Month: March 2020

Kremlin tells Turkey it cannot guarantee safety of its planes over Syria’s Idlib

The Kremlin on Monday drew Turkey’s attention to a warning from the Russian Defence Ministry that Moscow could not guarantee the safety of Turkish planes flying in Syria after Damascus said it was closing the air space over the Idlib region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan would hold talks on Syria in Moscow on Thursday.

The warning came after Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on Sunday and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers last week.

Ankara has ramped up its attacks, including drone strikes, against the Russian-backed Syrian forces since Thursday, when 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an air strike by Damascus.

It has already deployed thousands of troops and military vehicles in northwest Syria’s Idlib province in the last month to stem advances by Syrian government forces which have displaced 1 million people close to Turkey’s southern border.

Erdogan said on Monday that he hoped to achieve a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week.

Turkey and the rebels its backs have escalated attacks in Idlib against Syrian government forces, which are backed by Russia. Erdogan and Putin are due to meet on Thursday.

Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan said that Turkish forces on Sunday rendered unusable Syrian government’s Nayrab military airport, east of Aleppo city.

Out of quarantine, into the polling station. Then back to quarantine.

Three hours after some 10,000 polling stations on Monday morning opened their doors across the country for Israel’s 6,453,255 citizens eligible to vote, 16 specially equipped voting booths opened their tent flaps for the 5,630 voters who were under home quarantine due to precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Israel.

So far, 10 Israelis have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Israel has taken far-reaching steps to prevent an outbreak, banning entry to foreigners who were in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Italy in the 14 days prior to arriving, and compelling all Israelis recently in these areas to self-quarantine for 14 days.

The Israelis are, however, allowed out of quarantine in order to vote in the special polling stations. But they must take special precautions such as putting on face masks before they exit their vehicles and trying to make the trip to the voting station without being accompanied by others who are not in quarantine. They are also prohibited from stopping on the way to and from the voting stations.

Additionally, anyone who shows symptoms of the disease is forbidden from using even the special voting stations, the Health Ministry warned on Sunday. Those hospitalized can use special voting procedures already in place for patients.

Israel does not allow absentee ballots.

The polling stations, located in the cities of Jerusalem, Safed, Afula Illit, Haifa, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Holon, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Eilat, Rosh Ha’ayin, Modiin, and Kfar Saba, are each made up of two small tents with an adjoining window: in one tent sit Magen David Adom paramedics, specially trained for Monday as polling administrators; in the other, visible through the transparent plastic, the ballot box sits on a table behind a blue screen.

As voters arrived, they were greeted by polling staff wearing full protective gear who asked them to temporarily take off their face masks and checked their identity against their Israeli identity card.

Then, after each applying anti-bacterial hand gel, the voters were given a specially prepared pack with a new face mask and gloves to wear while voting.

The votes, which are being placed in a specially lined ballot box, will be sent to the Central Elections Committee, where they will counted by staff also wearing protective gear.

Additionally, anyone who shows symptoms of the disease is forbidden from using even the special voting stations, the Health Ministry warned on Sunday. Those hospitalized can use special voting procedures already in place for patients.

With police and medical authorities on alert Monday for attempts to disrupt the elections with fake coronavirus reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged citizens to go to the polls and telling them not to fear contracting coronavirus.

“I urge the citizens of Israel to go vote. This is a great democratic right and we should be proud of it,” Netanyahu said after voting in Jerusalem, in a normal polling station.

“We have done everything we can against the coronavirus. Everything is under control and we have taken every possible measure. Don’t believe fake news, you can vote with determination and confidence,” he said.

Header: An Israeli under home quarantine arrives to cast a vote in a special polling station outside the city of Modiin, March 2, 2020 (Raoul Wootliff/Times of Israel)

G-d’s signature – Kaddish. So He left the autograph up to us.

Just when His great masterpiece of heaven and earth was finally up and running, G_d realized there was something missing: The autograph.

Without an autograph, the creatures of this world might take life, beauty, pleasure and all the other amenities of existence for granted. They could fail to take care of the home made for them, even turning reckless and destructive.

So He left the autograph up to us. Our job is to make it recognizable that this is actually the ultimate piece of art, crafted by the ultimate of all artists, the Master Designer/Architect/Engineer of all things.

Kiddush Hashem—roughly translated as Sanctification of The Name. How do we make a Kiddush Hashem? Well, as you may have guessed from the sound of the words, making “kiddush” on wine on Friday night as Shabbat enters is one great way. So is any act that demonstrates a higher purpose and meaning to life, whether that be a public prayer, an act of charity or just everyday acting like a mentsch.

Of the prayer-forms of Kiddush Hashem, the most extreme example is the Kaddish. No other words we say in all our prayers are attributed the same level of sanctity.

One of the most sacred rituals observed by all Jews throughout the generations is the practice of reciting the Kaddish prayer for the merit of the departed soul of one’s father or mother. It is said at the funeral, during the week of mourning (shiva), for the following 11 months, and then every year on the anniversary of passing.

Kaddish, a praise to G‑d said in the presence of a minyan (quorum of 10 men), is traditionally chanted by those mourning the loss of a close relative and then every year on the anniversary of passing (yahrtzeit). Below are the texts of the Mourner’s Kaddish (said at the conclusion of prayers) and Rabbi’s Kaddish (said following Torah study).

Text of the Mourner’s Kaddish

Hebrew and Transliteration:

Translation:

Exalted and hallowed be His great Name. (Congregation responds: “Amen.”)

Throughout the world which He has created according to His Will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming of His Moshiach. (Cong: “Amen.”)

In your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and say, Amen.

(Cong: “Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity, blessed.”)

May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified, exalted and extolled, honored, adored and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. (Cong: “Amen.”)

Beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations that are uttered in the world; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and a good life for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

He Who makes peace (Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur substitute: “the peace”) in His heavens, may He make peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

Kaddish D’Rabbanan
(“Rabbis’ Kaddish”)

(This version of the Kaddish is recited at certain points of the service and following Torah study)

Hebrew and Transliteration:

Translation:

Exalted and hallowed be His great Name. (Congregation responds: “Amen.”)

Throughout the world which He has created according to His Will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming of His Moshiach. (Cong: “Amen.”)

In your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, sword, famine and death shall cease from us and from the entire Jewish nation, speedily and soon, and say, Amen.

(Cong: “Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity, blessed.”)

May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity. Blessed and praised, glorified, exalted and extolled, honored, adored and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. (Cong: “Amen.”)

Beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations that are uttered in the world; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

Upon Israel, and upon our sages, and upon their disciples, and upon all the disciples of their disciples, and upon all those who occupy themselves with the Torah, here or in any other place, upon them and upon you, may there be abundant peace, grace, kindness, compassion, long life, ample sustenance and deliverance, from their Father in heaven; and say, Amen. (Cong: Amen.)

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and a good life for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

He Who makes peace (Between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur substitute: “the peace”) in His heavens, may He make peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: “Amen.”)

Kaddish and memorial: aiding the soul’s ascent

I. Learning, Mitzvot and Charity “In Merit Of” the Soul

1. There is nothing greater we can do for the soul of those who have departed this world than to accept upon ourselves an increase in good deeds and positive achievements to be done lizchut–“in merit of”–and l’ilui nishmat, “for the elevation of the soul”. The children, relatives and friends should undertake to do additional Torah learning (particularly, the study of Mishnah), to give to charity, and to increase their good deeds.
2. A common practice is to accept upon oneself an improvement in the observance of a particular mitzvah. Of particular merit is to establish a charitable fund or an institution devoted to a positive goal, in merit of the departed.

II. Kaddish

1. Reciting Kaddish. One of the most sacred rituals observed by all Jews throughout the generations is the practice of reciting the Kaddish prayer for the merit of the departed soul of one’s father or mother.
2. The first eleven months. The Kaddish is recited for the first time in the cemetery, immediately following the burial. Henceforth, it is recited every day, in the designated places in the three daily prayer services, for eleven months.
3. On the yahrtzeit. Kaddish is also recited every year on the yahrtzeit — the anniversary, on the Jewish calendar, of the person’s passing.
4. Who recites Kaddish. The duty to recite Kaddish rests upon the children of the deceased. If a person dies without children, then another relative should assume the task. If that is not possible, then another person can be assigned or hired to recite Kaddish in the merit of the deceased.
5. The Minyan. Kaddish can only be recited at a minyan — a communal regular prayer service held with the participation of at least ten adult (age 13 or older) Jewish men.
6. Leading the service. If the mourner is able to lead the prayer service for the congregation, it is a particular merit for the soul of the departed for him to do so.

III. Grave Marker and Unveiling

1. Rachel’s memorial. The custom of memorializing the dead with a grave marker is a time-honored Jewish tradition dating back to biblical times. In Genesis 35:20, the Torah mentions the matzeivah (memorial stone) which Jacob erected over the grave of his wife, Rachel.
2. When should the gravestone be erected? Immediately upon the burial, a temporary marker with the deceased’s name is placed upon the grave. The gravestone may be put up any time after the Shivah (seven days of mourning). It is best to do so as soon as possible — preferably on the very day that the mourners “get up” from the Shivah.
3. The inscription. At a minimum, the gravestone should include the Hebrew name and father’s name of the deceased, and the Hebrew date of his or her passing. In addition, it is customary to write about the virtues and achievements of the deceased. In this, one should follow the common practice of the markers on the other graves in the vicinity, so as not to markedly exceed (thereby insulting those interred nearby) nor diminish (thereby being disrespectful towards the deceased) from the norm.
4. The “Unveiling.” A brief ceremony is usually held at the graveside upon the erection of the memorial stone, which includes the recitation of Psalms and the Kaddish.

IV. The Yahrtzeit

1. Annual day of memorial. The anniversary, on the Jewish calendar, of a person’s passing, is his or her “Yahrtzeit.” On this day we remember and memorialize the life and accomplishments of the departed soul, and rededicate ourselves to perpetuate his or her legacy and undertake additional good deeds for the elevation of the soul.
2. Kaddish and prayer. On the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall of the previous evening and ends at nightfall. During this 24 hour period, Kaddish is recited by the children of the deceased (or by whoever is observing the yahrtzeit) in the three daily services—evening, morning and afternoon. If possible, the one observing the yahrtzeit should also lead the prayer service.
3. Learning and charity. Torah should be studied in the merit of the soul; a time-honored custom is to study Mishnah (the compilation of Torah law that forms the crux of the Talmud), the word mishnah having the same Hebrew letters as neshamah, “soul.” Extra charity should be given on the yahrtzeit for the merit of the soul’s elevation.
4. Kiddush and l’chaim. It is customary to serve a kiddush in the synagogue on the Shabbat preceding the yahrtzeit and a small repast on the day of the yahrtzeit itself. The saying of the blessing L’chaim (“To Life!”) and saying words of Torah on these occasions is considered to be of particular merit to the soul.
5. Visiting the grave. It is customary to visit the graves of loved ones around the time of their Yahrtzeit (see “Visiting the Gravesite” below).
6. Yahrtzeit Calculator.

V. Visiting the Gravesite

It is customary to visit the graves of loved ones around the time of their Yahrtzeit as well as each year before the High Holidays.

The premise this custom is based on is two-fold:

1. There is always a trace of the soul present at the body’s resting place. Just as the site of the Temple in Jerusalem remains holy, as “holiness never goes away” so, too, the repository of the soul retains a trace of the soul’s holiness. Hence we are in contact with the presence of our loved one—which inspires our prayers to G‑d we offer at the grave site. The soul —who is aware of our deeds— sees that we continue to respect and love it. This arouses the soul to stand before G‑d and join us in our prayers, eliciting a divine response.
2. The cemetery is holy ground and demands respect. One should observe proper decorum when visiting graves, avoiding talk of mundane matters and remaining involved in prayer and meditation the entire time one is there.

VI. Yizkor

Memorial prayer. Four times a year — on Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret (the eighth day of Sukkot), the last day of Passover, and the 2nd day of Shavuot — a special memorial prayer, called “Yizkor,” is said in the synagogue in remembrance of the soul of a departed father or mother, which also includes a pledge for charity in their merit.

Private moment. Only those who have a father or mother no longer among the living remain in the synagogue during the Yizkor service. Everyone else leaves the room, allowing the children of the departed a solemn private moment to unite with the memory of their parents.

 

Final surveys show ongoing deadlock, with Likud rise offset by strong Joint List

Two final surveys ahead of Monday’s Israeli elections predicted ongoing deadlock, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his challenger Benny Gantz able to muster a Knesset majority.

A Channel 12 survey showed the Netanyahu-led right-Orthodox bloc winning 58 seats, just three short of a Knesset majority, to 56 for Gantz’s center-left-Arab bloc.

A Channel 13 survey, by contrast, put the Netanyahu-led bloc on 56, with the Gantz-led bloc on 57.

If the results on March 2 are along these lines, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party would again be the kingmaker, having prevented the formation of a majority government after elections last April and September. And if his stance again meant neither bloc could form a coalition, Israel could be headed to a fourth election in the fall.

Strikingly, in both surveys, the vote for the mostly Arab Joint List was up, with that party winning 14 seats in the Channel 12 poll and 15 seats in the Channel 13 poll. Channel 13 said its survey indicated a likely high 65% turnout among Israeli Arab voters. Their turnout was at some 50% last April and 60% in September.

The surveys reflected a gradual improvement in the performance of Netanyahu’s Likud in recent days, but still left the prime minister short of a Knesset majority. In part, Likud’s gains were offset in the latest polls by the rise of the Joint List.

The Channel 12 poll was as follows: Likud 35 seats, Blue and White 33, Joint List 14, Labor-Gesher-Meretz 9, Shas 8, United Torah Judaism 8, Yamina 7, and Yisrael Beytenu 6.

The Channel 13 poll was slightly different: Likud 33 seats, Blue and White 33, Joint List 15, Labor-Gesher-Meretz 9, Shas 8, Yamina 8, United Torah Judaism 7, and Yisrael Beytenu 7.

Asked who is best to serve as prime minister, 44 percent backed Netanyahu in the Channel 12 survey to just 32% for Gantz. In the Channel 13 survey, 45% backed Netanyahu and 35% supported Gantz.

Seven percent of those surveyed by Channel 12 said they might not vote because of fears of the coronavirus.

A survey by the Kan public broadcaster gave Likud 35 seats to Blue and White’s 34. The Israel Hayom newspaper in its own survey gave both Likud and Blue and White 33 seats each, while a third poll from the Maariv newspaper gave each of the two parties 34 seats.

Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing and religious parties would win 58 seats compared to 56 held by Blue and White leader Gantz at the head of a center-left-Arab bloc, according to the Kan results. Israel Hayom gave Netanyahu’s bloc 57 seats to Gantz’s 56, as did Maariv.

According to these polls, too, Liberman still holds the balance of power, with Kan giving him six seats and the other two polls both finding the hawkish secularist party would win seven seats, enough to carry either bloc to a majority.

Liberman has vowed to not sit in a coalition with the Joint List, which has similarly said it will not partner with him. Blue and White has repeatedly said it will not form a government that relies on the Joint List. Without the Joint List, Gantz’s bloc is at best around 50 seats, even with Liberman’s support. Liberman has also vowed not to partner with Netanyahu.

Health Ministry urges Israelis to vote, says no need to worry about coronavirus

The director-general of the Health Ministry on Sunday said Israelis should not hesitate to go out and vote in Monday’s national elections, and should not be deterred by the deadly coronavirus.

“The situation is under control. Everyone who was infected with the coronavirus, we know where they were infected and this is important… it’s safe to go vote. Don’t hesitate… go vote,” Moshe Bar Siman-Tov said in a video statement.

Bar Siman-Tov said 16 special polling stations across the country have been set up for the 5,630 people who are under home quarantine after returning from trips abroad and there are special instructions for those individuals.

“For everyone else, I say, go vote, everything is safe and you don’t need to worry,” he said.

In a statement, the Health Ministry added that the general public need not take any special precautions when voting, though it urged voters and those staffing polling stations to maintain proper hygiene.

“The [voting] booths in Israel are safe and it is safe to go and vote,” the ministry said.

During a visit to a Magen David Adom ambulance service emergency center on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also declared that there was nothing to fear and that proper measures have been taken to ensure a safe election.

“We care about the health of the citizens. You can go to vote without concern, things are under control,” Netanyahu said during the visit, which he made together with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, the Ynet website reported. “We are in the midst of a global crisis, but there is no country that is better prepared than us.”

As the novel coronavirus spreads around the world, the Health Ministry instructed Israelis returning from several countries where the virus was detected to self-quarantine. So far, seven Israelis have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The special voting stations for those in quarantine will be set up in Jerusalem, Safed, Afula Illit, Haifa, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Holon, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Eilat, Rosh Ha’ayin, Modiin, and Kfar Saba, the Health Ministry said.

Those in quarantine were instructed to take precautions such as putting on face masks before they exit their vehicles and to try to make the trip to the voting station without being accompanied by others who are not in quarantine. They are also prohibited from stopping along the way to and from the voting stations.

Anyone who shows symptoms of the disease is forbidden from using even the special voting stations, the ministry warned.

In a statement, the Health Ministry added that the general public need not take any special precautions when voting, though it urged voters and those staffing polling stations to maintain proper hygiene.

“The [voting] booths in Israel are safe and it is safe to go and vote,” the ministry said.

During a visit to a Magen David Adom ambulance service emergency center on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also declared that there was nothing to fear and that proper measures have been taken to ensure a safe election.

“We care about the health of the citizens. You can go to vote without concern, things are under control,” Netanyahu said during the visit, which he made together with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, the Ynet website reported. “We are in the midst of a global crisis, but there is no country that is better prepared than us.”

As the novel coronavirus spreads around the world, the Health Ministry instructed Israelis returning from several countries where the virus was detected to self-quarantine. So far, seven Israelis have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The special voting stations for those in quarantine will be set up in Jerusalem, Safed, Afula Illit, Haifa, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Holon, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Eilat, Rosh Ha’ayin, Modiin, and Kfar Saba, the Health Ministry said.

Those in quarantine were instructed to take precautions such as putting on face masks before they exit their vehicles and to try to make the trip to the voting station without being accompanied by others who are not in quarantine. They are also prohibited from stopping along the way to and from the voting stations.

Anyone who shows symptoms of the disease is forbidden from using even the special voting stations, the ministry warned.

The Health Ministry has faced criticism for its extreme measures, with some saying it is unnecessarily panicking people and causing economic and diplomatic damage to the country. Ministry officials have said they prefer to take a strict line than be sorry later.

Israel heads to its third national election in a year on Monday.

Virus cases in Italy soar by 40% in 24 hours; death toll rises to 34

Italian authorities announced Sunday that the number of people infected with the new coronavirus in Italy has risen 40 percent to 1,576 in 24 hours, while another five infected people have died.

That brings the number of people who have died from the virus in Italy to 34 since cases of the virus exploded February 21.

Health authorities say the increase is expected, since it takes as much as two weeks for the containment measures to take effect, and because Italy has a large number of elderly people. (sic!)

Lombardy, which includes Italy’s financial capital Milan, accounts for just over half of the cases while Veneto and Emilia-Romagna have 18% and 20%, respectively. All three regions have closed schools for the time being. In Veneto and Lombardy, closures also have hit museums, theaters, cinemas and most public offices, emptying urban centers like Milan, where many companies permitted office workers to telecommute.

Earlier Sunday, the French community church in Rome, St. Louis of the French, closed its doors to the public on after a priest was infected with coronavirus.

The church in the historic center of Rome is famous for three paintings by the Baroque master Caravaggio, making it a destination for tourists and the faithful alike. A sign on the door Sunday noted in French that the church had been closed as a precaution by the French Embassy for both mass and tourist visits until further notice.

The Religious Information Service news agency reported that the church was closed, after a 43-year-old priest who had returned to Paris was hospitalized after being infected by coronavirus. The service carried a statement by the archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, who said the priest, who had been living in Rome, returned to Paris by car in mid-February, and tested positive for the virus on Friday. The priest was in good condition, Aupetit said.

It was the first church in Rome closed by the virus. Churches in much of Veneto and Lombardy have closed their doors under widespread measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus. Televised masses were available for the faithful.

The number of countries hit by the coronavirus climbed past 60 Sunday, and infections and deaths continued to mount around the globe, emptying streets of tourists and workers, shaking economies and rewriting the realities of daily life.

Header: An Italian army soldier blocks off a road leading to the village of Vo’Euganeo, in Italy’s northern Veneto region, on February 28, 2020. (Claudio Fulan/LaPresse via AP)

US bolsters coronavirus preparations amid cancellations of conferences, flights

Trump administration officials on Sunday tried to calm market panic that the coronavirus could cause a global recession, saying the public had over-reacted and that stocks would bounce back due to the underlying strength of the US economy.

About 70 cases have been reported in the United States, with most on the West Coast but new cases in the Chicago area and Rhode Island.

Stock markets plunged last week, with an index of global stocks setting its largest weekly fall since the 2008 financial crisis, and more than $5 trillion wiped off the value of stocks worldwide.

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that travelers to the United States from countries at high risk of coronavirus would be screened before boarding and upon arrival, without specifying which countries.

The United States has 75,000 test kits for coronavirus and will expand that number “radically” in coming weeks, US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Vice President Mike Pence said the government had contracted 3M Co to produce an extra 35 million respiratory masks a month. He urged Americans not to buy the masks, which he said were only needed by healthcare workers. Honeywell is the other major US mask producer.

He also told Fox News that clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine would start in six weeks but that a vaccine will likely not be available this season.

Democrats, who will challenge Trump for the presidency in the November 3 election, have criticized his administration for downplaying the crisis and not preparing for the disease to spread in the United States.

Pence, whom Trump appointed last week to run the White House’s coronavirus response, said Americans should brace for more cases, but that the “vast majority” of those who contracted the disease would recover.

The United States has 75,000 test kits for coronavirus and will expand that number “radically” in coming weeks, US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

Vice President Mike Pence said the government had contracted 3M Co to produce an extra 35 million respiratory masks a month. He urged Americans not to buy the masks, which he said were only needed by healthcare workers. Honeywell is the other major US mask producer.

He also told Fox News that clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine would start in six weeks but that a vaccine will likely not be available this season.

Democrats, who will challenge Trump for the presidency in the November 3 election, have criticized his administration for downplaying the crisis and not preparing for the disease to spread in the United States.

Pence, whom Trump appointed last week to run the White House’s coronavirus response, said Americans should brace for more cases, but that the “vast majority” of those who contracted the disease would recover.

Op-Ed by Jack Engelhard – Presenting: The Benny and Bernie summit

Let’s say a bigtime Hollywood producer asked me to write a screenplay which supposes the following –

Benny Gantz has become Prime Minister of Israel and Bernie Sanders has become President of the United States.

Let’s get to it by understanding that something extraordinary has happened. In both countries, voters got tired of winning, under Trump and Bibi, and decided to turn Left.

(A worst-case scenario not so farfetched, after all.)

Pull back to reveal Benny Gantz arriving at the White House with his ministers. Bernie steps out.

There is no Hail to the Chief and, on Bernie’s orders and Benny’s assent, no national anthems, now or evermore…so that no one gets offended.

Go wide and close in on the White House to reveal no American flags and no portraits of past presidents, except of Lenin, Castro and Che Guevara.

Zoom in at the Summit Table:

Bernie: I see you brought your Cabinet with you. Why are they mostly white people? That’s racist.

Benny: Not so. Nearly half are Arabs. I’m big on diversity. The more Arabs, the merrier. They put me over the top. Take a close look at Ahmed over there. He’s not white.

Bernie: But is he transgender?

Benny: I would hope so.

Bernie: Diversity is our strength.

Benny: Precisely, and for that reason we have erased and deleted the word “Jewish” from our Nationality Law. Read this again to be believed.

Bernie: Will Hatikvah also be outlawed?

Benny: Already is.

Bernie. You promised, you delivered.

Benny: Thank you, and you see we are moving fast to expunge all references to Israel as home to the Zionist Vision. Kaput that.

Bernie: Excellent, and to think the Jews nearly got away with it…Israel, home at last. Until you came along.

Benny: Thanks to the voters, don’t forget.

Bernie: The land of their Fathers. The good earth of their Heritage. Such nonsense. So naturally I’m pulling the Embassy out of Jerusalem. End of story.

Benny: Understood. So it goes back to Tel Aviv. No problem.

Bernie: No. I’m thinking the Jerusalem district at Abu Dis.

Benny: Good choice. But that would only be when the Palestinian Arabs get their own state, which I am completely in favor of, as you know. Totally.

Bernie: As totally as Ehud Olmert? Olmert wants to give up everything…Jerusalem, ‘West Bank’, the nation, entirely. You can keep Dizengoff Square. I like his plan, don’t you?

Benny: I campaigned on a bold new approach, as you know.

Bernie: So did I, and 80 percent of American Jews who went to the polls voted for me.

Both leaders fist pump and fall to peals of laughter.

Benny (still laughing uncontrollably): They’ll be thrilled by the Socialism that’s coming.

Bernie: From you, Benny, I’ll need results that you’ll do everything to meet Mahmoud Abbas’ demands. My party, the Democrats, insist on making Abbas a happy man.

Benny: Believe me, nothing is more important to us except that Mahmoud Abbas gets to sleep well at night.

Bernie: Are you introducing literacy programs to the people, as my comrade Fidel Castro did in Cuba?

Benny: Literacy has never been a Jewish problem. Some of us are even too smart. That’s why the vote was so close.

Bernie: I meant bringing literacy to the Arab territories.

Benny: We tried. We sent teachers into Gaza.

Bernie: Were you in favor of Gush Katif…removing all those capitalistic Israelis in Gaza in favor of the peace-loving proletariat Arabs?

Benny: As I have said…it is a model for how my two-state solution is to be done. We are good at destroying Jewish homes, and there is always more work to be done.

Bernie: I assume your Gaza literacy program went well.

Benny: Not quite.

Bernie: How so?

Benny: Our teachers were murdered.

Bernie: That’s terrible.

Benny: Indeed.

Bernie: I mean it’s Israel’s FAULT for occupying their land.

Benny: We are going to fix that by splitting the land in half…half Jewish, half Palestinian Arab…and there is no doubt in my mind that we will get along swimmingly.

Bernie: I like you, Benny. We think the same. Bibi was impossible.

Benny: A real flag-waver.

Bernie: For the Jewish people. Hah.

Benny: Imagine that.

Bernie: Just like Trump was for Americans.

Benny: Got rid of them just in time.

Bernie: That’s right. Now we can each say – this land is MY land; go ahead, try to stop me.

EXIT laughing.

Editorial by New York-based bestselling American novelist Jack Engelhard. He writes regularly for Arutz Sheva.

Danon: Sanders is a liar or fool, or both

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon spoke Sunday at the AIPAC conference amid the backdrop of election campaigns in Israel and the US.

In his speech,Danon addressed the words of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a “racist” and also had announced that he would not attend the AIPAC conference because it provides a platform for “leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights.”

“We don’t want Sanders at AIPAC. We don’t want him in Israel. Anyone who calls our prime minister a ‘racist’ is either a liar, an ignorant fool, or both,”Danon said.

Danon revealed that the U.S. administration is likely to take action against those who cooperate with the UN Black List recently published by the “Human Rights Council”. “This is further proof of the solidity of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the peoples’ alliance,” Danon

Sheba Hospital ranked 9th best in the world

Newsweek magazine has deemed the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer the world’s ninth-best hospital, one place ahead of last year’s ranking, and placing it alongside the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Toronto General Hospital, and more.

Located in the Tel Aviv area, Sheba is israel’s largest medical facility, and also home to more than 25% of all Israeli clinical research.

In its performance rating, Newsweek cited the hospital’s collaborations with biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide to develop new drugs and treatments, in addition to its groundbreaking research in cancer, cardiology, brain diseases, genetics and more.

“The selection reflects another year of excellent and advanced medicine, breakthrough research and world-leading innovation,” said Sheba Medical Center Director General Professor Yitshak Kreiss, a former IDF Surgeon General who has headed the hospital since 2016.

“I am happy and proud of each one of our 9,131 dedicated and professional employees who think outside of the box every day. The continued rise in the rankings puts us in line with the world’s leading hospitals. As in every situation, and especially today when we are leading the national effort to treat the Coronavirus, it is a privilege to provide the Israeli population with the best medicine in the world.”

Sheba Medical Center was tasked with establishing Israel’s first facility for the quarantine and treatment of individuals who test positive for the novel Coronavirus, and citizens who returned from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan. Those infected with the virus are being monitored and treated remotely with the aid of the most advanced technologies to avoid contact with the medical staff and contain proliferation of the Coronavirus.

Sheba provides the following for international patients seeking medical treatment in Israel:

• Partnership with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States
• A personal coordinator and translator is made available to assist you during your entire stay.
• 159 different medical departments and clinics
• 1,700 total patient beds
• 33 laboratories
• 8,000 healthcare professionals including 1,200 physicians and surgeons
• Clinical consultation with Sheba’s medical staff is available prior to your arrival.
• Traveling overseas to a new country can be intimidating, especially when dealing with medical issues.
• Sheba takes care of you with transportation, accommodations, and visas every step of the way.
• You will have access to the latest clinical trials, newest procedures, and innovative drug therapies.
• As a government hospital, Sheba’s fees are open and transparent. Sheba provides outstanding, affordable Western medicine.

Despite Sheba Medical Center’s size, you will receive tailor-made medicine here, administered with compassion and true caring. The entire staff is committed to the well-being of their patients and taking care of your every need. Even among high-tech procedures and advanced research, the human element is not lost at Sheba.

Quote of the day: Likud – ‘Coronavirus vaccine will be found before Gantz can form coalition without [Arab] Joint List’

The Likud party dismisses Blue and White leader Benny Gantz’s claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu is planning to spread false reports about the coronavirus during tomorrow’s elections to suppress turnout among Blue and White supporters.

“Gantz is talking nonsense. A vaccine for the coronavirus will be found before [Gantz] finds a way to form a government without [Arab Joint List MK] Ahmad Tibi. We’re a seat away from a victory that will prevent fourth elections or a dangerous government dependent on Tibi,” Likud writes on its Twitter account.

Blue and White chairmen Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party of spreading fake reports about the coronavirus in a bid to suppress turnout on election day among Blue and White voters.

“This is exactly what Netanyahu intends to do tomorrow. He intends to disrupt election day, spread fake news in every area identified with Blue and White.”

Gantz was referring to reports that parts of a mall in the Tel Aviv suburb were closed due to suspicions someone was infected with the virus. In the last elections, 50.32 percent of votes cast in Givatayim went to Blue and White.

The Health Ministry said the man, who had returned to Israel from the US by way of Italy, reported not feeling well and that he was examined by medical personnel.

“There’s no hindrance to go to the mall in Givatayim and to continue [one’s] daily routine,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Health Ministry doesn’t put out statements on suspected [carriers of the virus] or those who were examined but only about verified cases.”

Gantz visited the mall after the reports.