an interesting fact. Alexander Hamilton’s father was Jewish and his mother, who converted to Judaism, sent the young Hamilton to a Jewish day school when he was growing up in the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Experiences, says Porwancher, in an interview with the TimesofIsrael, that influenced Hamilton in colonial America. Other sources mention that Hamilton attended a school in Saint Kitts with a Jewish headmistress. So far, there has been no other mention a Jewish father or mother that converted to Judaism.