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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

BDS Webinar: "How Do We Keep People Hating Israel During a Worldwide Pandemic When They Are Worried About The Lives Of Their Loved Ones And Themselves?"

The BDS Movement is clearly not happy about the coronavirus pandemic.

Not because it has the potential to kill hundreds of thousands or even millions of people. Of course not. Their concern is that the pandemic is distracting the world from what is really important: hating Israel, the great moral imperative of our time.

So they have set up a webinar, during the month of what would have been "Israel Apartheid Week" on campuses, to try to ensure that their mindless troops don't get distracted by minor issues like trying to keep themselves or loved ones safe.


Security! Racism! The Wall! Solidarity! Pandemic! Surely one of those keywords or the photo will attract people to listen to yet more rabid hate for Israel!

Here's the description:
For Israeli Apartheid Week 2020, Rebecca Vilkomersen and Khury Petersen-Smith will explore the concept of security and the racist ways it is deployed, and examine solidarity as a counterpoint. They will discuss the relevance of these concepts during this time of a global pandemic, and share strategies for nonviolent resistance against racism, in keeping with this year’s Israeli Apartheid Week theme, United Against Racism.
The ironies are too many to count. As the entire world tries to secure itself from a deadly virus, BDS wants to argue that security is racism - and the only reason they say that is because Israel emphasizes its security, so it must be wrong.

As a counterpoint, they suggest "solidarity," yet they are against Israel cooperating with Palestinians to fight the pandemic. (You can be sure they won't say a word about how the EU fragmented itself as each member country chose to defend itself rather than the continent.)

Finally, they claim they are against racism when the entire raison d'être of BDS and this seminar is to instill and strengthen a crazed, illogical hate against the Jewish state - an irrational hate that is psychologically identical to hate for people of color or gays.

If someone wants to waste an hour of their lives, I'd love to know how many people actually show up for this - and how many people in the "Palestine Time" timezone.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

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During the current pandemic I've been working harder than ever to get timely, original information out to you.

Besides the usual array of articles that you won't find anywhere else, I've been working overtime to make posters, videos, webcasts, and cartoons. I've been fighting the lies from the anti-Israel community and embarrassing the politicians who repeat their lies.

And this is only in the past couple of weeks!

My tweets made an astonishing 7.8 million impressions in the first three months of this year.

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Thanks again for all your support, and wishing all of you health and happiness and a wonderful upcoming holiday season - together while apart. 



We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

The @NYTimes once again shows its anti-Israel bias

The New York Times has an article about how countries are restricting freedom in the times of the pandemic - and what it says about Israel is quite inaccurate.


 "Israel’s prime minister has shut down courts and begun an intrusive surveillance of citizens."

In reality, Israeli courts have not been shut down. The Justice Minister together with the Courts Administration authority have postponed all non-essential hearings. The courts are still open.

The surveillance is of mobile phone metadata finding where potentially infected people have traveled. It is not much different than correlating the data from ubiquitous security cameras.

And neither measure was done at Netanyahu's order. The limits on what court cases will be heard were carried out by the Justice Minister and Courts Administration. The surveillance was ordered by the Government (i.e., by vote of all the Ministers), in consultation with Attorney General, and approved by the Supreme Court (which has not been closed either.)

What this shows is that the Leftist tropes of an autocratic Bibi have become accepted by the media.

Moreover, the article is biased by what it doesn't say. The only Arab nation it mentions is Jordan:
 In Jordan, after an emergency “defense law” gave wide latitude to his office, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said his government would “deal firmly” with anyone who spreads “rumors, fabrications and false news that sows panic.”
But autocracies like Syria and the Palestinian Authority don't need new laws to limit speech. Palestinians have arrested journalists under an "electronic crimes law" that forbids saying anything the government doesn't like. Syria has detained doctors who dare say that they have seen cases of coronavirus that the regime does not admit. Police in Lebanon have dismantled protest tents. Egypt expelled a journalist that said things not to the regime's liking. Morocco passed a new law limiting what could be said on social media, similar to Jordan's law.

But the New York Times decided that Israel was the autocracy where citizens' human rights are threatened. These Arab regimes who really are using the emergency to grab more power are barely worth mentioning.

(h/t YM and A)


We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Monday, March 30, 2020

03/30 Links Pt2: Coronavirus Fight Should Bring Us All Together, Not Divide Us by Promoting Hatred; How the Coronavirus Pandemic Resurrected the Nation-State

From Ian:
Ronald Lauder: Coronavirus Fight Should Bring Us All Together, Not Divide Us by Promoting Hatred
In frightening and uncertain times - like those we are facing now with the coronavirus - some people all too often and dangerously look for and unjustly blame scapegoats. Holding Asian-Americans responsible for the coronavirus merely because it originated in China is deeply offensive and a genuine threat to them. Such scapegoating is terrifyingly familiar to my community, the Jewish people. And we are also being targeted now.

When the bubonic plague swept through 14th century Europe, Jews were held responsible. Thousands of innocent men, women and children were viciously slaughtered, and entire Jewish communities were wiped out. Needless to say, all that Jewish blood did nothing to stop the plague. Now, messages and images implying that Jews are exploiting positions of power in politics, finance and health care to spread the virus have emerged.

It is vital that the Jewish people and all Americans take an unyielding stand against any and all efforts to vilify any individual, community, people or nation for the crisis unfolding around us. This is a moment for coming together in a globally shared experience as we recognize what we have in common. We are all in this together. We will not allow COVID-19 to rob us of our civility, our pride in our nation's diversity, and our ability to build a more perfect union across the many communities that call America home.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn are fighting COVID-19 – and antisemitism
Last Saturday, Yidel Perlstein, chairman of Community Board 12 in Borough Park, Brooklyn, started to feel sick. By Tuesday, he tested positive for coronavirus.

“I’m like a little supermarket. Everything hurts, and every day I get out of bed in the morning, I go to the bathroom, and I think I’m doing better,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “Then I start getting dizzy and weak. I go back to bed, just wait for it to be calm at night and go to sleep. And this has been going on like that every single day.”

“They told me I’m better off staying home as long as I can instead of going to the hospital, which is overcrowded,” he said. “It is better to stay away for as long as possible. So far, I don’t feel any better than last week. It is probably worse.”

“My message is straightforward,” Perlstein said. “If you would have gotten [the coronavirus] and you would know how painful it is, you would have rather stayed home for six weeks than going out and getting it, even with the light case.

“People have no idea. People cannot relate to how painful it is and how you could just lay in bed like you’re almost dead for days and days – and there’s nothing to do.”

New York State has some 60,000 cases and nearly 1,000 people who have died from coronavirus, the largest number in the US by far. Most of the patients, some 33,000, live in the New York City metropolitan area. The new situation affects the sizable Jewish population there, forcing synagogues, schools and yeshivas to close.

Some “99.9%” of the synagogues are closed, as well as schools and most of the stores, Perlstein told the Post.


Netanyahu limits all gatherings to 2 people, except for family members; demands ‘lockdown Seder’
Netanyahu says there are “particular groups” in the country not adhering to emergency directives — “deliberately breaching and even showing contempt” for the rules– and that he therefore ordered security forces to step up enforcement in areas with a high number of violations.

He stresses that most Israelis, including those in the ultra-Orthodox community, are acting responsibly. The “extremist groups” who are flouting the rules, he says, endanger themselves and everybody else, and are trampling on the principle of “love thy neighbor.”

“There won’t be gatherings of over two people who are not from the same nuclear family,” he announces.

Additionally, he says no kind of prayer will be allowed even in open areas — “pray only on your own” — and that religious events should be restricted as much as possible.

Even weddings must be restricted only to immediately family, he says. Funerals remain limited to 20 people, and circumcisions to 10 — all while maintaining two-meter social distancing.

Netanyahu also calls on Israelis not to visit family during the Passover holiday.

This year’s Passover Seder will be “the lockdown seder” — with only the nuclear family attending. “Don’t visit relatives on the eve of the festival either,” he stresses.

“These same restrictions apply as relevant to all faiths,” he notes.



How the Coronavirus Pandemic Resurrected the Nation-State
When the coronavirus disappears, it will leave behind a different world. The first, and most surprising, lesson is that the coronavirus reinforces the notion of national sovereignty.

The virus does not recognize national boundaries, but the struggle against it reflects a distinct national state of mind. One by one, nation-states are putting their citizens first.

Countries around the world decided to close their borders, physically separating their citizens from those of other states. National sentiments prevailed, proving, once again, that in times of crisis, fellow nationals come together. Others - in this case, those residing outside our borders - turn into a threat.

In each of the countries facing the crisis, a common ritual ensued, with the leader addressing his or her citizens, appearing against the backdrop of the national flag. The battered Italians wrapped themselves in their tricolor flag while they stood on their balconies, singing the national anthem and Italian folk songs.

The coronavirus has placed a civil-territorial kind of nationalism at the center of the political stage, reminding us that national identity is deeply rooted in our political cultures.

Coronavirus: How "Progressive" Ideology Led to Catastrophe in Spain
A class action lawsuit filed on March 19 accuses the Spanish government — highly ideological by any standard, as the Communist coalition partner, Podemos, was founded with seed money from the Venezuelan government — of knowingly endangering public safety by encouraging the public to participate in more than 75 feminist marches, held across Spain on March 8, to mark International Women's Day.

The Spanish government's main point man for the coronavirus, Fernando Simón, claimed in a nationwide press conference that there was no risk of attending the rallies on March 8. "If my son asks me if he can go, I will tell him to do whatever he wants," he said.

"Honestly, it seems to me a joke that the government has waited until today, clearly for political reasons, to make this announcement. The Socialist-Communist government has once again put its political interests above the common good. This gross negligence should lead to resignations. — Elentir, Contando Estrelas, March 9, 2020.


Jay-Z and Jay Electronica Lick Louis Farrakhan Up and Down
Jay Elec is far too smart to just outright say what—rather than who—it was he bagged in England, or to spell out what he thinks it means for a proud follower of the NOI to sleep with and then homewreck the prototypical rich Jew. Here on “Soulja Slim,” that psychosexual fascination with the Jews is slyly glanced at without being named. “The Synagogue of Satan wants to hang me by my collar,” Jay raps in the very next line after the Rothschild name check. Only the very obtuse could miss the reference in that one: In a 2018 speech, Farrakhan asked his followers, “I wonder, will you recognize Satan? I wonder if you will see the satanic Jew and the synagogue of Satan?”

Elsewhere on the album, Jay raps about driving through the desert listening to Farrakhan lectures along with “Serge Gainsbourg or Madonna or a podcast on piranhas,” just one of the album’s many effortlessly dexterous internal rhymes. “Du’a’s up for the honorable Louis Farrakhan/Who pulled me out the grave and pointed me towards the Sunnah,” he raps on “Flux Capacitor.” “Satan struck Palestine with yet another mortar,” Jay frets on “Fruits of the Spirit.” By now, Jay hasn’t earned the assumption that he’s only talking about his objections to specific Israeli policies here.

What makes the record a mainstream hip-hop event isn’t the skill of Jay Electronica or the constant invocation of Farrakhan, who has long been selling himself as a “peacemaker” in the rap world. Rather, it’s the tacit blessing being bestowed on both men by Jay-Z, the titan whose Roc Nation label released A Written Testimony and whose Tidal streaming service has extensively promoted the album.

Jay-Z, one of the dominant figures in hip-hop, and therefore in American life, appears on eight of the 10 tracks on A Written Testimony, and Jay Elec can hardly believe his luck. Having Jay-Z as a sidekick on his full-length debut, he raps, is like winning the lottery—and he’s right. His weird tapestry of Farrakhan acclamation is legitimated and popularized through Jay-Z’s presence. More than that, A Written Testimony has some of the best rapping of Jay-Z’s entire, nearly three-decade career. Thanks to Jay Elec, Jay-Z, now 50 years old and an elder statesman of whom little is now expected in the way of actual art, is possessed of a new sense of poetry and purpose.

A Jewish fan—or at least this Jewish fan, who has been listening to Jay-Z since he was 11 years old—can’t help but wonder whether this breakthrough was really worth it, though, and wonder at what Jay really believes in his heart. Does he buy into NOI’s rhetoric on some level, a possibility for which there is at least some evidence, or is he simply supporting a friend and artistic collaborator whose work he wants to boost? Put another way: Is Jay-Z guilty of worse sins than moral deafness? Given the depth of his participation in Testimony, the answer might not even matter much.
Human Rights Watch: Give Terrorists Unemployment Benefits, Psychological Counseling (satire)
As cities go on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, jihadists are increasingly finding themselves out of human targets, and therefore out of jobs.

The Mideast Beast spoke to Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth about the financial distress that Covid-19 is causing terrorists from ISIS to Al Qaeda and Hezbollah: “Human Rights Watch is concerned by the shutting down of entire cities, and indeed countries, causing militant Islamists a devastating loss of livelihood. Terrorism as a profession is met with severe discrimination on the job market and militant Islamists therefore find themselves unable to apply for unemployment benefits alongside millions of others who have lost their jobs because of Covid-19. Just as corona does not discriminate, governments should not discriminate. Human Rights Watch strongly recommends that terrorists be allowed to apply for unemployment benefits”, Kenneth Roth said.

“More than anything, however”, Roth continued, “ the emotional distress and cumulative psychological harm that militant Islamists experience from being unable to target Westerners who have become inaccessible due to self-isolation at home, is probably incalculable. Terrorists experience greater levels of depression and anxiety than many other victims of unemployment, because they see their profession as a calling from God. They feel deprived of self-respect and dignity, and as a result struggle with common tasks of socialization. The impact can be seen as a form of PTSD and therefore requires a long recovery period, if recovery is even possible. Human Rights Watch therefore recommends that psychological counseling be made immediately available to alleviate the consequences, which could even result in increased radicalization”.




BBC News ignores rocket attack from Gaza Strip
Neither have BBC audiences seen any mention of an incident which took place on the evening of March 27th.

“Terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket toward Israeli territory, triggering warning sirens in the southern town of Sderot and the surrounding area on Friday evening, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

A regional spokesman said the projectile apparently fell in an open area and there were no injuries or damage.

The IDF retaliated later Friday night.”

By contrast, consumers of BBC content on both domestic and international platforms have repeatedly – but erroneously – been informed since mid-March that the reason that the Gaza Strip is badly placed to cope with the Covid 19 outbreak is “crippling” Israeli measures taken against terror organisations which the corporation cannot even bring itself to name as such.

Although the BBC consistently fails to provide its audiences with a representative portrayal of rocket attacks perpetrated against Israeli civilians by terror factions in the Gaza Strip, one would have thought that a story about civilians in lock-down and quarantine having to dash to air-raid shelters during a pandemic – and the subsequent issue of guidelines on how to respond to such a situation – would have sparked at least a bit of interest on the part of BBC journalists in Jerusalem.
New Jersey Man in Custody for Threatening to Beat Up Orthodox Jews Over Coronavirus Distancing
A New Jersey man is behind bars after allegedly making violent threats on Facebook against a local Jewish community over the coronavirus pandemic.

42-year-old Anthony Lodespoto of Howell, New Jersey, was arrested on Friday afternoon and taken to Ocean County Jail.

The previous night, Lodespoto posted his antisemitic threat using Facebook Messenger — asserting that the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood, New Jersey, was not observing social distancing protocols, and warning that he planned to travel to the township “with the purpose of assaulting members of the Jewish community with a baseball bat,” the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Lodespoto also sent a similar direct message to Gov. Phil Murphy’s Facebook account on Friday, New Jersey state police confirmed in a separate statement.

New Jersey police spokesperson Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith explained in a statement that Lodespoto had “made specific threats to cause harm to members of the Jewish community for not complying with the orders set forth” regarding distancing.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said that his office was determined to combat acts of hatred sparked by conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.
Greek activist who tore swastika off the Acropolis in WW2 dies aged 97
Manolis Glezos, a prominent Greek whose act of defiance against Nazi occupation during World War Two was a rallying cry for the country's resistance movement, died on Monday, authorities said. He was 97.

Revered across Greece's political spectrum, Glezos was most famous for scaling the steep walls of the Acropolis with a friend in 1941 to take down the swastika and replace it with the Greek flag.

It was the first visible act of resistance against the Nazis, who occupied Greece between 1941 and 1944. He was sentenced to death in absentia.
Glezos died of heart failure at a central Athens hospital, where he was admitted on March 18.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis led tributes to Glezos, calling him a "lionheart" and "the sweetest man."

"The death of Manolis Glezos leaves Greeks poorer, but the legacy of his life leaves Greece richer," he said in a statement.

"His example, that of a true patriot and fighter, is a guiding light for us all. And it gives us the strength to unite to overcome difficulties, like those we are experiencing today," Mitsotakis said, referring to the coronavirus crisis.

Former left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said: "He will live on through eternity as the symbol of a fighter who knew how to sacrifice himself for his fellow man."
Dario Gabbai, Auschwitz Sonderkommando survivor, dies at 97
Our dear friend and inspiration Dario Gabbai passed away peacefully Wednesday 25 March 2020. A gentle soul and figure of resilience, Dario was born in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 2, 1922 and grew up in a close-knit Jewish Italian neighborhood with a full house, including his younger brother Samuel, older brother Jacob, parents and maternal grandparents. Dario was an athlete and clarinetist, and was preparing to study medicine at university in 1938 when such education opportunities were stripped away from all Jews in fascist Italy.

Dario and most of his family were swept up in the destruction of the Holocaust, and he ended up becoming a prisoner at Auschwitz II-Birkenau with his two cousins, Morris and Shlomo Venezia. All three were among the Greek and Italian prisoners selected by the Nazis to be Sonderkommandos – Jews who were forced to usher people into gas chambers, and then haul out the bodies, take them to the crematorium, and clean up the room for the next group of victims. Most Sonderkommando were murdered by the Nazis; Dario and his two cousins were among the very few to survive the Holocaust.

Dario never wanted revenge on the perpetrators of the Holocaust. He believed it is more impactful to have respectful dialogue to prevent discrimination and genocide, and to promote understanding among humanity. Dario told his story many times in hopes of reaching people, including two testimonies for USC Shoah Foundation and several documentary films. Dario shared that he struggled throughout his lifetime with the terrible truths of his life experiences, but Dario bravely shared his story to educate young people. Dario joined the USC Shoah Foundation delegation during the 70th anniversary commemoration at Auschwitz to shine a light on his experience: he placed a candle on the memorial at the end of the ramp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, just steps from Crematorium II where he was forced to work during the Holocaust. He had a love of life including swimming daily up until very recent years, restaurants, his sidewalk cafe coffee group, being with friends, bringing friends gifts of chocolate. He loved the younger generation and had great appreciation and hope for the future. View Dario’s 2015 USC Shoah Foundation testimony here. May his memory be a blessing and an inspiration.
Dutch Jew who rescued 100s in Vichy France finally recognized — 80 years later
In August 1942, as the Nazis’ net grew ever tighter around the Jews of Vichy France, a Dutch diplomat walked into Lyon’s Palais de Justice and successfully demanded the release of 118 prisoners being held there.

The following day, the same Dutchman, Sally Noach, appeared at the Stade des Iris on the outskirts of the city. He had received a tip off from a police source pointing it out as the place where all the remaining Jews from Vichy’s holding centers were being detained.

Most spoke Polish and Yiddish, and he spoke neither. However, using mime and sign language, he managed to make himself understood.

“I gave people made-up names and fake personal details. I went on writing until I ran out of papers,” Noach later recalled.

In all, 432 people were issued false papers registering them as Dutch and thus securing their freedom and escape from near-certain death.

But Noach was no ordinary Dutch diplomat and, although perhaps the most daring and audacious of his efforts, this was not the first time he had used a combination of extraordinary bluff and bravery to rescue imperiled Jews.

In fact, Noach was himself a Jewish refugee and former traveling textile salesman. In the summer of 1940, Noach had volunteered his services as a translator at the Dutch consulate in Lyon and, over the course of two years, used his position to undertake what he termed “freedom missions.”

Noach — who died 40 years ago this month — rarely spoke about his wartime exploits. It is only through the relentless digging and detective work of his children, Lady Irene Hatter, a British philanthropist married to the former industrialist Sir Maurice Hatter, and Jacques Noach, that the full story of his activities in Lyon has now come to be told.
Ask Museum of the Bible: The Truth Shall Set You Free
In 1947, teenagers were tending their sheep near the ancient ruins of Qumran in Israel. One of the shepherds tossed a rock into the opening of a cave and heard a shattering sound. Curious as to what he hit, he and his friends entered the cave and found a collection of clay jars housing scrolls made of leather and papyrus. Word quickly spread, and archaeologists excavated this and ten other caves at Qumran, unearthing thousands of other scroll fragments containing texts as old as 2,000 years. Fragments from every book of the whole Hebrew Bible (except Esther) are part of what has come to be known as the Dead Sea Scroll Discovery, and over 100,000 genuine fragments are currently housed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Starting in 2002, 70 more Dead Sea Scroll fragments appeared on the market. Dead Sea Scrolls experts endorsed them as authentic. Between 2009 and 2014, Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby and collector of biblical manuscripts and artifacts, purchased a total of 16 fragments with plans to display them in the soon-to-be-built Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. When they were published in 2016, scholars had already started to doubt the fragments’ authenticity. While five of the fragments underwent scientific testing in Germany in 2017, the museum opened with the fragments on display, with signs informing visitors of their uncertain status. In October 2018, the German lab concluded that the five fragments were “inconsistent with ancient origins.” This prompted the museum to investigate its entire collection of 16 fragments more comprehensively, and they sought my help to do so.

I am the founder and director of Art Fraud Insights, a consultancy dedicated to art-fraud-related lectures and training and to specialized investigation of artworks. I have led an anti-fraud initiative for a major online auction house, trained federal agents in forgery investigations, curated museum exhibitions, and lectured at universities and museums throughout the world. My message has consistently been the same: Fakes and forgeries permeate every sector of the art and culture market. The risk of fraud is substantial, and no collector or institution, no matter how affluent or sophisticated, is immune to it.

When the Museum of the Bible retained my firm, it gave me the green light to recruit and manage an independent advisory team — of scientists, conservators, and technicians — to design and conduct a rigorous scientific protocol for the imaging and materials analysis of the questioned fragments. Both the museum and the research team agreed that the approach needed to be designed to ensure objectivity, transparency, and reproducibility. That meant that the only role the museum had in our research was to provide access to the collection. It was mutually agreed upon that the museum would not influence the team’s research direction or findings and that our report would be final and released, unedited, to the public.

From May through October 2019, comprehensive imaging and scientific research and analysis were conducted on the fragments, with National Geographic photographers capturing several phases of the state-of-the-art process. Museum of the Bible wanted to fully document the process, regardless of the results, to facilitate transparent communication with the scholarly community and the general public. From the beginning, plans were in place for a conference to announce the completion of the scientific research effort and to disclose its conclusions.

After an exhaustive review of all the evidence — physical, elemental, and molecular — the advisory team came to the unanimous conclusion that none of the museum’s Dead Sea Scroll fragments are authentic. “Each exhibits characteristics that suggest they are deliberate forgeries created in the twentieth century with the intent to mimic authentic Dead Sea Scrolls fragments,” we noted in our final report.
Postponed Tokyo Olympics to open July 23, 2021
The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 next year, organizers said on Monday, after the coronavirus forced the historic decision to postpone the Games until 2021.

“The Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The Paralympics will be held from August 24 to September 5,” Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a hastily arranged news conference.

Only hours earlier, Mori had said he expected a decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the course of the week.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were due to open on July 24 this year and run for 16 days, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the first peacetime postponement of the Games.

The IOC and Japan had for weeks insisted the show could go on but the rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted growing disquiet among athletes and sporting federations.

The Olympics was the highest-profile sporting casualty of the coronavirus, which has wiped out fixtures worldwide and all but halted professional sports.

There was some speculation that Japanese organizers could take advantage of the blank canvas to shift the Games to spring, avoiding the heat of the Tokyo summer that had been their main concern before coronavirus struck.
Japan virus cases spike after Olympics delayed, sparking questions
Before the Olympics were postponed, Japan looked like it had coronavirus infections contained, even as they spread in neighboring countries. Now that the games have been pushed to next year, Tokyo’s cases are spiking, and the city’s governor is requesting that people stay home, even hinting at a possible lockdown.

The sudden rise in the number of virus cases in Tokyo and the government’s strong actions immediately after the Olympic postponement have raised questions in parliament and among citizens about whether Japan understated the extent of the outbreak and delayed enforcement of social distancing measures while clinging to hopes that the games would start on July 24 as scheduled.

With the Olympics now off, many are voicing suspicion that the numbers are rising because Japan suddenly has no reason to hide them.

“In order to make an impression that the city was taking control of the coronavirus, Tokyo avoided making strict requests and made the number of patients look smaller,” former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in a tweet. “The coronavirus has spread while they waited. (For Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike) it was Olympics first, not Tokyo’s residents.”

Experts have found a rise of untraceable cases mushrooming in Tokyo, Osaka and other urban areas — signs of an explosive increase in infections.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Saturday that Japan is now on the brink of a huge jump in cases as it becomes increasingly difficult to trace and keep clusters under control.

“Once infections overshoot, our strategy … will instantly fall apart,” Abe warned. “Under the current situation, we are just barely holding up.” He said a state of emergency is not needed just yet, but that Japan could at any time face a situation as bad as in the United States or Europe.
Ministry of Strategic Affairs Convenes Zoom Conference on Pro-Israel advocacy in age of Corona
Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs convened a meeting of 40 public opinion leaders and influencers via Zoom video conference about the Coronavirus and pro-Israel advocacy in its wake. Leaders from 11 countries including South Africa, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, Sweden, the United States, Argentina, and others participated in the conference. Participants shared their experiences of isolation, as well as uncertainty about the health situation and the economy. Some of the attendees noted that their country is not taking sufficient steps to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus, in contrast to what Israel is doing.

The discussion focused on the fact that the Corona epidemic has become fertile ground for the spreading of false and anti-semitic propaganda against the State of Israel and the Jewish people. In light of the new restrictions and realities, it is clear to all that Israel must use creative and relevant ways of stating its case and make a full transition to the digital world.

As part of the discussion, Uriel Goldberg, Director of International Relations of Magen David Adom, discussed the organization’s challenges in the fight against the Coronavirus in Israel.

At the meeting’s conclusion, participants raised a toast to the DigiTell network on the beginning of its third year of activity, and determined that this meeting would be the first of a series of meetings that will address Israel’s challenges in the wake of the global Corona crisis and determine new paths to take.


Leader of ultra-Orthodox world calls for lone prayer due to coronavirus

ZoomBa - IDF Zumba Training over Zoom




Jerusalem Orchestra East & West Performs Virtual Concert Amid Coronavirus Outbreak


We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Who cares more for Palestinians, Israel or BDS? (poster)

The pandemic gives us a chance to highlight one of the most ridiculous demands by BDS (and by many Palestinians and Arabs themselves) against "normalization" with Israel.

In order to fight the coronavirus, everyone has to work together. But working together with Israel violates one of the core BDS principles, of being against "normalization" with Israel.

By BDS' definition, normalization is "the participation in any project, initiative or activity, in Palestine or internationally, that aims (implicitly or explicitly) to bring together Palestinians (and/or Arabs) and Israelis (people or institutions) without placing as its goal resistance to and exposure of the Israeli occupation and all forms of discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people.”

Therefore, a meeting last week between Palestinian doctors from Jericho and Israeli experts on how to fight the coronavirus would be a violation of the BDS demands. And so is all the other cooperation between Israelis and Arabs on fighting the pandemic.



How absurd that a movement supposedly meant to help Palestinians would prefer that they not cooperate against a worldwide threat! But there you have it - BDS doesn't care about Palestinians.

And Israel does.




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Forget gas masks and ventilators - Hamas suffering from a shortage or martyrs

The current pandemic has reduced the number of terror attacks and riots in Israel and the territories to nearly zero.  In fact, today is "Land Day," a major event that is usually marked with mass anti-Israel rallies, and this year the Palestinians can do virtually nothing.

Hamas, which is built on a culture of glorifying death and "martyrs," has very little to talk about without physical attacks.  So its top story on the Al Qassam Brigades website is about the "martyrdom" of someone who just died of injuries from a car accident four years ago.

Al-Qassam Brigades said in its military statement that the Mujahideen Muhammad Issa Baraka from Khan Yunis, died today, Saturday 4 Shaaban 1441 AH corresponding to 3/28/2020 AD, as a result of his injury in a traffic accident 4 years ago.

"To go to his Lord after a blessed life full of giving, jihad, sacrifice and bond in the way of Allah, we count him among the righteous martyrs who are pure and do not commend ourselves to Allah."

We ask Allah to accept him in the martyrs, and to accommodate him in his spacious gardens, and to provide his family with beautiful patience and good consolation, and we belong to God and to Him we shall return.
Pity poor Hamas who needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find new "martyrs" to praise.

I guess the terror group didn't want to waste their martyr photos:








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03/30 Links Pt1: 16th Israeli dies of virus, Health Ministry predicts 150 critical patients; Man stabbed in Monsey Hanukkah attack succumbs to wounds

From Ian:
Man stabbed in Monsey Hanukkah attack succumbs to wounds
A man seriously wounded in a Hanukkah attack on a Jewish gathering in Monsey, New York, has died, three months after the stabbing rampage.

Josef Neumann, 72, succumbed to wounds sustained during the December 29 machete assault, a local Jewish group said Sunday.

“We are sad to inform you that Yosef Neumann, who was stabbed during the Hanukkah attack in Monsey late Dec 2019, passed away this evening,” the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Rabbi Yisroel Kahan, who is the community liaison for the Ramapo Police Department that serves Monsey and executive director of Oizrim Jewish Council, shared the news of Neumann’s passing on his Twitter account as well.

“We were hoping when he started to open his eyes,” Rabbi Yisroel Kahan told The Journal News on Sunday night. “We were hoping and praying he would then pull through. This is so very sad he was killed celebrating Hanukkah with friends just because he was a Jew.”

Neumann was the most seriously injured in the attack and doctors had said there was little chance he would ever make a full recovery. He had been in a coma since the attack, according to NBC News.

His death came despite hopes that his condition may improve after he reportedly opened his eyes at the end of February.
16th Israeli dies of virus, Health Ministry predicts 150 critical patients
Israel's coronavirus death toll climbed to 16 on Monday after a 58-year-old man with underlying medical conditions died at the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center, south of Tel Aviv.

The news came as Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov warned that there are likely to be over 150 coronavirus patients in a serious condition in Israel by the weekend.

"I don't see a model in which we end this situation with a small number of intubated patients or deaths," Bar Siman Tov told KAN Reshet Bet.

A total of 4,347 Israelis have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus to date, including 80 people in serious condition - among them a young man in his 20s who was hospitalized at Assuta Ashdod University Hospital - and 63 patients requiring ventilation.

Despite testing close to 6,000 people on Sunday, Bar Siman Tov said the tests were only giving authorities a "very partial picture" of the real situation.
PMW: Coronavirus and PA financial priorities
The amount the PA is paying terrorists this month could buy them 387,143 Coronavirus test kits or 465 ventilators instead

For which leaders is the payment of financial rewards to terrorists more important than supporting the needy or paying teachers?

The answer is, of course, the Palestinian Authority leaders– during the Coronavirus crisis!

Anticipating a fall in income, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh announced that the payment of the March salaries will be staggered, and every day a different group of PA employees will be paid. The order of payment is a clear indication of the PA’s priorities.

Preceded only by the medical and supporting personnel, and the PA Security Forces members, third in line to receive their share of the limited PA budget are the terrorist prisoners and the families of the dead terrorists, the so-called “Martyrs.”

“Since the wheels of production, import, and consumption have stopped, there will be a large drop of more than 50% in the PA’s revenues… The international aid will decrease because the entire world is in crisis, and therefore we will work according to an emergency austerity budget by reducing the expenses as much as possible. However, we will pay the salaries for this month [March] in full and over the course of several days in order to prevent gatherings in front of the banks, and this [will be] in the following manner:

On Sunday the salaries of the medical and supporting personnel will be paid.
On Monday to the [PA] Security Forces members.
On Tuesday to the prisoners and [the families of] the Martyrs.
On Wednesday to welfare cases and the poor.
On Thursday to the teachers.
On Friday to the rest of the [PA] public employees.
The last payment, on Saturday, will be to senior officials, to high level state employees, and to the ministers.”
[WAFA, Official PA news agency, March 29, 2020]

As Palestinian Media Watch has shown, this is not the first time the PA has clearly demonstrated its warped priorities. In 2019, when the PA decided to plunge itself into a self-made financial crisis and was forced to cut salaries to its law abiding employees, it nevertheless committed itself to paying, in full, the salaries of the terrorist prisoners and allowances of the families of the dead terrorists.

Similarly, the fact that the PA prioritizes the payment of the terror rewards over the payment of benefits to the needy Palestinians, is not a surprise. As PMW demonstrated, the PA devotes six times more of its budget to the terrorist prisoners and the families of the dead terrorists than it does to its needy.



Poll finds public gives good marks to Netanyahu on coronavirus
In the midst of the crisis over the coronavirus, a majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is handling it well, according to a poll taken for the Israel Democracy Institute.

The poll of 611 Israelis representing a statistical sample of the Israeli adult population asked about several public figures and counted what percent of them gave the public figures grades of good or very good.

Sixty percent gave Netanyahu at lest a good grade. The only public figure who scored higher was Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov, with 68%.

The rest of the public figures did not get a positive grade from a majority of the public. Health Minister Yaakov Litzman got a good grade from 40% of respondents, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz from 34%, former Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein 31% and incoming opposition leader Yair Lapid 18%.

As for institutions, the hospitals received a positive score from 83%, the media from 58% and the Finance Ministry from 39%.

Despite the crisis, a majority of the interviewees (60%) reported that their mood was very good or moderately good, while 37% defined their mood as moderately bad or very bad.

Seventy-five percent are very afraid or moderately afraid that they or one of their family members will be infected with the coronavirus, and about the same number (73.5%) acknowledge that they fear for their own economic situation.
Netanyahu, aides self-isolating as precaution after adviser infected with virus
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers are voluntarily entering quarantine as a precaution until Health Ministry officials finish their epidemiological investigation into whether he was exposed to the coronavirus, his office said Monday, hours after saying the move was unnecessary.

“Even before the epidemiological investigation is over and to remove all doubt, the prime minister has decided that he and his close staff will remain in isolation until the epidemiological investigation is completed,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“In accordance with the findings, the Health Ministry and the personal physician of the prime minister will set a day to end the isolation,” it added.

Netanyahu’s aide Rivka Paluch was confirmed infected with the virus on Sunday, but it remains unclear whether the prime minister was in close contact with her.

Reports earlier in the day had said Netanyahu would have to be quarantined, but his bureau countered that, saying in a statement that the premier hadn’t been in the same room as Paluch in the last two weeks.
Honest Reporting: Coronavirus And 7 Reasons Why There’s No ‘Gaza Siege’
Here are seven reasons why Gaza’s situation is far removed from the definition above.

1. Israel does not want to capture Gaza. Israel withdrew its soldiers and its civilian population from the Gaza Strip in the 2005 Disengagement. If Israel wished to retake Gaza, it would not need to lay siege to the territory before using its considerable military power to retake it.

2. A siege is an aggressive military act. But who is actually attacking whom? All of Israel’s military operations since withdrawing from the Gaza Strip have been in response to thousands of rockets fired by Palestinian terror organizations towards Israeli population centers.

3. In fact, Israel’s blockade is a defensive measure meant to protect its population from terrorists by preventing those terrorists entering Israel, smuggling weaponry into the Gaza Strip, or getting hold of materials that could be used to manufacture weapons. Indeed, the primary reason for the Gaza blockade from both the Israeli and Egyptian sides is the threat of Hamas weapons smuggling.

4. What kind of “siege” can Gaza be under when the “besieged” call on their people not to travel abroad? Indeed, under the threat of coronavirus, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in March 2020, urged Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to avoid travel abroad. “We call on citizens to not depart the Gaza Strip — unless totally necessary — in order to preserve their well-being,” the ministry said in a statement. Further evidence that movement of people, while restricted to those with permits from Israeli authorities and the few hundred per day allowed through the Egyptian Rafah border crossing, is still possible.
UN praises ‘excellent’ Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in fight against pandemic
Perhaps uncharacteristically, the United Nations has showered praise on Israel for its “excellent” cooperation with the Palestinian Authority in fighting the coronavirus.

PA government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem has repeatedly mentioned working together with Israel in his daily press briefings. However, other Palestinian top officials have continued to condemn the Jewish state, accusing it of cruelly abusing the health crisis to violate Palestinian human rights.

“We hold discussions and consultations every day with the relevant UN officials. We hear from them praise for the State of Israel for the coordination and good cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, which in our view is essential and necessary for an effective response to the spread of the virus,” Alon Bar, deputy director-general for the UN and international organizations at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said Sunday.

Israeli and Palestinian officials, having long worked together on security and civil matters, recently set up a special mechanism to communicate “moment by moment” on all issues related to the virus, a senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel.

But while the Palestinians don’t generally talk too much about their coordination with Israel, various UN officials went out of their way over the past week to highlight it.




Tom Gross: Some European leaders thank Netanyahu for pushing them to act against coronavirus


Jack Ma, Alibaba Foundation Donate Medical Supplies to Israel to Fight Coronavirus
Jack Ma, the founder and former chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, through the Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation has donated medical supplies to Israel to help fight the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the foundations announced Sunday. The supplies include Covid-19 test kits, face masks, face shields, and protective clothing.

The two cargo flights loaded with the medical supplies departed from Shanghai and arrived in Tel Aviv Sunday.

The foundations have also donated medical supplies and testing kits to 24 Latin American countries including Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, testing kits and masks to 54 countries throughout Africa, and 800 ventilators to different countries in Europe.

Ma has visited Israel twice, both times in 2018, during which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, local tech entrepreneurs, and received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University.
Coronavirus with VP Mike Pence and Dr. Deborah Birx | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 88
Vice President Mike Pence, Chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and Dr. Deborah Birx, United States Global AIDS Coordinator and Response Coordinator for the task force, join me to discuss the White House decision making process, when we can expect all of this to come to an end, and much more.


US Ambassador to Israel donates $50 thousand for needy Israelis
For the upcoming Passover holiday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and his wife Tammy donated $50,000 to Leket Israel, Israel's largest food aid organization, to help fund their hot meals distribution program for needy populations across the country.

This contributes to the donation made by the Family Fund Of Inbar and Marius Nacht.

Ambassador Friedman and his wife are donating the $50,000 to help secure the nutritional security of the elderly and needy during the coronavirus crisis.

Throughout the year, Leket Israel deals with food rescue through donations of surplus food received from hotels, catering companies, the IDF and other sources.

In addition, the organization receives surplus agricultural food, transferring it through a process that ensures maximum food security, to about 200 nonprofits across the country that deliver food to approximately 175,000 people in need.
Johnson & Johnson to start coronavirus vaccine human trials in September
Johnson & Johnson said on Monday that it and the U.S. government will invest $1 billion to create enough manufacturing capacity to make more than 1 billion doses of a vaccine it is testing to stop the new coronavirus that has killed more than 35,000 people around the world.

As part of the arrangement, the U.S. government will pay $421 million to support the company's efforts to build new manufacturing capacity in the United States.

J&J said it had selected its own lead vaccine candidate and would start human testing by September, with an eye on having it ready under an emergency use authorization in early 2021, far quicker than the typical 18 month period that it takes for vaccines to be tested, approved and then manufactured.

J&J Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Paul Stoffels told Reuters the company had to start ramping up manufacturing capacity now, even before it has a signal that its experimental vaccine candidate works. The company will start making the vaccine at risk, without knowing for sure that it works.

"That is the only option for us to get it on time," Stoffels said in a phone interview.
Mossad obtains 10 million more coronavirus masks for Israel
The Mossad purchased 10 million protective medical masks to help deal with the coronavirus more than a week ago under the leadership of its director, Yossi Cohen, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Due to the sensitivity of the information, the Post could not report the announcement until Monday when they arrived in Israel, but did note in a report on Friday that eye-popping new acquisitions were on the way.

In addition to the 10 million medical masks, the Mossad brought a few dozen ventilators, tens of thousands more test kits, around 25,000 N95 surgical masks that are designed to protect the wearer from airborne particles and from liquid – and the intelligence agency is expected to bring even more medical equipment to the country. Cohen is heading up a special command center along with other national security units and the Health Ministry.

Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Cohen was taking over the country’s efforts to purchase medical equipment from abroad.

Cohen succeeded in bringing 100,000 test kits to Israel two weeks ago, with an estimated four million on the way.
Israel's tech industry rallies to virus war effort
Leading figures from the industry have set up a war room, and are importing medical equipment for hospitals.

Yasmin Yablonko A war room manned by Israeli technology industry volunteers has been operating in recent days, raising money and buying and importing medical equipment for hospitals in Israel in order to help them cope with the burden of the coronavirus epidemic.

A core of volunteers is coordinating this activity, among them Lemonade cofounder and COO Shai Wininger and Mellanox founder and CEO Eyal Waldman, who is handling purchasing and importing. There is also a larger group of volunteers from various companies, among them Omer Perchik from startup Any.do and Guy Globerman from Israel 2050. The group has already raised substantial sums, which it is using to buy medical equipment and import it to Israel, but it has yet to disclose details about its fundraising.

"It is wonderful to see the spontaneous and broad enlistment in this effort here: Mellanox, which has been dealing with the matter for a long time, and investing many resources, including air shipping of equipment; companies such as El Al and Israir, which are contributing cargo flights; and other entrepreneurs helping in fundraising and operations," Wininger says. He explains that the war room is operating in three main areas: fundraising, learning about hospitals' needs, and purchasing equipment and bringing it to Israel. Activity currently focuses on perishable equipment, such as masks, rather than respirators.
Ra’anana High School Team Invents Simple, Cheap Respirator, Soon to Be Mass Produced
Mentors in the robotics group Steampunk1577 from Avib High School in Ra’anana, Israel, have joined the Defense Ministry and the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT), which is relying on robotics teams around the country to create a new prototype for automated respirators.

The venture, which also includes the Air Force and MDA, was launched in preparation for an escalation of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel, which is expected to result in shortages of automatic ventilators. As part of the venture, robotics groups across the country which are enrolled in the robotics organization FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), were requested to come up with a new, automated prototype, based on the Ambu resuscitator, which is used to manually blow air through a patient’s mouth into the common in ambulances and hospitals.

The venture involves team mentors from the three groups that participate in the project: Aviv High School in Ra’anana, a group from Shoham, and a group from Binyamina.

Currently, the three groups have collaborated on a prototype that is already undergoing trials at Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) in Tel Aviv, one of Israel’s largest hospitals. The prototype is expected to go into mass production in the coming weeks, and two new prototypes are on the way.
Prof. Levitt Explains his ‘I’ll Be Surprised If 10 Israelis Die’ Statement
Finally, remember Professor Michael Levitt, the American-British-Israeli-South African biophysicist, and professor of structural biology at Stanford University, who gained notoriety in Israel a couple of week ago for saying, “I would be surprised if more than 10 people die in Israel”? Well, after the 15th victim had died on Sunday, Prof. Levitt was asked to defend his statement on Reshet Bet radio. He gave a good answer, but it involved using the blood-curdling logic of the folks who put together actuarial tables, determining the probability that a person of a given age will die before his or her next birthday.

Prof. Levitt explained that when he said “people” he meant individuals with a robust life expectancy. Statistically speaking, he noted, “the average age of the deceased in Israel is the highest in the world, 83-84,” when it came to coronavirus victims. All those folks would have died anyway in a statistical minute, or as Levitt put it: “If you add up all the dead so far in Israel, it’s like losing a single 31-year-old in a scooter accident,” in actuarial terms.

Indeed, when you check the list of coronavirus casualties by country, you quickly realize that Israel has suffered the lowest number of dead compared to countries with the same general economic situation and a similar number of infections, as of Monday morning:
IDF returns Jordanian seeking coronavirus treatment after crossing border
A Jordanian citizen reportedly seeking treatment for the coronavirus was transferred back Jordan after being detained by IDF troops.

The man was identified by a resident of Beit Yosef after he crossed into Israel’s northern Jordan Valley. While according to Kann public broadcaster, the man had crossed into Israel seeking treatment for the coronavirus, he was transferred back to Jordan by the IDF and Israel police.

Also on Monday, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett announced that all regional authorities will decide if individuals who have tested positive for the virus will be taken to quarantine facilities set up across the country or if they can safely self-quarantine at home without putting their families at risk.

“There is a difference between a single person living alone and a large family living in the same apartment,” Bennett said during a daily press conference updating the public on the virus in Israel.

The defense ministry has opened several quarantine facilities in hotels across the country, including in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and in the south. More quarantine facilities are continuing to be opened, Bennett said.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians close factories producing fake coronavirus masks, sanitiser
Several factories and businesses that were manufacturing unlicensed face masks and hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of coronavirus were closed by the Palestinian Authority in the past two weeks.

More than 40 suspects were arrested on charges of fraud, price gouging and manufacturing unlicensed products, a PA National Economy Ministry official said.

The crackdown came in response to complaints from many Palestinians that the products did not meet the standards and regulations of the PA Health Ministry and National Economy Ministry, the official said.

The unlicensed products were being sold at high prices to thousands of anxious Palestinian consumers in different parts of the West Bank.

“Most of the products carried fake labels indicating they had been approved by the Health Ministry,” said Mohammed Nabil, a pharmacist from Hebron. “We were not aware that the face masks and hand sanitizers were fake until health officials and policemen raided our pharmacy and confiscated the gel bottles and masks.”

Some businessmen were exploiting the panic over the coronavirus to make illegal profits, PA Health Ministry official Ashraf Abu Khalaf said.
“We won’t hesitate to take strict measures against those behind this ugly and disturbing phenomenon,” he said.
COGAT coordinates restoration of CT machine in Gaza
The Defense Ministry coordinated the transfer of medical equipment donated by the World Health Organization that will be used to repair the defective CT machine at the European Gaza Hospital.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories' (COGAT) Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) oversaw the transfer.

The hospital provides medical treatment for dozens of patients daily.

"The Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Gaza Strip is working around the clock in cooperation with international organizations in an effort to assist the Gazan health system provide optimal support in various areas for Gaza residents," said the Head of CLA Gaza, Colonel Iyad Sarhan. "This type of coordination is but part of the extensive action taking place under the leadership of CLA officers, soldiers, and other employees."

Sarhan stressed that the CLA is working to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Gaza. "CLA Gaza will continue to extend a hand to the international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip because only together will we succeed in our joint mission – stopping the spread of the epidemic," said Sarhan.

The United Nations expressed fears on Monday that the Gaza Strip's health system would not be able to handle the large number of cases if the coronavirus outbreak spreads. There are only 60 ventilators in the Gaza Strip for all medical emergencies among the population of 2 million.
Last week, hundreds of coronavirus testing kits and 1,000 protective medical gear kits were transferred by COGAT to Gaza.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Shift To Work-From-Home A Snap For Hamas Bombmakers Using Family As Human Shields (satire)
Changes in professional habits in response to the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in struggles for many employees and contractors transitioning to a transfer of at least some professional functionality to domestic environs, but that does not include ordnance manufacturers operating within the militant Islamist organization that governs this coastal territory, observers have noted, since those explosives producers already operate in such a setting to exploit the reluctance of the Israeli military to strike where they know noncombatant women and children also reside.

Hamas and other terrorist groups operating in the Gaza Strip have long placed their positions, facilities, depots, and other logistical and military assets inside, under, or in close proximity to homes, child care centers, hospitals, and similar sites, in violation of the Laws of Armed Conflict, knowing that Israel will often refrain from hitting such targets for fear of killing innocents, and that if Israel does conduct such a strike, the inevitable civilian casualties can serve as weapons in the ongoing propaganda campaign to portray Israel as monstrous. This disposition gave these groups a head start on the new trend amid COVID-19 adjustments taking place worldwide to mitigate the contagion of the pathogen by discouraging the congregation of people in offices, and enabling or mandating work-from-home arrangements, a spokesman for Hamas boasted today.

“We’re way ahead of the game in that department,” gushed Fawzi Barhoum. “We’ve been following the work-from-home model for more than a decade. Our experience in that mode of operation, that professional culture, has helped us avoid any major disruptions where others have encountered major management and logistical setbacks. It’s in our wheelhouse.”


MEMRI: Syrian Opposition Websites: The Iranian Militias Are The Main Vector For Mass COVID-19 Infections In Syria – And The Syrian Regime Is Keeping It A Secret
As COVID-19 spread across the Middle East, the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad continued to assert until recently that it had not reached Syria. Only on March 22, 2020 was the first case in the country announced.[1]

However, Syrian opposition websites stated that the virus had arrived in Syria many days, even weeks, earlier, and that the regime was intentionally hiding the large number of cases in the country. These websites said that the main vector for the disease's spread in Syria was the pro-Iran militias coming in from Iran and Iraq, where the disease is rampant. They also said that the Syrian regime was concealing the number of those with the disease, warning medical staff not to reveal the numbers, and even killing off infected patients. At the same time, opposition elements expressed fears that the regime would say that oppositionists tortured to death in its prisons had died of COVID-19 instead.

The Syrian regime responded by saying that the only reliable information about the virus was on Syrian Health Ministry websites. Articles in the Syrian government press rejected the opposition's claims about regime concealment of the actual numbers of COVID-19 patients in the country and called for trusting the state and not believing elements trying to foment fear in society.
Iranian Diplomats Instigated Killing of Dissident in Istanbul, Turkish Officials Say
Two intelligence officers at Iran's consulate in Turkey instigated the killing last November of an Iranian dissident in Istanbul, two senior Turkish officials told Reuters. Masoud Molavi Vardanjani was shot dead on an Istanbul street on Nov. 14, 2019, a little over a year after he left Iran. He worked in cyber security at Iran's defense ministry and had become a vocal critic of the Iranian authorities.

A Turkish official said "the testimonies of the arrested suspects [showed] that these two Iranians, carrying diplomatic passports, had given the order for the assassination," and identified the two men by their first names and initials. Vardanjani posted a message on social media targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guards in August, three months before he was shot dead. "I will root out the corrupt mafia commanders," the post said. "Pray that they don't kill me before I do this."




IAF, USAF hold joint F-35 drill in southern Israel
Despite the coronavirus, Israeli Air Force F-35s trained alongside American F-35s on Sunday in the Enduring Lightening training exercise.

The drill had pilots drill on “a wide variety of operational theaters while strengthening the cooperation between the forces,” as well as face various aerial and ground threats the IAF said in a statement

The drill saw Israeli Adir F-35s aircraft from the IAF’s 140 Golden Eagle Squadron train alongside F-35s from the USAF’s 34th fighter squadron, as well as IAF’s 122 squadron which operates the Nahshon Gulfstream G-500 aircraft.

Maj. M, leader of the exercise on behalf of the 140 squadron, was quoted by the IAF’s website as saying that "this will be the second time we'll fly alongside an American F-35. We aspire to stay as connected as possible to countries involved in its development project, and training with the Americans presents an excellent opportunity to do so since they have a lot of knowledge and expertise on the matter. The exercise we conducted was intimate. The forces flew in two formations of four, and communicated directly as opposed to through an indirect channel.”

Despite the cancellation of all international joint exercises because of the continued spread of the deadly coronavirus across the globe, the drill had received special permission as it was due to take part in the air with no person-to-person contact.




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When the Lubavicher Rebbe held a seder alone



Rabbi Pinni Dunner recounts a story from Rabbi YY Jacobson, a famous inspirational speaker who grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn:

“A few weeks ago, I led a workshop for single mothers, and at the end of the session, I took questions from the women and encouraged them to ask any question that was on their mind. One of the ladies put her hand up, and this is what she asked me… it’s a crazy story.”

“A few months ago,” she said, “it was Pesach. The thing is, my ex-husband and I went through a very difficult breakup. After years in court over our kids, we finally settled on a shared custody arrangement, which means that we alternate Jewish holidays. This past Pesach it was my turn – my children were coming to me for Seder and I was so excited. I changed over my home for Pesach and prepared everything beautifully; it was going to be just me and the kids.”

“I was so happy about them being with me, that I told everyone: my family, my friends, my neighbors. Then, one hour before yomtov, I got a phone call from my ex – for some reason, the kids were not going to be coming. I almost fainted from shock and heartache. I was also so ashamed. I guess I could have called my parents, or I could have called my neighbors – and gone to them for the Seder. But how could I actually do that? I had told everyone my kids were coming! Truth is, I did not have the energy to even be with anyone. I felt completely and totally numb – dry and lifeless.”

“So I did the Seder by myself. On my own. It was the worst and most bitter Seder I have ever had. I just sat there crying the whole way through. Weeping. It wasn’t Pesach. It was Tisha B’Av. I did not have to eat Maror. I—my entire life!—was Maror. Yes, I went through the Haggadah and ate the Matzah; but the entire Seder took me 25 minutes.”

“Rabbi Jacobson, did I do the right thing? Did I fulfil my Seder obligation? Was it even called a Seder? Because it did not feel like a proper Pesach.”

Rabbi Jacobson told me – and believe me, as a public speaker, I know exactly what he means – sometimes your most inspirational moments in a speech are not prepared. They are a gift from God. You can prepare for hours. And then inspiration drops into your lap. Right then and there, Rabbi YY Jacobson had such a moment.

“Lady,” he said, “in 1988 the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s wife died, and he was left on his own, as they sadly had no children. She passed away in February, and two months later was Pesach. Every year the Rebbe and his Rebbetzen had Seder together, but this year he was on his own, totally by himself. Who would the Rebbe conduct the Passover Seder with?”

“I recall that a young boy, Ari Halberstam – who was later tragically gunned down on Brooklyn Bridge, in 1994 – approached the Rebbe after Maariv on the first night of Pesach and, on behalf of his mother, invited the Rebbe to his home for Seder. Ari’s family lived at 706 Eastern Parkway, just one block away from ‘770’. The Rebbe smiled at Ari, and shook his head. He thanked him profusely, but told Ari he would be having the Seder in his private office in ‘770’.”

“I was a yeshiva student at the time,” continued Rabbi Jacobson, “so I am a first-hand witness to this story. In fact, the Rebbe’s longstanding assistant Rabbi Leibel Groner offered to stay with the Rebbe, but the Rebbe sent him home to have Seder with his wife and children.”

“And so, the great Lubavitcher Rebbe – the man who inspired countless people around the world for their Seders, who personally undertook to provide a meaningful Pesach Seder for Israeli Army personnel who were on duty on the first night of Pesach via his shluchim in Eretz Yisrael – had the Seder on his own. Not one other person was present. As the Talmud says: if you are on your own, you ask yourself the ‘Ma Nishtana’ questions, and then you answer them to yourself.”

“A few of us yeshiva boys did not go home that night; we waited outside in the street – and after a couple of hours, the Rebbe opened the door to welcome Eliyahu Hanavi and recite Shefoch Chamatcha. He walked outside holding a candle and his Haggadah, said the prayer, gave us a wave, and then went back inside to finish the Seder — by himself.”

“My dear lady,” said Rabbi Jacobson, “if it was good enough for the Lubavitcher Rebbe to have the Seder on his own, trust me, your Seder was perfect!”

“He could have had his Seder with 100 people, 1000 people, or 10,000 people. He personally arranged for all the army Seders in Israel to be sponsored. He was responsible for hundreds of thousands of people celebrating Pesach on Seder night, from Kathmandu to Alaska, from San Francisco to New Zealand. But at the end of the day, he went and did the Seder on his own. He didn’t need anyone else to be close to God. He didn’t need adulation. He didn’t need validation. He sat alone and relived the Exodus from Egypt.”

“I was only 15 at the time,” concluded Rabbi Jacobson, “but despite my youth, I felt sad that the Rebbe had nobody to be with for the Seder. Why did he not invite even one person to be with him? But today, after hearing your story, I may have discovered the answer—and it is just a personal feeling. As a true Jewish leader, the Rebbe wished to empower all those souls who would ever need to do their Seder alone. He wanted them to know that their solitary Passover Seder was powerful, meaningful, and real. Jewish history and the Divine presence would dwell at their Seder just as it does at a Seder that has many people there.”

(h/t David S)

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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون

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Algemeiner: "Fiercely intelligent and erudite"

Omri: "Elder is one of the best established and most respected members of the jblogosphere..."
Atheist Jew:"Elder of Ziyon probably had the greatest impression on me..."
Soccer Dad: "He undertakes the important task of making sure that his readers learn from history."
AbbaGav: "A truly exceptional blog..."
Judeopundit: "[A] venerable blog-pioneer and beloved patriarchal figure...his blog is indispensable."
Oleh Musings: "The most comprehensive Zionist blog I have seen."
Carl in Jerusalem: "...probably the most under-recognized blog in the JBlogsphere as far as I am concerned."
Aussie Dave: "King of the auto-translation."
The Israel Situation:The Elder manages to write so many great, investigative posts that I am often looking to him for important news on the PalArab (his term for Palestinian Arab) side of things."
Tikun Olam: "Either you are carelessly ignorant or a willful liar and distorter of the truth. Either way, it makes you one mean SOB."
Mondoweiss commenter: "For virulent pro-Zionism (and plain straightforward lies of course) there is nothing much to beat it."
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