Israel’s active Covid-19 cases has passed 11,000 reaching 11,390.Two months ago, according to the health ministry, the number was around 200. The number of daily cases has nearly reached 1400 again, with serious patients climbing past 100 for the first time in three months. Nearly 150 patients have been hospitalized and 17 are on ventilators, with 6458 deaths. According to current research, those Israelis who were inoculated early, back in January or February, were twice as likely to catch the bug than later adapters.
Even though Israeli researchers have found that the C-19 vaccine is only 39% effective as time goes on, still it is 91 per cent effective in preventing serious illness and 88 percent effective in preventing hospitalization. Experts point out that the numbers of serious cases is still quite low compared to the height of the epidemic a year ago. Still, Israel’s ministry of health has ruled that masks must now be worn indoors at malls and stores and any indoor event.
As of July 29th, the ministry of health has brought back the “Green Pass,” a document that is proof of full vaccination.This green pass must be presented at cultural and sporting events, hotels and tourist attractions, gyms and work out studios, restaurants, bars, coffee houses, dinging hall, conferences, synagogues and places of worship. At weddings and similar events with over 100 guests a recent PCR test showing negative results must also be presented, with a rapid test available at the door. Costs for the tests are on those being tested.
Those places not requiring a green pass are stores, malls, swimming pools, museums, libraries, national parks and nature preserves.
The government on Sunday approved plans by Omer Barlev, Israel’s Public Security Minister, to use a cellphone app to monitor arrivals who are supposed to be in isolation to make certain they are abiding by the mandatory quarantine. It is not clear when the monitoring will go into effect. According to a report in the Times of Israel, "Health officials have linked a recent spike in infections in Israel to travelers who brought back new variants of the virus from abroad and did not properly quarantine after arriving.”
Israel has added Great Britain to the list of red countries requiring a returning Israeli to enter quarantine for seven days. Any costs for the quarantine are to be absorbed by the traveller. Prof. Nachum Ash, director general of Israel’s health ministry, has warned Israelis not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Airplanes, said Prof. Ash, are places where chances of getting the virus are very high.”
Meanwhile, researchers in Tel Aviv are in the early stages of testing a pill that will replace the Corona vaccines. Nadav Kidron said Oravax “Targets three proteins not one and is strong against Cororna.” Oravax is produced by, Oramed Pharmaceuticals and expects to begin clinical trials in Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennet has stated that those refusing to take a vaccine are endangering the rest of the country. Bennett said that a “Critical mass” of vaccinations were needed to block the Coronavirus.
And then there is the controversy over Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s board has declared that their ice cream can no longer be sold in “"occupied Palestinian Territory.”
According to pundits, Anuradha Mittal, Chairman of the board of Ben & Jerry’s, seems to be the driving force behind the move to pressure Israel to drop sales of the ice cream in the West Bank. Some sources said she has pushed to stop the sale of the ice cream to all of Israel.
Avi Zinger, who holds the Israel license to produce the ice cream, said he has been pressured for a while to stop selling in the west bank and has refused to comply. Recently, he received notice that his license, scheduled to expire in 18-months, will not be renewed.
However, Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, has said that they are “fully committed” to Israel and would continue to sell the ice cream in Israel.
This apparently didn’t go over well with Mittal. “In an interview with NBC, Mittal said that Unilever had overstepped its authority by pledging to remain in Israel. According to the Jerusalem Post, “The Ben & Jerry's board said that it had the sole authority to make such a decision and that it had not done so.
"The Acquisition Agreement [with Unilever] grants the Independent Board [authority] on an issue directly related to Ben & Jerry's social mission and brand integrity," the board said. "Unilever and its CEO at Ben & Jerry's are in violation of the spirit and the letter of the Acquisition Agreement."
Israel’s government immediately took action. Israel’s ambassador to the UN and the USA, Gilad Erdan, reportedly sent a letter to 35 American states reminding them that the boycott “violates the anti-BDS laws of many states.” Some states have invested in Unilever and may have to remove their investment because Unilever is breaking the anti-BDS law. Some supermarkets have publicly stated they will no longer sell Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Erutz Sheva, the right-wing settler media outlet, has labeled Mittal a “Jew hater.” The outlet claims that Mittal has been pressing for years to to boycott Israel and has at least 107 anti-Israel tweets on her Twitter account. In one, according to Erutz Sheva, she describes “the very creation of Israel as a ‘catastrophe.’
Some critics believe that Erutz Sheva is exaggerating. Another brought up a line once uttered by former US Sec. of State Henry Kissinger. “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.”
