It is shabbat again and all is quiet – too quiet, ominously quiet. I cannot hear the children playing on the swings in the little park next door. There are no crazy teenagers roaring up the track on their quad bikes or families passing on their way to the forest walking trails. It is a fairly dull, cloudy sort of day but that is not the reason. It is rather the shadow of the coronavirus that has us all indoors.
We here in Israel, like many of you my readers, are in a tight lockdown and are not allowed to go outdoors except to buy food or medicines. We may walk our dogs or take some exercise but not beyond 100m of our homes. These rules are being enforced by the police which have the power to stop anyone, on foot or in a vehicle, to check where they are going, and hand down fines or even prison sentences to violators. Now there is talk of an even tighter lockdown, which would prohibit even these activities, possibly just for the over 65s (that includes me) though perhaps even for the wider population. An announcement on this is expected tomorrow.
It is a strange time and a new experience for every one of us. I find it rather interesting that the whole world is being forced to share such an experience at the same time. I think it is making us all aware that we are family, and we need to help each other. In some ways the enforced separation is drawing us all together. I remember someone telling me that people who have faced a common threat of death, people like soldiers who have gone into battle together, forge a very special bond. I have felt that in Israel as we have gone through wars and terror attacks together. There is definitely a special bond amongst those who have shared those experiences. I wonder what effect this all may have on us all afterwards. Perhaps the world will be a better place. Perhaps we will all have a better perspective on our place in the world, and better list of priorities in our lives. Perhaps we will be more caring towards our family members, friends or neighbors. Or then again, humans have very short memories, perhaps we will all forget and fall back into our old ways. I don’t know, but this I do know, God has a purpose in all this. The Covid-19 virus is His tool to chastise mankind, making us consider our ways, in order to bring us back to him and force us to call upon His name for salvation. There is a saying here, “There are no atheists in battle”.
My pastor shared this verse with us a week or so ago, and it sent shivers down my spine.
Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.
Isaiah 26: 20-21
Although addressed to the people of Judah just prior to the Babylonian conquest, somehow these words seem to speak into our time as well. Lets enter our chambers and shut the doors until the indignation passes. We are coming up to the Passover celebration, when we remember that the people of God were warned to shut themselves and their families indoors until the final plague, the angel of death passed over. It was not to be forever. The time of indignation will pass and if we want it, we can then take hold of the freedom that God offers us.
The question is, how will I, how will you respond to these things. Will we be crippled by fear or fall into depression and despair? Or will we see this as a God-given opportunity to spend more time with Him, to examine our own lives and call upon His name. Paul also lived in perilous times and he said this:
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4: 4-9
Are you feeling down? Are you afraid? Are you lonely and bored? Then rejoice in God. A little while ago in the midst of his sermon my pastor asked us what were the tools that God had given us to fight against our spiritual enemy, Satan. A little girl, aged about 4, immediately piped up saying “Be happy”. Out of the mouth of babes!!! She was so right. I am not talking about cheap, shallow ‘happiness’ which is often just denial, but rather the deep joy of the Lord. If you have lost it, dig into the wells of everlasting water which is in Yeshua (Jesus). Turn to the riches of the Bible and remember God’s past blessings in your own life. These things can help us overcome depression and loneliness. Paul also suggests another antidote; looking at all the good things, the pure, the beautiful, and the true. One thing I have found I need to do in these days is to turn off the news on TV. It is coming at us 24 hours a day constantly padded out by endless discussion and speculation, not to mention a great deal of misinformation and unbalanced hype. I am not saying we should not listen to the news but just to do it occasionally in order to keep in touch with developments, but rather to moderate our ingestion of bad news and balance it with all that is good and pure and true, especially from the Word of God.
One of the hardest aspects of the lockdown for me is that just as the seemingless endless rainy days of winter are giving way to a glorious spring, and the landscape is filled with the best display of Israel’s glorious wild flowers for years, we are not allowed to go out and enjoy them. The day before the lockdown restrictions were tightened, I did take a lovely walk around University Hill, a little forested knob of a hill nearby with a circular path of about 3 km.. I knew it would be my last walk in the forest for a while, and that made it even more special. Below are some photos of the wildflowers I saw. Enjoy!
Persian cyclamen, Har Hauniversita, 25 March 2020
Barbary nut (a kind of iris) and Nurit (Asian ranunculus) Har Hauniversita, 25 March 2020
Butterfly orchid ( Orchis caspia) Har Hauniversita, 25 March 2020
The track around Har Hauniversita, 25 March 2020
?Neotinea maculata (Dense flowered orchid)
I want to finish by sharing this worship song with you. God Bless and Keep you all.
Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
Since my last update the world has changed and we are all trying to adjust to the new reality of a worldwide pandemic, which could potentially rival the 1918 Spanish flu in terms of the number of deaths and the economic impacts. It is the first time in history such a major pandemic has been brought so graphically before our eyes on the media, and this makes it even more scary.
A Jewish astronaut, Jessica Meir, posting pictures of Tel Aviv by night from space, tweeted yesterday saying,
Gazing down at the city in which my father was raised, I take to heart one of his most uttered expressions, “This too shall pass”. Wise words to remember, in both good times and bad.
This oft-uttered, typically Israeli expression “This too shall pass” is comforting in times of trouble, but I wonder if it will be true in this case. The virus will pass in time, it is true, but will the world ever be the same? In a way, I hope not. I hope that this catastrophe will wake us all up (me included) and cause us all to examine our lives, reassess our priorities and call upon the Name of the God of Israel, both for ourselves and for our nations and the world as a whole.
Last night I read these words:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17 : 5-8
If nothing else, this pandemic should show us the futility of trusting in man, or in our own puny resources. What is man? He is so fragile that a tiny piece of RNA with a protein coat, so small it cannot even be seen, can bring all of mankind to its knees. I am so glad we have a caring, all-powerful God to trust in, and in Him fear is banished and hope can flourish. I can see that this pandemic is can even be seen as a blessing from God. It is a warning to the nations and an opportunity, perhaps one of the last opportunities, for mankind to repent and turn to Him. Our civilization, and all its trappings, lures us into a false sense of security causing us to trust in man-made things, such as possessions, medicine, and armies. This pandemic is highlighting the futility of such trust. The only sure thing left in the world is our God. In Him we hope.
As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him,
Psalm 103 : 15-17
You may be wondering how this virus is impacting Israel. As I write (21/03) the tally of those ill with the virus has reached over 883, though there are 12 currently in serious condition. In the last couple of days the numbers have jumped rapidly and we seem to be entering a near exponential rate of increase. Today the first person, a man in his late 80’s and with pre-existing respiratory problems, passed away. There are a number of others in serious condition. I expect the rate of infection to continue to rise in the near future and soon our hospital and medical resources, already at a crash point, will be swamped. Then the death rate will rise.
The whole country is now in lockdown and we are not supposed to leave our homes except for ‘essential’ things such as medical care and the replenishing of food supplies. A lot of people have been ignoring these directives. We were all shocked last week to see on the TV news a video of hundreds of haredi (ultra-orthodox) men dancing together, shoulder to shoulder, at a wedding, and this taking place after meetings of more than 10 were banned. It is not however only the haredim who have ignored government directives. Last Shabbat, Tel Aviv beaches and parks around the country were packed as people swarmed out to enjoy the first sunny Shabbat for a long time. Consequently beaches and parks have now been closed and restrictions have been tightened up. This Shabbat however there are still reports of people flocking to Tel Aviv’s waterfront promenade contrary to government rulings (and in spite of the inclement weather).
Such behavior has resulted in the government taking the very controversial step of using anti-terror technology to monitor people’s movements digitally, using the existing video cameras in public places and also by tracking personal digital phones. This way they can see who comes into contact with people who test positive and can force them into quarantine. Already hundreds of people have been quarantined this way. In addition, the police have now been given the power to enforce the government directives. They can stop anyone on the street and demand why they are moving around, and enforce the closure of shops and other businesses, and break up gatherings of people.
Although most people accept that such drastic measures are necessary in our fight against the virus, there is some concern about the erosion of democracy and civil liberties. The Jerusalem Post newspaper pointed out the danger that the use of such technologies and practices will set a precedent and will continue to erode civil liberties long after the current crisis passes.
The novel coronavirus will, at some time, pass. And when it does, it is essential that the democratic institutions – and indeed our civil liberties – have not been whittled away in the cause of defeating the plague. Emergency regulations enacted during times of crisis have been known throughout the world to outlast the crisis that they were meant to deal with. It is critical this does not happen here (1).
The lockdown in Israel is having a major impact economically. First hit was the tourist industry and the airlines, which have almost totally shut down. Universities, schools, kindergartens and child care centers have all been closed, as have all shops, except for supermarkets and pharmacies. Restaurants and places of entertainment are closed. Other businesses are allowed to continue work but with only 1/3 of their workforce. While some businesses can continue online many others cannot and have closed down or laid off staff and, as a consequence, many have lost their source of income. The National Insurance (our social welfare ministry) estimates that the number of unemployed could rise to as many as 1.5 million, a very large percentage of the workforce. The government has allocated a large sum of money for paying the unemployed, but nevertheless there are many families left without a sufficient income. The self-employed who lose their income are not entitled to unemployment benefits. Of course there is also the impact on the bursa (stock market) in which many of us have our pension funds and private savings. The nation as a whole is in a better situation than most countries and has large reserves of money and goods stockpiled.
All places of worship are closed including synagogues, churches and mosques. Most Messianic congregations are holding prayer and other meetings online. Even my housegroup met this week on a video conferencing platform. That was a first for most of us and it worked quite well. I am glad to say that we are all standing firm and actively encouraging and helping each other. Many in our congregation have lost their jobs and the congregation too is losing its financial support. We still need to pay our rent and other expenses. But God is good and will supply all our need.
No doubt many of us are asking just what is all this about. Is it the end of the world? When you see medical staff in hazmat suits, drones spraying disinfectants in the streets and police stopping anyone seen in public, you might well be reminded of all those post-apocalyptic films you have seen.
Many are quoting the following passage from Matthew 24: 3-8,
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
This description certainly seems to fit the current state of the world, but when has it not? Since the Garden of Eden, there have always been wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, famines, pestilences (epidemics) and earthquakes. It is the post- Fall nature of the world that was subjected to futility because of Adam’s sin in the Garden.
For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Romans 8:19-22
The current pandemic is but one of the birth pangs which will continue until the tribulation. The passage quoted above from Matthew 24 continues in the next verse (v. 9) saying,
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation …
Note the word, ‘then’. The tribulation comes after the situation outlined in the previous verses. We are not yet in the tribulation period. That is not to say that this current pandemic is not preparing the ground for the end time events prophesied in Revelation.
One of the things prophesied in Revelation is the rise of a one-world government. As we see world governments working together to counter the pandemic, using modern digital technologies, it is not hard to see that a world government could easily arise quite soon. There are some who are saying the pandemic was perhaps orchestrated to bring just this about. I doubt that, but that the Enemy (Satan) and those under his power could use this pandemic to this end is not beyond imagining. A global crisis would naturally call for a global solution and that requires a global government. We are closer to such a scenario than ever before.
Another aspect of the coronavirus crisis is the question of judgment. Throughout the Bible we see God using natural disasters and warfare to judge nations. Is God judging nations today by means of the coronavirus? It seems probable since all nations today are acting contrary to God and doing so with the arrogance of human pride. If we consider the nations that have been so far worst hit, it is tempting to make the conclusion they are especially sinful. China persecutes the church and oppresses its people. Iran is threatening Israel and world peace. Italy and Spain entertain Roman Catholicism which is heresy, and Europe as a whole has turned away from its Christian heritage.
We have however to be careful about pointing fingers – the old adage is true. When you point at someone, then you have 3 fingers pointing back at yourselves. No nation is without serious sin against God today, not even Israel. Someone sent me earlier information about my home country New Zealand which, under cover of the corona scare, has just passed a draconian amendment to its Abortion Law which decriminalizes abortion and thus opens the way for the abortion of babies even up until full term. This amendment even permits euthanasia by neglect of those babies who survive an attempted abortion (2). I fear for New Zealand. Beware the wrath of God.
In the Bible the judgement of God is always coupled with redemption. They are the two sides of the same coin. God does not want any one to die.
Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!
Ezekiel 33: 11
When God judges the nations he does so in the hope that it will force us to reconsider our ways. For this reason I see this current pandemic as an opportunity for us all as I said earlier. It is an opportunity to stop the mad rush of our modern life, reset our priorities and value systems and, above all, to turn to the God of Israel for salvation. It is not too late, but time is running out before the restrainer (the true church of God) is removed and the tribulation begins. Even before that we are also reminded of our mortality. Any one of us could fall ill and die from this virus. We all need to settle our accounts with God.
Some of you may be wondering how I am faring in all of this. I am well and in good spirits. I put myself into voluntary ‘house arrest’ a week ago since I am in a high risk category, being over 60 and having chronic respiratory issues. My school closed last Friday and our administration scrambled to charter a plane and get the kids sent home to the USA, which they managed to do sending them off on Sunday night. It was quite a feat of organization and you can read more in this article:
Tomorrow (21/03) we start lessons again online with our students scattered all over the States and far away. This meant that this week we teachers have all be flat out learning how to teach online. As a chemistry teacher it will be a challenge to teach without my whiteboard. I was blessed however to be able to purchase a small whiteboard at a local shop which was still open (against the directives) the other day, and this will help I hope. I am having some issues getting my account with the online platform sorted, but hope I can get it fixed tonight in time to start lessons tomorrow (I can still start if I don’t, but it will be much more difficult). I am very grateful that I will still have an income for the next two months until our school year finishes, and also that I have something to occupy my mind while I am stuck at home. Since I live alone it is a bit lonesome not being able to get together with friends as I am accustomed, but I thank God we can still talk on the internet. My cat is also some company – although he is not much of a conversationalist. He talks a lot but I don’t understand most of what he says!!!
Now for a little word study. What is the source of the word corona? Corona viruses are so named because they all have protrusions that look like a crown, or rays shining from a sun. Corona derives from the Latin word for crown. But where does the Latin word come from? From the Hebrew, of course. We see it in Exodus 24:39
Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
When Moses came down from Mt Sinai rays of light shone from his face. The word in Hebrew to express this shining forth of light is ‘kerenor‘ – literally rays of light, and from this comes coren- or or corona.
By the way keren means ‘ray (of light)’ in Hebrew but it can also mean a horn. An ignorance of this fact led Michaelangelo to depict Moses as having horns in his famous statue.
Michaelangelo’s Moses
I want to close with this video. I am aware that all of you are going through trials at this time. I am praying for your protection and comfort. Enjoy this song and be encouraged.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then Mor′decai told them to return answer to Esther, “Think not that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4: 13-17
Next week we here in Israel will be celebrating the Festival of Purim, which commemorates the events recorded in the Book of Esther.
If you have been in Israel at this time you will have noticed Purim is celebrated in Jerusalem a day later than elsewhere. This second day of Purim is known as Shushan Purim. The Book of Esther records that, throughout the Persian Empire, the Jews fought against those who sought to destroy them on the 13th of the month of Adar, and then on the 14th they celebrated their victory. In Shushan, the capital of the Persian Empire, the fighting continued a second day finishing on the 14th of Adar and the Jews there held their celebrations on the 15th of Adar. Since then the Jews of Shushan, in south-western Iran today, celebrate Purim on the 15th, as did the Jewish inhabitants of all the cities that were walled at the time Joshua led the people of Israel into Canaan. Jerusalem is the only city we know for sure was walled at that time, and therefore in Jerusalem we celebrate Shushan Purim on the 15th of Adar . There are also some other cities in Israel that perhaps were walled at that time, for example Jaffa (Yafo) and Tiberias (Teveria), and these cities celebrate both on the 14th and 15th (1).
No matter when it is celebrated Purim is a joyous festival during which we remember the faithfulness of God with great rejoicing and fun. People dress up in costumes during the festival and for several days before and after. Most towns hold Purim Parades. There is much feasting and fun and we eat the traditional food, Hamantaschen (Haman’s Ears). Gifts are given, especially to the poor. In the synagogues the whole Scroll of Esther is read. During the reading people, especially the children, make much noise with graggers (wooden or plastic devices which make a noise when spun), booing and stomping every time the name of Haman, who plotted the annihilation of the Jews, is mentioned.
Although Purim is a fun festival, and sometimes a little silly, there is a very serious message hidden in the festivities. Just as the name of God is not mentioned even once in the Book of Esther his hidden working is evident as the events unfold. For example, we are told in chapters 5-6 that the very night before the moment when Haman purposed to seek the King’s approval of his plan to hang Mordecai, the King was unable to sleep. He therefore called upon his servants to read to him from the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles. Perhaps he expected this book to bore him to sleep but instead he read about how Mordecai had saved his life and the King purposed to make sure that Mordecai was suitably rewarded the next day. So it was when Haman came to destroy Mordecai he found himself being forced to bless Mordecai instead. This story reminds me of how God often works in our lives, not with big dramatic miracles, but rather in the quiet, almost hidden, ordering of the timing of events.
It is encouraging to remember that God is quietly working out his perfect Will, especially at the darkest times when all seems hopeless. How fearful the Jews of Esther’s time must have been as the date of their planned annihilation drew near. Little did they know that their salvation was near and their mourning would be turned to joy.
And Mor′decai recorded these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasu-e′rus, both near and far, enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same, year by year, as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending choice portions to one another and gifts to the poor.
Esther 9: 20-22
These days things seem pretty black in the world as we face the spread of the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic. As the governments scramble to try and stop its spread it seems likely they will fail at least in the short term and there will be many deaths and severe economic problems as a result. However we, like the Jews of Persia, have been given the means to defend ourselves, not swords and shields, but rather the weapon of prayer. Mordecai encouraged Esther to speak up saying, ” … who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? ” Who knows that perhaps you and I were brought into the kingdom just for this moment, just for this purpose, to pray against this ‘spirit of infirmity’ that is sweeping across the world these days. Perhaps God will have mercy on the world and stay this plague and perhaps he will use it to bring many to faith as they cry out for help and are brought to their knees before God in desperation.
In the book of Revelation, those who have been washed in the atoning blood of Yeshua (Jesus) are called a kings and priests (or a kingdom of priests),
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 1: 5-6 NKJV
In the true church there is no need for priests for all those who have been washed in the blood of Yeshua have direct access to God (Hebrews 10:19) and the Great High Priest, Yeshua himself, intercedes for us. The sacrifice of animals for sin is no longer needed as Yeshua made that sacrifice in his blood, once and for all. However those who are not of Yeshua do not have access to God and are still in the need of priests to intercede for them. I believe that is our job, as a kingdom of priests. We all need to be intercessors praying for the mercy of God on behalf of the people of the world. In Revelation 5 and 8 the prayers of the saints rise up to God as incense.
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:8
The world needs our prayers now perhaps as never before. This virus could to get out of control, kill thousands, if not millions of people, and bring about a total collapse of the world economy. However if we call upon God to have mercy on the people who knows but that He might just say “Stop”. This is the message of Esther.
Coronovirus in Israel
Some of you might be wondering what the situation in Israel is in respect of the Covid-19 coronvirus. Israel has put in place strict measures to prevent the spread of the virus and so far cases have been few (25 confirmed as of today 08/03, one of whom is in a serious and deteriorating condition), but increasing every day. Most of the cases are the result of people contracting the disease while abroad or after having come in contact with tourists carrying the disease. Consequently Israel has closed its borders to visitors from many countries in the far East and in Europe, and is even considering including the USA in this list. Israeli residents returning from those countries must go into quarantine for 14 days upon their return. Laws have been put in place to enforce this ruling, with a sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment for violations leading to the infection of others. So far there are about 80,000 Israelis in home quarantine. Gatherings of more than 5000 people have been banned and the general public warned to avoid meeting in large groups as far as possible, especially those most vulnerable. Will these measures be enough? Probably not, and they are likely to be increased in the coming days. However I feel that Israel has perhaps a better chance than many other countries in the region of weathering this storm. Because of our constant war readiness and experience, the authorities are better prepared and the general public used to dealing with emergency measures and less likely to panic. That said, please pray for our protection – that God will supernaturally seal our borders and protect the people. Pray too that the hearts of the people will be turned to the LORD at this time.
Coronavirus in the Palestinian Areas
Israel is working with the Palestinian Authority to control the spread of the virus in the West Bank. Following contact with a group of Greek tourists 19 people in Beit Jala have tested positive for the disease and are now in quarantine in Jericho. The city of Bethlehem and the adjacent towns of Beit Jala and Beit Sahour have been put in total lockdown. As many people in these towns work in Israel this represents a severe economic stress for these families. Many of the people of these towns feel this is unnecessarily severe especially since these tourists entered the area from Israel and no Israeli towns have been quarantined as a result. However it is not only the Israeli authorities that are taking strict measures, the Palestinian Authority too has introduced stringent measures. Schools, universities, churches and mosques there are closed, tourists are barred from entering teh cities and traffic between districts and regions restricted. Israel has assisted with the evacuation of tourists from Bethlehem and other West Bank towns (2).
So far there have been no reported cases of the virus in the Gaza Strip, but I fear what would happen there should the virus manage to enter. Their medical and emergency resources are very limited.
Israeli Elections III.
All the hype about the coronovirus somewhat eclipsed the third round of elections here in Israel on the 2nd. In spite of the the weariness of the public, and the fears of the spreading virus, there was a very high turn out, 70% of eligible voters. The final vote count is not yet published but the provisional results are as follows:
In spite of increasing his lead, Netanyahu is unlikely to be able to form a coalition government as his Right-Religious block (Likud, Shas, UTJ, and Yamina) gives him only 58 seats, three short of the 61 he needs. The Center-left block (Blue and White, and Labor-Gesher_Meretz) has only 40 seats and therefore could not form a government even with the Joint Arab List’s 15 seats. Once again Avigdor Leiberman’s Yisrael Beytenu Party is standing in the position of king maker. He has made it clear in a tweet that “We will not join any government led by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that includes Shas and United Torah Judaism” (4). We will see what he will do after the final confirmed results of the election are publicized tomorrow. We are all just hoping that we will not be forced into yet another, fourth, round of elections. We badly need a government but please pray that it is the right government for Israel at this time. What that ‘right government’ actually is, I have no idea, but God knows and we can pray “God’s will be done on Earth”.
Spring is here
After a very long and wet winter we have been delighted in the past week or so to see at last some lovely sunny days. We had our first spring sharav (the hot, dry east wind) last week though it was weak and the temperature only got up to 25 degrees – but lovely to get into double digits again!! The land is looking its best. It is lush and green and there are loads and loads of beautiful spring flowers garnishing our land.
Pink and white almond trees in Ein Kerem, 28 Feb, 2020
