Israel’s aggressive vaccine campaign has paid off, based on the Health Ministry’s new data. Two weeks after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, we have seen infection rates drop dramatically for those vaccinated. A 30% reduction in COVID-19 cases diagnosed from week one to week two alone was promising. During week three, the Health Ministry recorded an encouraging 92% reduction rate in cases.

The pandemic has made teaching a challenge. Instructors note that it has widened the gap between students who can learn well remotely and those who struggle with it. Israel's high school teachers currently face a new challenge: preparing the students for the 2021 midyear exams.

Lockdown in Israel may soon become a reality again. The Israeli Health Ministry is preparing to call for a third lockdown in Israel, given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Currently, they’re looking at a three-week partial lockdown plan, which would allow some schools and private businesses to stay open.

Lockdown in Israel may soon become a reality again. The Israeli Health Ministry is preparing to call for a third lockdown in Israel, given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Currently, they’re looking at a three-week partial lockdown plan, which would allow some schools and private businesses to stay open.

Lockdown in Israel may soon become a reality again. The Israeli Health Ministry is preparing to call for a third lockdown in Israel, given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. Currently, they’re looking at a three-week partial lockdown plan, which would allow some schools and private businesses to stay open.

An end to the coronavirus crisis in Israel is starting to seem within reach. Israel’s Ministry of Health signed an agreement on Friday with British company AstraZeneca and its partner Oxford University to provide Israel with millions of COVID-19 vaccines during the first half of 2021. The vaccine, which is now in its phase 3 trials, has shown some promising results. Its stage 2 trials revealed a safe and strong immune response in older adults – a particularly surprising find given the fact that the immune system generally slows with age. This is good news for the elderly population, who are at a higher risk of severe illness from contracting COVID-19.

Months after Israel’s and the United Arab Emirates’s Abraham Accords, normalization seems to be the new normal of the Middle East. Following the UAE, Israel and Bahrain established normalization ties mid-September, and just this week Israel and Sudan agreed on terms for normalization. The decision came after a covert delegation made up of US and Israeli officials flew to Sudan this past Wednesday for talks with Sudanese officials on the 2nd known direct flight between the two countries.

The High Holidays in Israel had an abrupt, and deadly, ending, as COVID-19 cases and deaths have rose to record levels as Israel experiences its 2000th death in the fight against the disease. Now, Israel’s average death per capita has surpassed the global average, Israel’s hospital system is overloaded with some even closing their doors to new patients, and government officials are debating an extension to the lockdown.

Almost two months after the Beirut explosion in Lebanon that killed 200 people and caused incalculable devastation for thousands of families, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented satellite images to the United Nations showing that it could happen again, and soon. The images presented were satellite images of another area on the coast of Lebanon, where two separate warehouses filled with explosive materials to that of the first explosion could be seen right next to packed civilian neighborhoods, gas companies, and Beirut’s international airport. At the end of his presentation, he said “You’ve got to act now, you’ve got to protest this because if this thing explodes, it’s another tragedy.”

This week, a date was proposed for the formal ceremony concertizing the Israel - United Arab Emirates peace deal. The ceremony will hopefully take place on Sunday, September 13th, 2020, the 27th anniversary of the Oslo Accords signing, and several Arab leaders have promised to be in attendance, sources say. In anticipation of that event, Israelis and Americans finally got to see the fruits of their labor after the recent peace deal, with the first direct flight from Israel to Abu Dhabi, but that wasn’t the only historic part of the flight. 

Millions rejoiced last week when a joint announcement was made between Israel, the US, and the United Arab Emirates that a peace deal had been brokered, officially establishing normalized ties between the UAE and Israel. This deal is the third such deal between Israel and surrounding nations like Egypt and Jordan. Currently, Israeli and US officials are optimistic that more Arab nations will follow suit, but the group that is most excited about the arrangement is none other than the entrepreneurs.

A popular supermarket chain in Israel is bringing the United Nations Human Rights Council to court. This past week, the supermarket, Rami Levy, filed a 280,000 Shekel lawsuit against the UNHRC for what they call practices of “pure racism on the basis of nationality and religion…meant to harm good names and hurt them financially through boycotts...degrading the plaintiffs and their employees for their religion, nationality, and place of residence, and all that entails.”

A recent study published by the Israel Democracy Institute measured the totality of the economic toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the Israeli population, and while the second wave seems to be stabilizing, the report shows that the financial situation still has a long way to go. However, rather than increasing stimulus packages, people are calling for a more systematic approach to solving the crisis; a solution that has long term benefits rather than short term gains.

As the world rushes to finalize a vaccine for COVID-19, countries have begun utilizing other means of controlling and minimizing the spread of the virus. One such method is called “Contact Tracing”, in which governing bodies identify positive cases of COVID-19, and track down people who have been in contact with those individuals and advise them to quarantine. This method of containment is, in theory, effective, but comes with its own set of challenges, and is typically understaffed. However, the biggest issue with contact tracing that Israeli computer scientists have recently solved, is not the amount of resources available to support it, but what effective contact tracing has meant for the general public. 

In addition to the challenges of COVID-19, Israeli citizens are now in even more danger, as terrorists in the Gaza strip begin renewed attacks on surrounding cities. For the past week, Hamas terrorists have been raining hellfire on Israeli towns near the Gaza strip, by launching balloons armed with propane tanks and explosives, setting over 60 fires in Israeli land, burning over 150 acres of land. Additionally, Hamas and the IDF have exchanged rockets recently, and the former has threatened to increase the regularity of their rocket fire. This is only adding to the already growing tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Prime Minister Netanyahu officially warned the surrounding Arab governments this week, including Syria and Lebanon and the Lebanese military group Hezbollah, that “we will do what is necessary in order to defend ourselves”. This declaration comes after several attempts by terrorists to infiltrate Israel and terrorize its citizens have been thwarted by the Israel Defense Force over the weekend. However in light of the recent catastrophe in the Lebanon capital, Beirut, Israel has put aside its grievances with the government to help those in need.

Israel’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases may prove to be a vital tool in fighting the pandemic, as the State prepares to sign a deal with US-based biotech company, Arcturus Therapeutics. Under the arrangement, Arcturus Therapeutics will begin phase 3 human testing of a promising new COVID-19 vaccine in Israel, and in return, Israel will be able to purchase 4 million vaccines, should the tests prove successful. 

Israel is one of the most technologically and medically advanced nations in the world, but over the course of the pandemic, they have proven themselves to be at the forefront of a different type of medical treatment, compassion.

One of the major sources of criticism for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the coronavirus has specifically revolved around his handling of the economic toll the crisis has taken on the country. Currently, the Israeli unemployment rate sits at 21%, leaving over 800,000 Israelis out of work, an increase of over 600,000 since before COVID-19. And, despite the government’s numerous stimulus plans and the state’s unemployment benefits, there are still thousands of Israelis struggling to put food on their tables, especially the self-employed.

For the past week and a half, nationwide lockdowns have been at the center of several heated debates amongst Israeli officials. With the number of daily cases of COVID-19 rising, on top of a collapsing healthcare system failing to meet the needs of the newly sick and putting too much pressure on the nursing staff of the hospitals, something must be done to control the virus. However, every step towards a solution is met with opposition, highlighting the chaos Israel now finds itself in as they try to weigh multiple factors at once as the physical and fiscal lives of thousands of Israelis are at stake.