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Note the EU logo, on prominent display on these illegal structures and associated infrastructure. |
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Note the EU logo, on prominent display on these illegal structures and associated infrastructure. |
The death toll in Israel from the coronavirus pandemic climbed to 60 on Tuesday, with over 9,000 infections recorded by the Health Ministry.Netanyahu announces Passover closure and curfew, but says exit may be in sight
Among the three new victims since Monday night was an 80-year-old man who died in central Israel on Tuesday. The man, who had unspecified underlying illnesses, had been hospitalized at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. He had been sedated and on a ventilator for several weeks prior to his death, the hospital said.
On Tuesday, the Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv said a 95-year-old woman with preexisting health issues succumbed to the virus.
The third fatality, who died late Monday, was not immediately identified.
According to the ministry, 9,006 people were sick with the virus as of Tuesday morning, 153 of them seriously. Of the serious cases, 113 were on ventilators. Another 181 people were in moderate condition, with the remaining patients showing mild symptoms. The updated figures marked a rise of 102 cases since the previous evening.
The death Tuesday came after eight fatalities from the virus were reported a day earlier and as officials say they scrambling to secure more medical equipment amid a furious global battle over ventilators, masks, test kits and other essentials in the fight against the virus.
Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov said Tuesday that Israel had secured enough ventilators to bring the country’s count of the machines up to 3,000.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced that Israelis would be barred from leaving their homes during the first night of Passover, as part of a general lockdown throughout the country over the holiday.Israel PM Netanyahu Announces Nationwide Lockdown During Passover Holiday
He also said restrictions meant to contain the coronavirus may begin to be rolled back after the holiday, but that the next few days were “fateful” to tackling the outbreak.
Beginning at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Israelis will not be able to leave the communities where they live until Friday at 7 a.m., Netanyahu said, while residents of some Jerusalem neighborhoods will be not be allowed to travel beyond restricted areas.
However, later Monday, Hebrew media, citing a draft of the measures that still need to be approved by the cabinet, said the lockdown would only end on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.
On Passover itself, which begins Wednesday evening, the prime minister said all Israelis must remain at their homes from 6 p.m. until 7 a.m. Thursday morning.
“We’re in a fateful week. A fateful week for the world and for Israel,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement from his official residence in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu said there were some “positive signs on the horizon,” but called on Israelis not become “complacent” and not to ease up on social distancing measures.
“Pesach won’t be Purim,” he declared, referring to the holiday festivities in early March that health officials believe contributed to the spread of the virus.
Due to the restrictive measures taken by the Israeli authorities "we see positive signs on the horizon", Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday as he announced new anti-coronavirus restrictions ahead of the Passover holiday in Israel, with inter-city travels for non-essential reasons banned.
The full lockdown is to come into force Tuesday 4 pm local time -- 10 am EST -- and will end Friday morning.
Wednesday evening will also see what is apparently a full curfew for Israel, with Israelis urged to stay at home, except for the Arab communities that do not celebrate Passover.
Announcing the move, Netanyahu stressed that the week to come will determine whether the situation in the country deteriorates or takes a turn for the better and said that the upcoming Passover will not be like the holiday of Purim, which saw an uptick in transmissions.
The Israeli government issued orders on Tuesday making the wearing of masks in public compulsory to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
It also approved a timeline for tightened travel restrictions for the Passover holiday, which begins on Wednesday when Jewish families gather for a festive meal commemorating the Biblical exodus from slavery in Egypt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that this year the dinner should be a small affair, limited to household members, in a bid to keep infection rates in check.
Netanyahu last week urged Israelis to wear masks while in public, a measure the government said would become compulsory as of Sunday. Children under the age of six, the mentally disabled or those alone in vehicles or workplaces are exempted. The government said masks could be homemade.
From Tuesday evening until Friday morning, a ban on unnecessary out-of-town travel will be in place, effectively preventing large gatherings for Passover.
From 3 p.m. on Wednesday, a few hours before the meal gets underway, until 7 a.m. on Thursday, food shopping within towns will also be forbidden, in a tightened lockdown. Israelis are already banned from moving more than 100 metres from home except for visits to grocery stores and pharmacies, and travel to work.
Announcing an exemption in the Passover restrictions, a government statement said the holiday shopping ban would not apply to “non-Jewish minorities.” Around a fifth of Israeli citizens are Arabs, mostly Muslims, Druze and Christians.
Public transportation, including flights in and out of Israel, will be suspended from 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Tuesday until 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Sunday, the statement said.
the way the independent senator from Vermont forcefully rejected that his more left-leaning views — backing diplomacy with Iran and being willing to withhold aid to Israel among them — conflicted with his Jewish identity.The question of Bernie Sander's "Jewish identity" is a topic all by itself, a question that revolves around a Jewish identity that Sanders only seems to address every four years. It is also an identity that is unclear not merely in light of his attack on AIPAC and his having never appeared at pro-Israel rallies -- but also in light of his praise for the Soviet regime while ignoring the plight of Soviet Jews at the time.
This is the most quintessential Jewish American story if ever there was one, to have him out there for the American Jewish community, which is attacked and under siege. It is so valuable to have a politician and a leader running who gets it in his kishkes. [emphasis added]One can only hope that Rubin was not referring to indigestion, using a phrase that Sanders himself is unlikely to use.
By welcoming even strong Israel critics into his campaign, Sanders had shown the way to fight anti-Semitism is to engage everyone. The senator had expanded the idea of what it means to be a good Jew. That’s how it seemed to Rubin...Later in the article, Boorstein expands on Rubin's point:
Rubin believes American Jews need to keep their eyes on what he sees as the ball, instead of focusing so much on statements by Omar and Tlaib.Are Sarsour, Omar and Tlaib really "people who are part of rejecting hate in our society"? Welcoming people who accuse Israel of white supremacy, are fans of Louis Farrakhan, toss around accusations of dual citizenship and focus their criticism solely at boycotting Israel -- this raises the question of which 'ball' Rubin has his eye on -- other than how to gain votes.
“They are not the primary threat to the U.S. Jewish community. They are not walking into Tree of Life and shooting it up,” he said, referring to the 2018 massacre at a synagogue in his native Pittsburgh. “If we’re going to defeat hate as a country, we need to find allies in this fight, and these are people who are part of rejecting hate in our society. ... And I’m willing to give more leeway to people of color who are critical of Israel who are in our coalition and are willing to engage and to accept errors.”
o Sanders made the outlandish claim that Israel killed 10,000 Gazans during Operation Protective EdgeSanders is not engaging the critics, he is accepting their propaganda whole.
o Sanders accepts at face value that Israel shoots unarmed "protesting" Gazans
o Now Sanders it claiming that Israel is withholding humanitarian aid from Gaza during the coronavirus crisis
"It's worth noting here that religious definitions are malleable. And it's impossible to know what someone's true beliefs are, beyond what they say. Skepticism about a president's declared religious beliefs has hardly been limited to the many Americans who believe President Obama is secretly a Muslim. Some presidents who have claimed the Christian faith have been suspected of not actually being religious."That same may be said for a politician's claiming to be pro-Israel.
o Mark PocanPocan tried to anonymously set up an anti-Israel event, "50 Years of Israeli Military Occupation & Life for Palestinian Children."
o Pramila Jayapal
o Betty McCollum
1840 Lord Palmerstone, British Foreign Minister-later Prime Minister, sent letter on 11 August, to his Ambassador in Istanbul, to encourage the Sultan to allow and bless the settlement of the European Jews with their wealth in Palestine, to prosper the economy, and to create a barrier against Muhammad Ali’s advancement.
1918 Formation of the Moslem-Christian Committees in Jaffa and Jerusalem, spreading through the different Palestinian cities, in April.This is after the Balfour Declaration so it is obviously a response to Zionism, not an independent movement.
1919 January 27 First Palestinian National Congress. Conference produces first National Charter. Sends two memoranda to Peace Conference, Versailles France, rejecting British mandate, Balfour Declaration, and Zionist immigration to Palestine. Demands full Palestinian independence. Calls for unity of Palestine and Syria and refers to Palestine as Southern Syria. Sends delegation to Damascus in support of Arab Government.
1920 First Palestinian attacks on Zionist colonies on the Syrian Boarders. (1 March).So according to the Palestinians themselves, they have no history before the 20th century - in other words, there is no such thing as "historic Palestine" - and they entire movement is a reaction to Zionism and not an organic, independent call for independence.
In “Blood Libels, Conspiracy Theories and Coronaviruses” CAMERA discussed the history of the blood libel and how anti-Semites from across the spectrum have latched on to the coronavirus pandemic as a hook to hang their latest blood libels. As the pandemic continues, the libels have increased, as well. In Part II, we take a closer look at how Palestinian and BDS activists, in particular, have used the pandemic to libel and incite against Israel.Combating Antisemitism | SWUConnect #9
Anti-Semitic blood libels and conspiracy theories often incorporate irrelevant but true facts in order to create preposterous and defamatory accusations against Jews, which are seized upon and spread among the community, providing justification for even more Jew hatred. Medieval blood libels, for example, accused the Jews of brutalizing and murdering Christians in order to use their blood for the matzos required for Passover, incorporating true facts: Yes, Jews celebrate Passover and yes, Passover rituals include the eating of matzah (unleavened bread/crackers). But the only ingredients required for matzah are flour and water, not blood. In fact, the consumption of any type of blood is prohibited in Judaism, as is murder. Yet among the ignorant and credulous, this absurd fabrication continues to take hold.
Recent Palestinian libels similarly distort elements of truth into absurd, fabricated libels.
Accusing Israel of Deliberately Infecting the Palestinians Population with Covid-19
It has been widely reported that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented cooperation and coordination between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel has provided the Palestinian Authority with hundreds of testing kits and protective gear for healthcare workers, as well as workshops with Palestinian doctors and joint monitoring groups to discuss methods to contain the pandemic in the region. Even Nikolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, a group accused of “systemic anti-Israel bias”, has praised the excellent coordination and cooperation between the Israeli and Palestine authorities regarding the pandemic.
Yet despite this cooperation, anti-Israel incitement and libels continue. In fact, some of the same people who are coordinating with Israel about the pandemic are also using the coronavirus as a handy hook on which to pin their anti-Israel libels and incite the Palestinian populace against Israel.
Palestinian Mohammed Shtayyeh, for example, has acknowledged coordinating with Israel, establishing a joint medical committee to monitor and cooperate the response to the pandemic. But as Palestinian analyst Khaled Abu Toameh points out, Shtayyeh is hoping that the coronavirus crisis will boost his chance of becoming the next Palestinian Authority president and in order “to win the hearts and minds of his people, he needs to talk less about cooperation with Israel. The more he condemn Israel, the more he increases his chances of becoming the next Palestinian rais.”
No doubt that is why Shtayyeh put forth a new libel against Israel: On March 29th, the Palestinian prime minister proclaimed that IDF soldiers were deliberately trying to infect Palestinians with coronavirus. “This is racism and hatred of people who long for the death of the other,” he said. “We will record this in the list of crimes [against Israel].”
Join Carly Gammill, director of StandWithUs' Center for Combating Antisemitism, for a webinar discussing recent manifestations of antisemitism, the progression of hate, and how we can work together during this time to combat the world's oldest hatred.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved Monday to the intensive care unit of a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened.
Johnson’s office said Johnson is conscious and does not require ventilation at the moment.
Johnson was admitted to St. Thomas’ Hospital late the night before, 10 days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to deputize for him.
There was no indication of how long Johnson might remain hospitalized. The prime minister’s spokesman said earlier that Johnson had spent a comfortable night and remained in charge of government, despite being admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital, when COVID-19 symptoms of a cough and fever persisted 10 days after he was diagnosed.
Johnson had sent out a tweet thanking the National Health Service for taking care of him and others in this difficult time.
“On the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests, as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms,” Johnson said in the tweet. “I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe.”
Johnson’s spokesman, James Slack, refused to say what kind of tests Johnson was undergoing. He insisted that “the PM remains in charge of the government.”
NEW PODCAST ALERT: A conversation with Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan; permanent friend of Israel
— The MirYam Institute (@MirYamInstitute) April 5, 2020
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE: https://t.co/nD8WSJyoJy pic.twitter.com/zbaK67avPH
Washington has recently announced plans to move its embassy in Baghdad to Ain al-Assad, Iraq's largest airbase. The US claims that by doing so, the embassy will protect itself from possible attacks by resistance groups.I could find no such announcement.
Many Iraqi experts and officials have reacted to the decision, saying the US embassy should be located in Baghdad and that moving it to a place other than the capital is against protocols and diplomatic practice.If that applies to Baghdad, all the more so it applies to Jerusalem, right?
Seven people died in Israel as a result of the coronavirus Monday, the Health Ministry and hospitals said, raising the death toll to 56.Government to announce nationwide lockdown until Friday
The Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem said a man aged 77 and a woman aged 91 had died at the hospital. Both had multiple underlying health conditions.
And Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital announced the deaths of a 72-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman, who were also said to suffer from preexisting health complications.
A 90-year-old woman with preexisting conditions died in a Jaffa facility for coronavirus patients. She was moved there from Beersheba’s Mishan assisted living facility, and was the seventh person from the nursing home to die of the virus.
On Monday morning, the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov near Tel Aviv announced there had been three fatalities at the hospital in the past 24 hours.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 8,611 on Monday morning, up only 181 from the evening tally a day earlier, continuing a slowdown that has largely been attributed to ongoing social distancing.
There are 141 patients in serious condition, including 107 on ventilators, and a further 191 in moderate condition. The ministry said 585 patients had recovered from the virus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce tough new restrictions on public movement on Monday evening, preventing all travel between cities from Tuesday afternoon until Friday morning.Italian officials okay experimental Israeli drug for use on COVID-19 patients
The restrictions, set to be approved by ministers overnight, will also limit movement within towns and cities - only permitting access to shops in the immediate vicinity of residents' homes - amid fears that the Passover holiday could lead to an aggravation of the coronavirus outbreak.
Increased lockdown measures come at the expense of pinpoint containment measures which discussed overnight Sunday, targeting several cities with particularly high rates of infection.
The decision comes against the backdrop of a rising death toll, which climbed to 56 on Monday. Confirmed cases of the virus increased to 8,611, including 141 patients in severe condition.
A total of 107 patients currently require a ventilator - an increase of less than 1% during the past 24 hours. Some 585 people have recovered from the illness to date.
Haredi towns and cities continue to represent the hotspot of the coronavirus outbreak in Israel, with the highest number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people located in Efrat (656.1), Kiryat Yearim (634.4), Bnei Brak (622.5) and Kfar Habad (585.6).
As of Monday morning, the two cities with the greatest number of confirmed cases were Jerusalem (1,316 cases) and Bnei Brak (1,222). Tel Aviv-Jaffa was home to the third most cases, with a far more modest 370 incidences of the disease.
Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman reacted angrily after municipal workers from Ramat Gan put up fences overnight between the city and neighboring Bnei Brak, restricting pedestrian movement between the cities. The Interior Ministry subsequently ordered Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen to remove the barriers on Monday morning.
"The residents of Bnei Brak, together with all cities and other areas with large concentrations of haredi residents, should not be subject to discrimination," said Litzman, who tested positive for coronavirus last week. "I urge the mayor of Ramat Gan to avoid provocative steps causing friction between the populations."
Tel Aviv and North Carolina-based RedHill BioPharma announces that Italian officials have approved use of one of its experimental treatments for COVID-19 patients under a compassionate use program.
The chemical compound, opaganib, is still in testing stages as a drug for relieving lung inflammations, such as pneumonia, and doctors hope it could help COVID-19 patients with other underlying conditions.
“The approved opaganib expanded access program allows physicians in the three major hospitals in Italy to treat patients at high risk of developing pneumonia and those with pneumonia, including acute respiratory distress syndrome, secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection,” says Dr. Mark L. Levitt, medical director at RedHill.
The Italian National Institute for Infectious Diseases and Central Italian Ethics Committee okay the treatment for use on 160 patients in three major hospitals.
Just as we were victorious over suicide bombings, we will also win the fight against the coronavirus! Two decades ago reality in Israel seemed unimaginable. For several years, the buses ran almost empty and the restaurants were desolate. Waves of terror suicide attacks caused many to shut themselves up in their homes. Just as we are careful nowadays who we are around because of those who could infect us with corona, even then we looked at suspicion towards anyone who was not familiar to us. And in the end, we defeated suicide terrorism.
...
This is a phenomenon, just like the suicide terror, where we have to be ready on the state, public and personal levels in new ways. As terror comes in waves, so does the coronavirus. In the next wave we will have to be prepared better than before to protect all of our citizens.
“These cases demonstrate the FBI’s unwillingness to distinguish non-violent civil disobedience protesting government policy from terrorism,” Michael German, a former FBI agent and current fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, who reviewed the documents, told The Intercept.In truth, the ISM explicitly supports and aids terror activities. A good summary of what ISM was like in the first half of the 2000s decade comes from UK Media Watch back in 2012:
“The fact that ISM was under this kind of extensive investigation is ridiculous and a complete waste of taxpayer money,” ISM co-founder Huwaida Arraf told The Intercept. “ISM has always been open and transparent about who we are, what we do, and what we stand for, which is purportedly what this country stands for — freedom and human rights.”
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ISM members posing with their non-violent Palestinian buddies and their guns |
Of course, the suggestion that ISM is non-violent is beyond parody.The ISM’s website states that it recognizes “the Palestinian right to resist Israeli violence and occupation via legitimate armed struggle.” [emphasis added]As I wrote previously, ISM’s activities have included “serving as human shields for terrorist operatives wanted by the Israeli security forces”, and “provid[ing] Palestinian terrorist operatives…with financial, logistic and moral support”.Paul Larudee, the Northern California head of the ISM, has said that his group “…recognize[s] that violence is necessary and it is permissible for oppressed and occupied people to use armed resistance and we recognize their right to do so.”Similarly, in a 2002 article, ISM co-founders Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf wrote, “The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics, both non-violent and violent,” adding that “[i]n actuality, nonviolence is not enough…Yes, people will get killed and injured.”ISM activist Susan Barclay admitted that she worked with representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists originating from UK who had attacked the Mike’s Place bar in Tel Aviv, in 2003, murdering three people. The Mike’s Place bombers had, according to an Israeli report, ”forg[ed] links with…members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)”. Also, senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Shadi Sukiya was arrested while he was hiding in ISM’s Jenin office and being assisted by two ISM activists.Just because individual ISM members may not personally fire the weapons which kill and maim Israelis, an organization which aids and abets the Islamist terror groups, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, that intentionally murder innocent Jews is – by definition – a reactionary, anti-peace, pro-violence movement.No amount of sophistry or doublespeak can obfuscate this painfully obvious fact.So much for "non-violence."
Buy EoZ's book, PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
If you want real peace, don't insist on a divided Jerusalem, @USAmbIsrael
The Apartheid charge, the Abraham Accords and the "right side of history"
With Palestinians, there is no need to exaggerate: they really support murdering random Jews
Great news for Yom HaShoah! There are no antisemites!