An emergency order issued Sunday means that anyone arriving in Israel from overseas now must go directly to a state-run quarantine hotel.
It comes a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a halt to all flights to Israel until the country settled on a way to isolate new arrivals. That order came after several high-profile instances of people arriving in the country scattering without assurance that they would follow quarantine rules.
In the most recent example, after a flight from New York, a coronavirus hotspot, landed at Ben Gurion Airport Saturday, the 70 Israeli passengers were allowed to return to their homes, many in taxis, without being supervised or checked or even given masks.
The emergency order, in place until at least April 22, says that “all persons returning from abroad will, upon their return to Israel, be sent to quarantine by the state at designated hotels.” The order allows for exceptions to be granted on a case-by-case basis, but a 14-day quarantine rule will remain in effect for all arrivals.
Flights to Israel were reinstated on Sunday after the passage of the emergency order.
A 13-year-old Estonian led an international neo-Nazi group that planned to bomb a synagogue and a U.S. news network, according to an Associated Press report.
The teen called himself “Commander” of the Feuerkrieg Division, a group that the Anti-Defamation League says “embraces the most extreme interpretations of white supremacist ideology,” until Estonian police intervened in January, according to the AP. A report about the teen was first published Wednesday in the weekly Estonian newspaper Eesti Ekspress.
The teenager will not face criminal charges, a spokesman for the Estonian Internal Security Service told The Associated Press.
“As the case dealt with a child under the age of 14, this person cannot be prosecuted under the criminal law and instead other legal methods must be used to eliminate the risk,” Harrys Puusepp told the AP. “Cooperation between several authorities, and especially parents, is important to steer a child away from violent extremism.”
The police spokesman didn’t identify the teen as a group leader, but the AP report says leaked archives of Feuerkrieg Division members’ online chats show that “Commander” referred to himself as the founder of the group and alluded to being from Saaremaa, Estonia’s largest island.
The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate groups, says on its website that the Feuerkrieg Division “calls for violence against their perceived enemies and destruction of ‘the system,’ or society at large, which they believe is controlled by the Jews.”
The group said the Feuerkrieg Division’s founder lives in Estonia, but its membership is “increasingly American.” In February, a 23-year-old Las Vegas man pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm, related to charges that he planned to bomb a local synagogue. He had been in touch online with Feuerkrieg Division members.
Harvey Weinstein has been charged with a new felony sexual assault count by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.
The charge, filed Friday, accuses the former Hollywood producer of assaulting a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010, in an incident that falls just within California’s 10-year statute of limitations.
Weinstein, 68, is currently serving a sentence of up to 23 years in New York after being convicted in February of rape and sexual assault. He could face up to 29 years in prison in California on the new charges, ABC News reported.
Weinstein, 68, tested positive for the coronavirus last month, after transferring to the state prison system from Rikers Island, a New York City jail where the deadly virus has infected hundreds of people. He was quarantined in the Regional Medical Unit at Wende Correctional Facility and declared recovered on Friday, according to reports.
In January, on the first day of Weinstein’s trial in New York on charges of rape and sexual assault, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed rape and sexual assault charges against the former media mogul in separate incidents involving two women over a two-day period in 2013. The office said at the time that it was reviewing eight cases involving Weinstein.
If you haven’t notice and you’d be forgiven if you hadn’t), Israel still doesn’t have a government. Two weeks ago it seemed clear that a unity coalition is about to be formed. A week ago we realized that this is taking too long. And now – we’re no longer sure what’s happening. Benny Gantz’ mandate to form a government is over on Monday. Benjamin Netanyahu will get it. And as for unity, some observers believe that Netanyahu still wants it, and just make sure to squeeze another drop from the Blue and White lemon before he completes the round of negotiations – while others begin to suspect that Netanyahu’s goal is different: a right-religious coalition, or a fourth election.
RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL – MARCH 01: Benny Gantz, Blue and White Party leader leaves after making a statement to the press on March 1, 2020 in Ramat Gan, Israel. Israelis will head to the polls tomorrow for the third time in less than a year. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Gantz’ Mandate
Today (Sunday) the president informed Gantz that he cannot get more time to try and form a coalition. I am not sure what Gantz was thinking when he asked to get more time. He was handed the mandate when his bloc had 61 members. He now has less than 20 members in a bloc that includes his faction of Blue and White and two members of Labor. In the meantime, Netanyahu’s bloc got stronger, when a former member of Labor-Meretz (Orly Levi Abekasis) decided to formally join into the bloc of 59.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on after speaking to supporters at his Likud party headquarters following the announcement of exit polls during Israel’s parliamentary election in Tel Aviv, Israel September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Netanyahu’s options
59 is plenty but not enough. What can Netanyahu do with it? He can still form the unity government with Gantz. Or he can try to find 2 Members of Knesset with which to form a 61 member coalition. Maybe the two members of Labor that already agreed to join the coalition. Or two members of Blue and White for which jumping ship is an option. A third option for Netanyahu is to run the clock and force a fourth election.
Israeli voters in quarantine due to possible exposure to coronavirus vote at a special polling station in Jerusalem during national elections, March 2, 2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
Fourth election?
One look at the polls clarifies why Netanyahu might toy with such idea, or at least keep it as an option to put pressure on all potential partners. Since the last election we’ve seen a string of polls that put the Likud party above 40 seats and the right-religious camp above 60 seats. All Netanyahu has to do is convince the voters that the fourth round wasn’t his fault but rather Gantz`, and (even better) make sure that no viable rival emerges within the 90 days until the date for a new election. With Blue and White becoming a shadow of its former self, Labor on the ropes, and no other party in sight – Israeli voters will have few realistic options other than Likud.
A general view shows the plenum as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
Unity coalition
It is still too early to conclude that Netanyahu does not want a unity coalition. He might be still looking at his options and trying to get the best terms for himself and his party before the deed is done. What’s on the table? That depends on Netanyahu’s appetite and on Gantz’ state of desperation. But realistically speaking, Netanyahu can go back on a few promises and maybe get away with it. One example concerns the appointment of justices, another one the terms that guarantee a rotation at the PM’s office after a year and a half (no sane Israeli believe that Netanyahu intends to let Gantz be the PM).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Benny Gantz flank Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the president’s residence in Jerusalem, Sept. 23, 2019. They met to discuss forming a unity government. (Haim Zach/Israeli Government Press Office)
Gantz’ options
Blue and White is no longer a viable alternative to Likud. Gantz can find a way to join the coalition, he can have a fight with Netanyahu and stay in the opposition (having proved that he was doomed by Netanyahu), and he can quit and let someone else make an attempt to revive Blue and White. These are not great options for an ambitious man who not long ago truly believed that he could be Prime Minister. In essence, his future depends more on Netanyahu’s calculations that on his own wishes. The only card he holds is based on the assumption that for the PM it is still better to have a relatively comfortable unity coalition with him than make the cynical attempt to form a narrow coalition. This is probably still a solid assumption, but only in case some of Netanyahu’s terms are met.
Jewish astronaut Jessica Meir told reporters ahead of her return to Earth that watching the coronavirus crisis unfold from space has been “quite surreal” — and that she is looking forward to getting home, even if the pandemic has changed it.
Meir and fellow astronaut Andrew Morgan spoke to reporters from space on Friday, a week ahead of their scheduled return after nearly seven months on the International Space Station.
“It will be very difficult to not be able to give hugs to my family and friends,” Meir said. She added: “I think for me it’ll still be nice to go back and to see some familiar places and some familiar faces.”
“I think that I will actually feel more isolated on the Earth than I did up here because that’s just part of our expected routine up here,” Meir also said. “We’re so busy with so many other amazing pursuits and we have this incredible vantage point of the Earth below, that we don’t really feel as much of that isolation.”
Last week, Meir offered advice about how to stay mentally healthy while living in isolation. And in March, she tweeted a photo of Tel Aviv that she took from space, in which the usually bustling Israeli city is seen looking desolate amid the spread of the coronavirus.
The astronaut also posted a photo of Israel in November as a tribute to her father. She also tweeted a Hanukkah greeting that included a photo of her holiday-themed socks with Earth seen through the window in the background.
The U.S. economy is in virtual freefall. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and livelihoods. Thousands are dying from the COVID-19 virus, while hospitals and health care workers can barely keep up. And around the world, the virus is no less devastating.
As the darkness of the pandemic stares us in the face, I’ve been seeing more and more commentaries trying to “explain” why this plague is upon us. The point is to tell us there’s a “message” to this nightmare, either from God or karma or some other higher source.
It’s a wake-up call, we’re being told, a detox for humanity. We were consuming too much, fighting too much, polluting too much, wasting too much. It’s as if humanity has messed up, and the virus is our penitence.
If you listen to Pope Francis, the pandemic is “certainly nature’s response” to humanity’s apathy toward the “partial catastrophes” of climate change.
Some mystics believe the global pandemic is a sign the Messiah is on its way. Others believe it’s some kind of sinister conspiracy.
It’s a wake-up call, we’re being told, a detox for humanity. We were consuming too much, fighting too much, polluting too much, wasting too much. It’s as if humanity has messed up, and the virus is our penitence.
I understand this impulse. It’s tempting to make sense of a catastrophe by turning it into a transcendent message. It helps us “frame” the darkness. It gives it meaning. It makes us feel better.
We can go too far, however, in trying to interpret the unknown. Right now, all we know is how much we don’t know. All of us, experts included, are fumbling through the fog of a uniquely vicious war and improvising as we go.
No one has any idea, transcendent or otherwise, what this pandemic means. The only thing we know for sure is that it’s a bloody disaster.
Yes, there’s always an opportunity to look for light in the darkness, but an opportunity is neither a message nor an explanation. It’s simply something useful we can see.
We can see, for instance, that in these pandemic times, many families are reconnecting, people are going through deep and meaningful introspection, empathy for others is spreading, the earth is getting cleaned and traffic deaths have been drastically reduced.
When we try to explain or interpret calamities, we’re more likely to overlook victims and the harsh realities on the ground.
But none of this light, however consoling, can explain, much less justify, the devastation being inflicted on humanity. When we try to explain or interpret calamities, we’re more likely to overlook victims and the harsh realities on the ground. We put ourselves on a higher plane, in an all-knowing position, as if we can control or dominate the calamity itself.
As I write, the pandemic has killed more than 20,000 in the United States and put more than 16 million out of work. The numbers are only getting worse. Last Friday was our deadliest day, with 2,057 deaths.
There is no message or “explanation” that can console those who are grieving and suffering. There is only a dark reality.
NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 03: A medical worker stands next to a fork lift outside of Brooklyn Hospital Center amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 3, 2020 in New York City. Hospitals have begun using refrigerator trucks as temporary morgues as the COVID-19 death toll has reached nearly 3,000 people in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
But that reality also includes, as Jonah Goldberg writes in The Dispatch, “the people doing small acts of kindness, the people making masks and sending meals for health workers, the people voluntarily staying put when staying put has enormous consequences, the countless corporations and universities dropping everything to work on ventilators, masks, vaccines, tests, etc., and the countless charity groups and voluntary associations jumping into the fray.”
Jumping into the fray to help the less fortunate is the primary message we need right now. Promulgating speculative and consoling “reasons” for the coronavirus can only distract us from the responsibility at hand– which is to fight the pandemic as hard as we can.
If we can find some light and meaning along the way, if we can use these sobering times to learn valuable lessons, to become better humans, to clean up our planet, to improve our relationships— that’s all for the good. This growth is our private journey. We can decide for ourselves what the “message” is.
We’ve been humbled. Let’s accept it. Not everything must happen for a reason. For a world under siege, there is no redeeming reason for the COVID-19 disaster.
There are hidden blessings, certainly, but right now, above all, there is a glaring need to keep fighting, each of us in our own way, until we all get through this darkest of tunnels.
There are hidden blessings, certainly, but right now, above all, there is a glaring need to keep fighting, each of us in our own way, until we all get through this darkest of tunnels.
The Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City hosted the traditional Passover priestly blessing service on Sunday, but unlike in previous years when the plaza was jam-packed with worshippers, the service was kept to an absolute minimum this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The ceremony, held at Judaism’s holiest site during Passover and Sukkot, usually draws tens of thousands. This year, however, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation scaled it back to a mere quorum of 10 Jewish men, in accordance with the Israeli Health Ministry’s social-distancing directives. The ceremony was streamed on social and mainstream media websites.
A second service, also including only 10 men, was held at the Cave of the Patriarchs in the heart of the Old City of Hebron.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was among the worshippers allowed to attend the Jerusalem ceremony.
“Today, I will be one of just 10 worshippers attending the ‘Priestly Blessing’ ceremony at the Western Wall. Last year, I was among 100,000; this year, unfortunately, far less. I will pray that the world is spared further illness or sorrow from COVID-19 or otherwise,” he tweeted.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation invited “the tens of thousands of worshippers and the general public to join the prayer from home.”
A report submitted last week by a team of experts appointed by Israel’s National Security Council presented what it said were the necessary preconditions for exiting the nationwide lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, cautioning that returning to normal economic activity too soon could lead to another outbreak and the collapse of the public healthcare system.
According to the report, the main precondition for returning to normal is a drop in the infection rate, to 10 new patients per day, with the lockdown being reimposed if the number of infections reaches 40 people per day.
As of Sunday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases nationwide stood at 10,878, with 103 fatalities. More than 1,300 have recovered from the disease, according to the latest Health Ministry figures.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – MARCH 23: Demonstrators protest outside the Israeli Parliament on March 23, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. Thousands of israelis gathered to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he is making anti-democratic steps during the Coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
“It will be possible to gradually ease the social distancing policies, and gradually return to a functioning economy, only after a decrease in the rate of new patients [excluding those returning from abroad] to about 10 per day. Dropping to this rate is necessary to ensure a high level of certainty that we will be able to block a new outbreak without having to re-enact stringent social isolation measures,” the report said.
The report added that it would be impossible to lift restrictions in certain parts of the country while the rate of infection remains high in other parts.
The “golden number” of 10 newly diagnosed patients a day was determined to create a safe margin of error that will prevent the collapse of the public healthcare system in Israel. With that, if another outbreak occurs, it will be feasible to tackle it on a regional basis, assuming it can be measured sufficiently per region, according to the report.
“To avoid the need to reinstate countrywide restrictions in the case of a new outbreak, it is imperative to be able to measure the rate of infections in each area separately,” said the report.
To stop a new outbreak from occurring, the experts also noted the need to improve the epidemiological research.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – MARCH 31: Israeli police troops detain an Ultra Orthodox Jewish man as they enforce a partial Coronavirus lockdown in the Mea Shearim nighborhood on March 31, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread to many countries across the world, claiming over 30,000 lives and infecting hundreds of thousands more. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
“This effort is similar to the effort invested in locating lone-wolf terrorists,” the report said. “The ability to prevent infectious situations—and if they occurred to find and isolate them quickly—is critical for keeping the system in a state of dynamic balance.”
Another necessary precondition for stunting an outbreak after the quarantine restrictions are lifted is to administer 10,000 lab tests per day, according to the report.
According to the NSC, exiting the nationwide quarantine will have to be done in two-week intervals to examine the effect of each step of easing restrictions. The report added that there will “also be a need to continue managing the pandemic in this manner until a vaccine is developed, which could take several years.”
The Jewish owner of a bagel chain in Scotland said she was “shocked” after the landlord of one of her stores called her request for an alternative rent payment because of the coronavirus crisis “typical Jewish behavior.”
Larah Bross, who owns Bross Bagels, told the Edinburgh News late last week that she has had to close her five stores and furlough 39 of her 47 staff members because of the pandemic. (The rest are filling limited delivery orders.) Like many other small-business owners, she realized she would not be able to pay April’s rent and so reached out to her landlord.
Landlord Mario Aydemir Demirezen, currently in Turkey for private medical care, told her in a text message that her desire to negotiate the rent in writing was “typical Jewish behavior.”
He told the newspaper from Turkey that he is certain Bross has the money to pay him, as his other renters have. He said it would be difficult to make arrangements from out of the country.
“She is a clever Jewish lady and she is taking advantage of Covid-19 and making more (money) than anyone else,” he told the newspaper. “When I say typical Jewish, I mean they are the richest people in the world and very clever people. She should be proud of her Jewish identity. Jewish people are always clever and there’s nothing wrong with that, she should be proud.”
Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey in a tweet called Demirezen’s comments “disgraceful” and “casual anti-Semitism.”
Bross told the newspaper she is not sure that she will be able to maintain a relationship with her landlord now, even if anticipated government support allows her to pay the rent.
“I would love to know in any context at any time where the term ‘typical Jewish’ was used as a compliment,” she told the Edinburgh News. “I will be happy to offer free bagels for a year to anyone who can provide me with one.”
Mark Wilf, the chairman of the Jewish Federations of North America, in a call between President Donald Trump and faith leaders, noted the toll that social isolation has taken on Holocaust survivors during the coronavirus.
“I would be remiss if I did not mention the toll that this pandemic has taken on the 80 thousand Holocaust survivors in this country, one-third of whom live under the poverty line, many are suffering from the social isolation this pandemic has caused,” Wilf said Wednesday afternoon in a call timed for Passover and Easter. “I know personally that across New York and in my home state of New Jersey our calls and delivery are a lifeline for this group.” He was referring to the delivery of meals to the elderly.
Wilf, who is on the board of 70 Faces Media, JTA’s parent company, thanked Trump and Congress for the $349 billion in the recent $2 trillion pandemic relief package that is dedicated to assisting small businesses, including nonprofits.
In addition to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, Protestants, Catholics and Jews spoke on the 30-minute call. Trump in his introduction said 10,000 clergy across the country called in to listen.
Trump at times, as he has in other appearances during the pandemic, blurred the lines between an informational session and campaigning. He referred to his hopes for reelection this year and suggested that he believed he had the support of those listening.
“I just want to thank everybody very much for being in the call the relationship we’ve developed has been very special, the White House is behind you, the administration is so behind you, and we’re going to have a tremendous five more years, we’re going to have a long time together,” he said.
Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, New Jersey gave the closing prayer and asked particularly for strength for health care workers. “Give them the supplies the medicines and the compassion to help all those in need,” he said.
