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Israel is returning to normal life after fast COVID vaccination

Coming exactly a year after Israel’s first documented coronavirus case, Sunday’s easing of curbs was part of a government plan to open the economy more widely next month, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up for reelection.

“We are the first country in the world that is reviving itself thanks to the millions of vaccines we brought in,” he tweeted. “Vaccinated? Get the Green Pass and get back to life.”

https://reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel/israels-covid-vaccination-pass-opens-fast-track-to-normal-life-idUSKBN2AL036

Also, additional data showed,
the vaccine is able to cut covid-19 illness and deaths by more than 93% and also provides the first large-scale evidence that the vaccine may prevent most infections, including those that don’t cause symptoms.
https://technologyreview.com/2021/02/19/1019264/a-leaked-report-pfizers-vaccine-conquering-covid-19-in-its-largest-real-world-test/

Hopefully fast vaccination will slow down the COVID cases in US. As of this morning, it is sobering to see US's COVID-19 death is near 496,000!

Comments

  • edited February 2021
    Flags were down today. Is it because the USA reached one-half million deaths? Yes, Israel is doing a GREAT job of inoculating its JEWISH population. Palestinian citizens, last I heard, comprise 20% of the Israeli population. The vaccine rollout for them has not been wonderful. To say nothing of occupied Palestinian land, called the West Bank--- and its growing number of illegal settlements. Has Israel's gov't seen to THEIR need for vaccines? ..... ??? Yes, enough to be able to show the world they have done something. In all of these reports, what's never mentioned is that Israel is no model country. It's become an Apartheid State.
  • Reuter's article above glossed over the demographic of Israel. The Palestinians are not vaccinated at the same rate as the rest of Jewish population in Israel. Russian-made vaccine has arrived.
    https://bbc.com/news/55800921
  • edited February 2021
    Re “Israel is returning to normal life ...”

    Suspect that depends on your definition of “normal.” Cross-border travel for Israel and most nations remains severely restricted. My plans to visit Toronto last spring remain in cold storage - despite being vaccinated.

    A few related tidbits from Monday’s WSJ: (1) 25% of Israelis say they have no intention of ever being vaccinated, (2) Israel’s population is small compared to ours - roughly that of New York City, (3) Israel early-on entered into a diagnostic data-sharing plan with Pfizer which likely improved its access to the vaccine, (4) Israel outbid other nations for the Pfizer vaccine, paying 2-3 times the price paid by the U.S. & most European nations.

    Also - (Unrelated) Israel is rumored (WSJ) to have acquired for the adjoining Palestinian population a substantial supply of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine as part of a secret Israili-Russian prisoner swap. Israel declines to comment. Russia has had some good reviews of their vaccine and is leveraging its use for political advantage globally.

    FWIW
  • Thanks for the details and bidding for vaccines. Our travel plan changed considerably until we get vaccinated.
  • Ya, I won't wear a mask on an airplane. I won't wear it unless where required. I'm home a lot, so... not much of a problem, unless I forget the g-d thing when I get in the car.
  • Exactly why I keep a few in the pickup. As far as airplanes, I would have been very happy to have had one to wear the last time that we flew to France. The jerk behind me coughed and hacked all over me for 5000 miles, and I spent the first two weeks dealing with whatever he infected me with.
  • The HEPA filter used on airplane is not really sufficient to remove airborne particles in an airplane. It only take someone within 6’ distance to transmit these particles. We have been using dust musk and have not gotten sick for the last 20 years! Other than getting few drinks we kept the mask on throughout he flight. We also find double layer silk mask that are cooler and equally effective for oversea flight. Really it is small price to pay for not catching something inside the planes.
  • Exactly why I keep a few in the pickup. Smart! Shared car, here, though. Leave anything in that car and who knows what will happen to it? Same way they keep the kitchen!
  • edited February 2021
    I find the left-wing's fixation on Israel not quite as unsettling as the right-wing's on George Soros and the antisemitic trope on Jewish media, but it is still unsettling to me. It is not that I think that Israel's policies in the West Bank aren't bad. They are bad. But it is a point rarely noticed by the left that Hank already made: "2) Israel’s population is small compared to ours - roughly that of New York City." It has a population of 9 million. The West Bank has a population of 2.7 million including 391,000 Israeli settlers.
    Now to put things in some perspective: The Muslim Uighur population in China is 12.1 million. Many of them are being imprisoned by China in literal concentration camps: https://bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55794071 Yet from what I read on liberal sites like Common Dreams, the coverage of abuses against Palestinians is about 40 times that of Uighurs.
    Then if you look at the populations of other Middle Eastern countries, you'll see how small Israel is relatively speaking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Middle_Eastern_countries_by_population
    A country like Saudi Arabia has a population of 35 million, and has its own history of human rights abuses, notably towards women and African migrant workers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia
    I'm not saying the treatment of the Palestinians doesn't deserve attention. But the amount of attention and the kind of attention it receives does venture into the realm of antisemitism much like the attention to Jewish bankers and media moguls on the right-wing. One big for instance, is the fact that Zionists and the Likud party's supporting the settlements in the West Bank is confused with all Israelis and Jews in general. That is no more true in Israel than it is that every American supports the GOP's or Trump's policies towards immigrants or the Mexican border. Many Jews and many Israelis do not support Bibi's West Bank policies, so to lump them all together as one monolith ideologically is prejudiced.
  • @LewisBraham Duly noted, and no argument from me. But I do want to--- appropriately--- "slice the bologna a little thinner," and make some distinctions.

    Boycotting Israel is not antsemitic--- depending on one's motivations, right? If one simply hates Israel because it is a Jewish homeland, well, then you're just a prejudiced moron piece of shit. BDS exists BECAUSE no other means of pressuring the regime to change its policies has worked. We have a precedent, in Apartheid South Africa. There were many tournaments that Gary Player could not compete in. (South African citizen.) It was bad for him, and looked very bad for that regime. (I don't believe he suffered in any way.) It was a long haul. The boycott did not work instantly, nor in a single decade, even. It took longer than that. And there needs to be sufficient recognition of the problem, too: treatment of Palestinians on their own land. Emphasis on their own. Although not connected to BDS, it is worth mentioning that the adjacent Kingdom of Jordan has for many years refused to take in any more Palestinians. The logic of that decision is not to give Israel an "easy out." Let the international community see and pay attention: The promised Palestinian State is still not a reality.

    With tongue in cheek, the musician Dan Bern played with a band in his early days called "The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy." Still makes me giggle.

    There are reasons--- good ones--- why Jews are so visibly successful in our society. No one should denigrate Jews for being Jews. Wherever they might live. My argument is with the Israeli STATE apparatus. To which, someone might retort: "then why target all of Israeli society with the BDS Movement?" ... The response is: "Let them wake up and actually DO something, more than they're doing, to effect the needed change."

    We can't be everywhere, all at once. In my career, I made paying attention to the "Palestinian Issue" a justice priority. If you saw my Facebook feed, you'd see that I recognize and share the news with others about injustice wherever it is pointed out. It's not much, but I AM retired. And we all deserve that, when the time comes.



  • @LewisBraham Duly noted, and no argument from me. But I do want to--- appropriately--- "slice the bologna a little thinner," and make some distinctions.

    Boycotting Israel is not antsemitic--- depending on one's motivations, right? If one simply hates Israel because it is a Jewish homeland, well, then you're just a prejudiced moron piece of shit. BDS exists BECAUSE no other means of pressuring the regime to change its policies has worked. We have a precedent, in Apartheid South Africa. There were many tournaments that Gary Player could not compete in. (South African citizen.) It was bad for him, and looked very bad for that regime. (I don't believe he suffered in any way.) It was a long haul. The boycott did not work instantly, nor in a single decade, even. It took longer than that. And there needs to be sufficient recognition of the problem, too: treatment of Palestinians on their own land. Emphasis on their own. Although not connected to BDS, it is worth mentioning that the adjacent Kingdom of Jordan has for many years refused to take in any more Palestinians. The logic of that decision is not to give Israel an "easy out." Let the international community see and pay attention: The promised Palestinian State is still not a reality.

    With tongue in cheek, the musician Dan Bern played with a band in his early days called "The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy." Still makes me giggle.

    There are reasons--- good ones--- why Jews are so visibly successful in our society. No one should denigrate Jews for being Jews. Wherever they might live. My argument is with the Israeli STATE apparatus. To which, someone might retort: "then why target all of Israeli society with the BDS Movement?" ... The response is: "Let them wake up and actually DO something, more than they're doing, to effect the needed change."

    We can't be everywhere, all at once. In my career, I made paying attention to the "Palestinian Issue" a justice priority. If you saw my Facebook feed, you'd see that I recognize and share the news with others about injustice wherever it is pointed out. It's not much, but I AM retired. And we all deserve that, when the time comes.



  • edited February 2021
    @Crash I don't have a problem with boycotting Israel for its policies in the West Bank so long as one is consistent in one's ideals. In other words, the question is do you also believe in boycotting China for its treatment of the Uighurs, which is horrific? Because China is such a powerful nation state, the situation with the Uighurs has created certain ironies:

    https://haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-why-are-jews-protesting-china-s-uighur-genocide-louder-than-muslims-1.9021203

    https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/04/why-do-muslim-states-stay-silent-over-chinas-uighur-brutality

    The other irony is by boycotting the entire state of Israel's businesses, it can hurt Palestinians sometimes too. Sodastream is an interesting example:
    https://npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/03/27/471885452/when-500-palestinians-lose-their-jobs-at-sodastream-whos-to-blame
    I think a more nuanced response might work better. Consider the difference here between, say, companies that want to create products to address climate change and those that say support GOP politicians that are anti-environment, anti-immigrant and anti-labor. Should a company like Ben & Jerry's or First Solar be treated the same as an Exxon in a boycott? Obviously, there are complexities. But divestment and boycotts can and should work in certain cases. It did ultimately benefit South Africa. But there remains much hypocrisy regarding trade with authoritarian regimes like China. Would it not make more sense in certain cases to boycott the bad companies while rewarding the good or at least neutral?
  • +1. Well put.
    But Sodastream? Palestinian employees, right? My objection in that case is that they've located and are doing business on occupied land. They have no right to be there in the first place. The PA must get its act together, too, no doubt. But so far, they've not had the chance to screw everything up, on their own. Hamas and Fatah need to form a unity government, one way or another. Hamas = "terrorists?" But they WERE popularly elected, I recall.
  • edited February 2021
    But you can see the weird situation just a blanket boycott can create for companies trying to do the right thing in the NPR Sodastream article:
    Birnbaum says his desire to keep employing West Bank Palestinians at his new factory proves Palestinians could benefit from Israeli work opportunities even if companies move from the West Bank. He accuses Netanyahu of denying his workers permits only to point a finger — wrongly in this case, he says — at BDS.

    Netanyahu's office declined to respond to SodaStream's charges, except to say the permits were always known to be temporary and the government prioritizes jobs for Israeli citizens. An official in the prime minister's office also said the government had supported SodaStream's move with a grant worth approximately $7.5 million.

    Birnbaum says his new factory created hundreds of new jobs for Israelis, including underemployed Bedouin women, and points to the 58,000 Palestinians working with permits, as well as an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 more without, in Israel daily.

    "How is it that my 74 are going to take down the Israeli economy?"

    Now a freelance trucker, Mustafa Sharabati did not try to get a permit to work in Israel when SodaStream, his former employer, left the West Bank. The commute would have been two hours each way, and with the current violence, he felt afraid to travel into Israel. His earnings have dropped significantly; the father of four is now buying groceries on credit.
    Emily Harris

    What About The Workers?

    Nabil Bisharat was one of the lucky 74 Palestinian employees who had been allowed to continue working in the new SodaStream factory until earlier this month.

    Over six years, he rose from assembly line work to managing more than 50 employees. He didn't mind getting up at 4 a.m. for the long bus ride to the new factory, or getting home after dark. The 48-year-old has always worked for Israelis, he says, but called SodaStream "the best."

    "It's a five-star company for Palestinians," he says, over tea in the lovely home he built with SodaStream earnings. "It's a good job, good salary, good conditions, and they treat all workers equal, all the same. I felt that. I lived that."

    A former SodaStream machine operator, Mustafa Sharabati, 31, echoed that sentiment. But he chose not to apply for a permit when SodaStream shut down in the West Bank.

    "It's too far away from my family," he says, "and I'm scared to travel in Israel."

    The current upsurge in violence makes him fearful of approaching Israeli checkpoints. Sharabati is now a freelance truck driver, but business is so slow, the father of four is buying groceries on credit.

    Money is the main concern of Ala Al-Qabbani, too. The 24-year-old had worked at SodaStream three years before the company moved and would have happily kept working for SodaStream in Israel.

    But he could not get a permit. Israel's first requirement is that Palestinians be at least 22 years old and married. Qabbani meets the age requirement, but he's single. He points out his conundrum.
  • Wow. Enlightening. Thanks for that. Ironic, eh? So, did Sodastream really move its facilities back within Israel proper? Hmmmmmm. That last fellow that was mentioned: the 24 year-old. Interesting REQUIREMENTS: must be at least 22 years old and MARRIED. Are you f*****g kidding me? The Knesset and PM can create such requirements under Israeli law? Talk about DISCRIMINATION based on marital status, eh?

    BUT: it reminds me that many years ago in California, Filipinos were allowed to come and pick the asparagus crop. Stoop-labor, one by one by one! But they were not allowed to bring their wives. ... Years later, when that prohibition ended, many towns enacted "sunset laws." Blacks and Asians were required to be inside, in their homes, by sunset. I've seen a picture from as late as the 1950s on the door to the Hotel Stockton: "No dogs or Filipinos allowed."

  • edited February 2021
    My understanding is Sodastream did move its operations, but the consequences haven't been uniformly great for Palestinians. My way of thinking is that much like Trump needed to be removed from power in the U.S., this guy needs to be removed from power in Israel: https://cnn.com/2021/02/22/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-elections-intl/index.html A blanket boycott of the entire Israeli state's businesses probably won't help that cause anymore than a blanket boycott of all U.S. businesses would have helped the U.S. oust Trump. Bibi's opposition needs funds and support while the Likud party and the even worse neo-fascists need to be starved out of power.
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