Star-studded virtual Seder raises $2.35 million for charity
A star-studded virtual Passover “seder” that took place on Saturday night helped raise $2.35 million and counting for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund. Read more
Israel transfers advanced coronavirus detection device to Gaza hospital
April 14, 2020 by JNS
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian Territories (COGAT) announced on Sunday that it had transferred an advanced medical device used to detect coronavirus to the Gaza Strip. Read more
Israel seeks negotiations with Hamas for release of four citizens held in Gaza
April 8, 2020 by JNS
Israel is calling for negotiations over the return of four Israelis being held in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip after Hamas leaders said they could be willing to make a deal. Read more
Blue and White Party in talks to merge with Labor Party
After Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz announced that talks are underway to merge with the Blue and White Party headed by Benny Gantz, the Knesset Arrangements Committee approved the breakup of the Labor-Meretz union on Monday. Read more
BDS co-founder: ‘If Israel finds a cure for coronavirus, no problem to use it’
April 7, 2020 by JNS
Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement, said in a video on Sunday on Facebook that if Israel discovers a cure for coronavirus (COVID-19), then cooperation with the Jewish state is acceptable. Read more
Pakistan rearrests four men acquitted in Daniel Pearl murder case
April 7, 2020 by JNS
The four men acquitted in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan have been rearrested and will remain in custody pending prosecutors appealing the ruling in the country’s Supreme Court, announced Pakistan’s interior ministry on Friday. Read more
First of 11 planes bringing vital medical supplies from China to Israel touches down
April 7, 2020 by JNS
The first in a convoy of 11 El Al planes carrying tons of critical medical equipment to Israel from China touched down at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday morning, as the nation continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
Adopt-A-Safta offers ‘Seder Boxes’ for isolated elderly, immigrants in Israel
April 5, 2020 by JNS
Adopt-A-Safta, Israel’s leading nonprofit initiative that pairs young adults throughout Israel with elderly, is appealing for donations for “Seder Boxes”—complete Passover seder kits delivered to their front doors. Read more
Israeli researchers believe coronavirus vaccine testing could commence by June
April 5, 2020 by JNS
Israeli researchers said they are days away from finishing production of the active component of a coronavirus vaccine that could be tested on humans starting June 1. Read more
Amazon apologizes for Hitler book disguised as dog-training manual
April 5, 2020 by JNS
Amazon has apologized to a British customer who called on the online retail giant to “immediately” remove from sale a book disguised as a puppy-training manual that in fact contains a full reprint of a 1930s Nazi propaganda book eulogizing Adolf Hitler’s achievements, ideology and work. Read more
UK Home Office grants more than A$28 million for security at Jewish institutions
April 3, 2020 by JNS
The U.K. Home Office has granted more than £17 million (A$28m)to the Community Security Trust, a charity that helps Jewish institutions with security and fight antisemitism. Read more
Kotel sanitized
April 1, 2020 by JNS
The Western Wall stones, visited and touched by tens of thousands of people from Israel and around the world all year round, have been sanitized and cleaned in order to protect those who still come to the Western Wall. Read more
Cooperation between Israel, Palestians in fighting virus applauded during UN call
April 1, 2020 by JNS
The U.N. Security Council held its monthly discussion on the Middle East via a video conference on Monday. Read more
Jerusalem Orchestra goes virtual with original piece written by conductor
April 1, 2020 by JNS
The Jerusalem Orchestra East & West performed virtually last week with its 36 musicians playing music from their homes in New York and Israel. Read more
Amazon reverses ban, still selling Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’
March 29, 2020 by JNS
Amazon is still selling editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, reversing a recent ban. Read more
Intel Israel donates money for coronavirus testing machine to Rambam hospital
March 29, 2020 by JNS
Intel Israel announced a donation of NIS 1.25 million (about $339,114) on Monday to the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa to be used for the purchase of a coronavirus testing machine, reported the website NoCamels. Read more
Tens of thousands view prayer online at Western Wall to end coronavirus
March 29, 2020 by JNS
A total of 50,000 people watched a prayer service online that took place at the Western Wall on Wednesday evening (29 Adar on the Jewish calendar), when dozens of worshipers prayed for the end of the coronavirus pandemic and a speedy recovery for those who are sick. Read more
Israeli unemployment rate soars to 18.6 per cent: official calls for total lockdown
March 25, 2020 by JNS
The unemployment rate in Israel reached 18.6 per cent on Tuesday with 91 per cent of those now out of work being put on unpaid leave as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Read more
Jewish mum creates book outlining coronavirus to kids
March 25, 2020 by JNS
A Jewish mother in the U.S. has created an illustrated online book in a PDF format that helps parents explain to preschoolers and toddlers the school closings due to coronavirus. Read more
Likud accuses centre-left bloc of ‘stealing the Knesset,’ vows right-wing boycott
March 25, 2020 by JNS
Despite the lack of a working coalition, the centre-left political bloc comprising the Blue and White, Joint List and Yisrael Beiteinu parties got to work on Tuesday crafting and staffing six special parliamentary committees. Read more
Israeli coronavirus cases rise to 1,656
March 25, 2020 by JNS
Israel’s Ministry of Health said on Tuesday morning that the number of Israelis diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus has risen to 1,656, an increase of 214 cases since Monday evening. Read more
Netanyahu urges Gantz to join unity government, vows ‘no shticks and tricks’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday night that his Likud Party and rival Blue and White Party had reached agreement on the outlines of a national unity government, and called on Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to sign the deal, saying “millions of Israelis are waiting for us.” Read more
Netflix announces release date for ‘Fauda’ season 3
March 22, 2020 by JNS
Season 3 of the Israeli series “Fauda” will begin streaming on Netflix on April 16. Read more
Israeli researchers announce new, faster testing method for COVID-19
March 20, 2020 by JNS
Researchers at Israel’s Technion–Israel Institute of Technology and Rambam Health Care Campus have successfully tested a new method, called “pooling,” that they claim will dramatically increase the country’s ability to test for COVID-19. Read more
Jewish organization applauds Portuguese commemoration of Spanish Inquisition victims
March 17, 2020 by JNS
Jewish organization Reconectar applauded the recent passing of a law in the Portuguese Parliament that established March 31 as the official date to commemorate victims of the Inquisition. Read more
Israeli lawmakers sworn in to an empty 23rd Knesset
March 17, 2020 by JNS
With Israel, like most of the world, reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, a surreal scene took place on Monday as the 23rd Knesset was sworn in to a largely empty chamber. Read more
Sharansky, Carr blast those attempting to blame Jews for coronavirus
March 17, 2020 by JNS
The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement held a digital awards ceremony on Sunday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
Joint List unanimously backs Gantz for Israeli premiership
March 16, 2020 by JNS
All 15 lawmakers of the Joint List alliance of Arab and Arab-majority parties on Sunday recommended Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as Israel’s next prime minister, marking the first time that an Arab party has endorsed anyone for prime minister since Yitzhak Rabin in 1992. Read more
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial closed for two weeks due to coronavirus
March 14, 2020 by JNS
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Memorial will be closed to all visitors for two weeks to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the museum said in a March 12 statement. Read more
Israeli doctors offer online advice to those quarantined in China and elsewhere
March 14, 2020 by JNS
Israeli doctors are giving webinars to quarantined COVID-19 patients in China and elsewhere in a project organized by Innonation, an Israeli innovation platform for international collaboration. Read more
