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.