Israel News

Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is just 39% effective in Israel where the delta variant is the dominant strain, but still provides strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization, according to a new report from the country’s Health Ministry.

For the first time since 2002, Israel has rejoined the African Union, a significant diplomatic achievement.

Israel’s National Security Council has announced it is “looking into” allegations that Israeli-made NSO Pegasus spyware has been used to illegally spy on a range of people including French President Emmanuel Macron, Ynet News reported Tuesday.

The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against the Delta variant is “weaker” than health officials had hoped, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Friday, as over 1,000 people tested positive for coronavirus and more countries were added to the list of places to which Israelis will be banned from traveling.

Israeli planes carried out airstrikes Syria for the second night this week, Damascus said early Thursday, while claiming that most missiles were shot down.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned Lebanon on Tuesday that Israel will respond forcibly to any rocket attacks. The statement followed rocket fire by Lebanon-based terrorists on Israel late Monday night.

Israel is examining possible changes to its operational plans against the Iranian nuclear program in order to contend with a US reentry to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the most respected foreign and defense policy experts in Washington, fears a new war may be coming to the Middle East sooner than most people realize.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem studies published in a pair of medical journals suggest that already-existing drugs can be repurposed to fight Covid, Hebrew-language news sites reported Monday.

The US-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced Monday it will continue doing business with Israel, but will stop sales in Israeli settlements of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, areas it referred to as Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The Israel-targeted Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has pressured Ben & Jerry’s to make such a move for years.

Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system shot down a rocket from Lebanon after two were fired at Israel Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party renewed on Monday its public efforts to persuade Blue and White’s Benny Gantz to leave the government and form an alternate coalition with right-wing parties.

Jordan is hoping that King Abdullah’s meeting with US President Joe Biden will pave the way for the kingdom to return to center stage in regional developments, particularly the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Israel put pressure on U.S. lawmakers to reject initiatives to restore the Iran nuclear deal during a recent bipartisan congressional trip taken to the Middle East.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asserted on Sunday that both Jews and Muslims have “freedom of worship” on the Temple Mount, potentially hinting at a change in policy at the most contentious site in Israel.

The Islamist Ra’am party condemned the ascent of hundreds of what it called Jewish “settlers” to the Temple Mount on Sunday morning, during the observance of the Tisha B’Av fast.

Permission for Individual tourists to enter Israel has been delayed yet again with no new date set and, now, even Israelis may be barred from flying out of their own country as the government weighs limiting all non-essential travel in order to keep out the much-vaunted Delta variant of the coronavirus.

On Tuesday, Member of Knesset Itamar Ben Gvir, head of the Religious Zionist Party, held a session in the Knesset concerning the dire condition of the Mughrabi Bridge used by Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount. The meeting went on to discuss how Jewish visitation to the site could be encouraged. The meeting came one week before Tisha B’Av (the ninth day of the month of Av), the day commemorating the destruction of the Jewish Temples.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is reported to have requested major budget increases to the tune of billions to make ready for a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear program.

On Thursday, the Cabinet approved a new vaccine passport – the “happy pass” – which will be put into effect at events such as weddings and bar mitzvahs with 100 people or more required proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID or a negative test.