Israel preparing for 2,500 COVID-19 patients on life-support, hundreds of dead

The Corona Cabinet unanimously approved the Health, Finance and Defence ministries’ proposal to prepare for the scenario of some 2,500 Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients on life support and “many hundreds of dead,” as the numbers of infections in Israel climb daily. Read more

IDF deploys troops to contend with extreme storm, floods and damage

Extremely stormy weather hit Israel on Wednesday, causing deadly floods and significant damage to infrastructure and property, the latest winter wave to hit the country in the past week. Read more

Panel finds alleged sex offender Malka Leifer mentally fit to stand trial

A psychiatric panel in Israel on Thursday decided that alleged sex offender Malka Leifer from Australia is mentally fit to stand trial and has been feigning mental illness. Read more

Israel Chief Rabbi slammed for calling Russian immigrants ‘non-Jews,’ ‘enemies of religion’

Israel’s Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef came under harsh criticism after he recently blamed immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who are not Jewish, for the weakening electoral power of the ultra-Orthodox parties. Read more

Leading Israeli think tank warns of potential war with Iran

Israel’s security is currently challenged on multiple fronts, and the government’s present policy could lead to a large-scale war in the region if it is not updated in the near future, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) said in its annual report on Monday. Read more

Netanyahu requests parliamentary immunity from criminal charges

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening announced that he plans to request parliamentary immunity from the Knesset regarding the criminal charges he faces and will notify the Knesset Speaker of his request before the deadline at midnight. Read more

Israel’s Defence Minister to freeze NIS 150 million in Pay-For-Slay funds

Defence Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday approved freezing NIS 150 million (A$62m) of taxes and tariffs Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority (PA), in response to the payments it makes to terrorists and their families, dubbed “pay-for-slay.” Read more

Netanyahu: Putin told me that if it weren’t for me, Israel and Russia could be at war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a rare media interview on Wednesday, in which he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that if someone else was serving as Israel’s prime minister — Israel and Russia could have been at war. Read more

Defence Minister signs order confiscating ‘Pay-For-Slay’ stipends from Israeli-Arab terrorists

Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday signed an order to confiscate the monthly stipends paid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to convicted terrorists with Israeli citizenship and their families. Read more

Left-wing Israeli NGO to help prosecute Israel at ICC

The Israeli left-wing NGO Adalah announced this week that it is “prepared to submit legal material” to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to aid its war crimes probe against Israel.
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Israel’s ‘Prisoners of War’ tops The NY Times’ 30 best international TV shows of the decade

Israeli TV received global recognition on Friday when the New York Times chose Israel’s “Prisoners of War” as the best international TV show of the decade. Read more

Israeli backpacker loses appeal in Russia, 7.5 year sentence stands

A Russian court on Thursday rejected Israeli-American Naama Issachar’s appeal of her seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a minor drug offence. Read more

Tel Aviv makes Forbes’ list of ‘Top 20 Destinations For 2020’

Tel Aviv’s numerous tourist attractions have received global recognition after Forbes listed it on the ‘Top 20 Destinations For 2020’. Read more

Former Mayor of Jerusalem targeted by Hamas for assassination in Turkey

Likud Member of Knesset (MK) and former mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat has asked US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman to promote US sanctions on Turkey, after a report by the British Daily Telegraph revealed that Hamas terrorists in Turkey planned attacks on Israel, including plans to assassinate Barkat as well as other prominent Israeli figures. Read more

Prince Charles to attend the World Holocaust Forum in Israel

Prince Charles will attend the World Holocaust Forum at the invitation of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in January, Clarence House stated yesterday. Read more

Israeli film about terrorist-defending lawyer put on Oscar shortlist sparks rage

An Israeli film about Lea Tsemel, a lawyer who has defended terrorists, has made the shortlist for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category, sparking rage in Israel. Read more

Israeli cyber experts discover vulnerability threatening WhatsApp groups

The Israeli cyber-security company Check Point Software Technologies announced on Tuesday that it had revealed a security flaw enabling hackers to insert messages and crash group chats on the popular messaging app WhatsApp Messenger. Read more

Netanyahu will quit all ministerial positions by end of the month

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he will be quitting all of his ministerial duties by January 1 but will remain prime minister. Read more

Ahead of third elections, Rivlin appeals to the public ‘not to lose faith in the democratic system’

As Israel prepares for its third elections within a year, President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday appealed to the public not to lose faith in Israel’s democratic system, despite its apparent flaws. Read more

Israeli student-built satellite launched into space

Israel’s aerospace education reached new heights on Wednesday when a satellite built by students, the “Duchifat-3”, was launched into space from India. Read more

Israeli Energy Minister: ‘the age of coal-use in Israel will end by 2025’

Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz on Tuesday announced at the 25th UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid that Israel is committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement. Read more

Report: over 2.3 million Israelis live under poverty line, hunger on the rise

Nearly 2.3 million Israelis, including one million children, live under the poverty line, according to the annual “alternative” poverty report published on Monday by the Latet non-profit. Read more

Liberman says ‘no’ to narrow govt, third elections inevitable

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman, Member of Knesset (MK) Avigdor Liberman on Thursday announced he would not join a narrow government, and after his attempts to leverage a unity government failed, a third round of elections within a year seems inevitable. Read more

State Prosecutors announce charges of bribery, money-laundering in major submarine corruption scandal

State Attorney Shai Nitzan has announced charges against former senior security officials, as well as former aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a major corruption case involving the purchasing of German naval vessels. Read more

Israel’s Supreme Court orders alleged sex offender Malka Leifer to appear before psychiatric panel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered alleged sex offender Malka Leifer to appear before a psychiatric panel that will rule on whether she is mentally fit to face extradition to Australia hearings. Read more

Defence Minister approves establishment of new Israeli neighbourhood in Hebron

Defence Minister Naftali Bennett has ordered the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Civil Administration (CA) in Judea and Samaria to notify the Hebron municipality of Israel’s plans to build a new neighbourhood in the city. Read more

Rivlin meets UK Chief Rabbi who denounced Corbyn over antisemitism scandal

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has met with British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis in London, a day after the rabbi publicly accused UK’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of allowing the “poison” of antisemitism to take root in the Labour party. Read more

Bereaved families to EU: ‘stop paying the murderers of our children’

A group of bereaved families yesterday staged a protest against the EU over its funding of Israeli NGOs that defend terrorists and their families in Israeli courts. Read more

Netanyahu rejects all charges, calls indictment ‘attempted coup’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a public statement on Thursday after Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit charged him with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, calling the indictment an “attempted coup against the prime minister.” Read more

AG charges Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust

Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has announced his dramatic decision to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, making him the first prime minister in Israeli history to be indicted while in office. Read more

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