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I am fascinated by this picture of MK Netanyahu (Likud) sitting on his suitcases in an airport in Miami while his wife Sarah and son Yair check in at the desk (not seen here but seen in other versions of this picture) as they begin their private vacation in the USA, though I am not sure why. 

Maybe it is the simplicity of him traveling like any other passenger, now that he is not Prime Minister any longer, sitting tired on his luggage like any other weary traveler in the airport. 

Maybe it is wondering if the people around in the lines nearby are aware they are right next to a former Prime Minister, the longest serving PM in Israel's history and one who left his mark on history having done great things for his country or if they think he is just some other guy waiting to catch his connecting flight or fighting for his lost luggage or whatever..

BTW, I read that he does have his regular contingent of bodyguards somewhere there with him, as former PM and head of Opposition.

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Personally I am surprised the number is so high. And the reason is not because much of Israel does not see Bennett as a legitimate Prime Minister and therefore his lockdown is also illegitimate. The reason is because people have had enough , already a long time ago.

The first lockdown, imposed by then PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in March-April 2020 for Pesach was adhered to very tightly and enforced very strictly.  Covid-19 was new, people did not know, everyone was afraid, it seemed very serious, enforcement was tight. Netanyahu's next two lockdowns were hardly listened to. Enforcement was loose and weak and people were not interested - rules were contradictory and often nonsensical and people had had enough. Now is no different, and possibly worse. People are not interested. The religious will mostly not listen because they see the decision as political - if necessary why not now and stop the vacationing instead of during the High Holidays when we need our shuls? That in addition to many not seeing Bennett as legitimate. The general public will mostly not listen just because nobody is interested in that anymore. 

Other solutions are needed, and I hope the 30% support for following lockdown rules will show the government that this is not the way to go. Personally I think there will not be a lockdown, but I guess it likely depend son how much the vaccination campaign (new vaccines plus 3rd shot boosters) is successful in bringing the numbers down...

According to the report, Kahana is trying to find a way to solve the issue of there not being enough burial space around Israel, especially in the major cities. Har Hamenuchot is already burying most new burials in levels of drawers in the mountainside, rather than classic in the ground burials. There was a report last week of a problem in Bnei Braq's municipal cemetery not having enough space so they contracted todo burials in Elad, or something like that.

Kahana is considering, supposedly, going back to Talmudic-era burials. According to his plan, bodies would be buried for a year while they decompose, and then at the end of the first year the remaining bones would be exhumed from the grave and placed in a small casket of sorts. The small casket or canister would be stored away, maybe in a  cave or something like that. This would take up a lot less space and free up the ground for new burials (for a year...). The casket could/would be marked with the text desired by the family that would have been on a headstone, and if desired space could be reserved adjacent for the interment of loved ones in the future. 

According to the report, Kahana did not actually come up with this idea, but some rabbis recognizing the problem have been trying to promote this solution in recent years. 

This is going to hit some heavy opposition. Being that this is how Jewish burial used to be done, I can't imagine it is a halachic problem or that any halachic issues with the practicalities can't be easily worked out. It will be emotionally difficult for many as by now we are used to certain type of burial and not this form, and there will be some that will say it is minhag or whatnot.

  -- Deputy Director of Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, Don Turner

I get the feeling, but he is not helping anybody by not taking the third dose. The State of Israel is not going to send his unused third dose to Australia or Canada or Africa for poor unvaccinated people - it will just go to somebody else in Israel or get wasted and expire at some point. In the meantime, one of the leaders of a major hospital will not have his booster and might end up being in a risky situation. 

Turner does believe that "rich" countries acquiring vaccines should condition that on an equal share of vaccines being sent to poor countries. That is a fair argument and worthy of discussion. I don't see it as realistic, but it is at least worth discussing. I am not sure why a private company, eg Pfizer or Moderna, would accept such a condition from any country demanding it - they sell vaccines, they don't give them away. if Israel or the USA or any other country wants to purchase vaccines and have them shipped as a humanitarian gesture to Haiti, to Tunisia, to the Palestinian Territories, to Congo or to wherever, that is the business of each country alone. Perhaps it should be an effort of the United Nations.

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The new tax includes drinks beyond a certain amount of sugar, even if no sugar is added and it is natural fruit sugar (fructose?).

Hamechadesh points out that everyone who makes kiddush will be affected by this tax and grape juice is not being granted an exception as a basic necessity (necessity in the sense of being a high percentage of Jews in the State of Israel making kiddush on Friday nights and Shabbos morning).

A cynic would say that the entire tax was designed by Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman entirely around this to hurt the religious and the religious act of kiddush. More likely it is like an innocent pedestrian getting killed in a drive by shooting - unintended consequence. Probably a tiny amount of lobbying will get an exception granted.

The last possibility is that Lieberman wants to push us to drink less grape juice and more wine. I think wine is even more mehudar than grape juice from the mitzva perspective, so maybe Lieberman is trying to get us to do mitzvas in a better way!  Or, maybe the wine lobby is even behind it!

Researchers discovered a "huge" concentration of deep water sharks and shark eggs. They never knew about such a site before off the coasts of Israel, or specifically Tel Aviv. In general shark nurseries and mating sites are rare to be able to observe and study, so finding one right here is amazing.

source: JPost

cue the baby shark music here for the eggs and nursery...

It does not mention what types of sharks were found in this location, though it does say the sharks commonly found around here are sandbar sharks and dusky sharks - so maybe it is one of, or both of, those.

While the free shipping promotion was originally on any purchase above $49, it has now been nudged up to a minimum order of $65. That means the sweet spot for people in Israel is orders that fall anywhere between $65 and $75, to avoid shipping charges and customs charges added on. Israel allows customs free purchases from abroad as long as the value does not exceed $75. There is talk of this being changed or cancelled, but for now this is still the rule. Obviously you can order more, but then you'll have to add VAT plus possibly other import taxes depending on value and specific item.

Ynet is reporting that the new promotion does not [yet?] include all products, but more are to be added soon. It also might not apply to large items that are more costly to ship. I guess all that will be worked out over time.

According to the report, they were arrested for having allegedly forged the paperwork of their Corona tests to be allowed entry into Israel. They were all detained and their telephones and passports confiscated. 

I can understand getting fake vaccination documents. I can understand forging serology tests, maybe to get out of quarantine.

I don't understand why someone would forge a Corona test, unless they currently have Corona (and how would they know that without the test anyway, unless they were actually sick which does not seem to be the case). How hard is it to go get a Corona test? the entire process takes about 5 minutes - plus possibly waiting in line, which I am sure the son of a Hassidic rebbe would not have to do. What's the big deal? Why fake it?

I don't get it