By: Lahav Harkov – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

The secretary of state added: “We will work closely with them to share with them our views on this in a private setting.”

Israel will decide whether and when to annex parts of the West Bank, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a briefing on Wednesday.“

As for the annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis ultimately make those decisions, so that’s an Israeli decision,” he said.

“We will work closely with them to share with them our views on this in a private setting,” he added.

Pompeo said he was glad there is now a “fully formed” government in Israel.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/pompeo-west-bank-annexation-is-an-israeli-decision-to-make-625509

By: Alan Rosenbaum – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

During the past day, public figures, Jewish leaders and ambassadors sent their messages in remembrance of those who perished during the Holocaust.

Thousands of people from around the world, including children, teens and adults, have in the past day, uploaded virtual memorial messages to a special memorial site established by the March of the Living organization.

The site was inaugurated yesterday by President Reuven Rivlin and was created because of the cancellation of the March due to the Corona epidemic that had been scheduled to take place next week on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Thousands-join-virtual-March-of-the-Living-Memorial-Project-624779

By: TOI Staff – Times of Israel; timesofisrael.com

Israel’s main source of freshwater swells to just 21 centimeters under upper red line; experts expect lake to be full by early May, but Water Authority casts doubt

Israel’s largest freshwater lake, the Sea of Galilee, rose by six centimeters (2.3 inches) over the rainy weekend, and after a particularly abundant winter could become full for the first time in 28 years.

According to officials who measure the water level every day, the level was at 209.01 meters (685.73 feet) below sea level Sunday, just 21 centimeters (8.26 inches) below the “upper red line,” above which the lake would be in danger of overflowing.

Rain since early January has been so plentiful that the water level rose 3.12 meters (10.23 feet), and will continue to rise over the next few weeks as snow melts on peaks in the Golan Heights and steadily flows into the lake.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/sea-of-galilee-likely-to-fill-up-for-1st-time-since-1992-dam-opening-expected/

By: Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Not only have all the patients survived, according to Pluristem, but four of them showed improvement in respiratory parameters.

Six critically ill coronavirus patients in Israel who are considered high-risk for mortality have been treated with Pluristem’s placenta-based cell-therapy product and survived, according to preliminary data provided by the Haifa-based company.

The patients were treated at three different Israeli medical centers for one week under the country’s compassionate use program and were suffering from acute respiratory failure and inflammatory complications associated with COVID-19. Four of the patients also demonstrated failure of other organ systems, including cardiovascular and kidney failure.

https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/Israeli-COVID-19-treatment-shows-100-percent-survival-rate-preliminary-data-624058

By: Bill Zeeble – KERA News; keranews.org

Passover, one of the most important holidays on the Jewish calendar, it begins Wednesday night. This year, though, things are different, because of COVID-19.

Lasting a week, Passover celebrates the ancient Israelites’ escape from Egypt. Generations of family often gather around the large, symbolic Seder meal, sometimes with friends.

https://www.keranews.org/news/2020-04-08/jewish-congregations-in-dallas-celebrate-ancient-holiday-of-passover-online

By: JPost Editorial – Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

This pandemic will pass over us, it will end. We do not know how, but we know that we have been tested before and we have come through.

Passover is a unique holiday, with its message of liberation from slavery and the requirement that the Haggadah be recited to relive the experience of the Exodus in our own time. The commandment that the story be passed from generation to generation illustrates the importance of not merely reading about the historic redemption but also recognizing the adversity that those who witnessed it faced.

The themes of Passover relate to our own time. We remember that many generations throughout history have endured tyranny and that they have come through it. The plagues that befell Egypt may seem distant – bleeding idols or the earth turning to locusts; masses of frogs or hail and fire raining down on earth.

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Passing-over-coronavirus-this-Passover-623962

By: Brandon Showalter – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

Only 6 percent of Americans possess a biblical worldview, according to a new survey.

The study, which was released last week out of the recently launched Cultural Research Center based at Arizona Christian University, is called the American Worldview Inventory and is the first of what will be an annual report from veteran researcher George Barna, who is the CRC research director.

The survey asked 51 worldview questions that examined both what people believe and how they conduct their lives.

Approximately one-fifth of those who attend evangelical Protestant churches espouse a biblical worldview, as do one-sixth of those who attend charismatic or Pentecostal churches (16%), the survey found. The numbers were much lower for those among mainline Protestant churches, 8 percent, and Catholics, 1 percent.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/record-low-number-of-americans-hold-biblical-worldview-survey-says.html

By: Udi Etsion – C-Tech/Calcalist; calcalisttech.com

Daniel Gold, head of the country’s national emergency team, thinks his cross-industry team of experts can rise to the challenge of Covid-19

It is a horrifying scenario that has already become a reality in some hospitals worldwide: the number of serious or critical coronavirus (Covid-19) cases surpasses that of the available ventilators, leaving doctors to decide which patients have the best chance of survival and letting the rest go untreated.

In an attempt to protect Israel from such a nightmarish scenario, a national emergency team was set up, bringing together experts from the various ministries, different branches of the military, agencies and companies, private players, and research institutes, in an effort to, among other things, help set up a local production line for ventilators.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3805090,00.html

By: Ariel Schalit and Ilan Ben Zion – AP News; ap.com

BNEI BRAK, Israel (AP) — Early this week, the streets of the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak were bustling with shoppers as ultra-Orthodox residents, obeying their religious leaders, ignored pleas to stay home in the face of the coronavirus threat.

By Friday, Bnei Brak had become the country’s worst hot spot and now resembles a ghost town. The military will soon be sending troops in to assist local authorities. One expert estimated that nearly 40% of the city’s population might already have been infected.

The city has become a lightning rod for anger and frustration by some secular Israelis who allege insular Haredi communities — with disproportionately high numbers of confirmed cases — are undermining national efforts to contain the virus.

https://apnews.com/4896e6623e4200b927b935b647f401bd

By: Michael Brown – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

As a religious leader born and raised in New York, I’m appealing to you to reconsider your threats to the synagogues and churches of your city. Your words, sir, were reckless and could actually provoke people of faith to defy you. What on earth prompted you to say what you said?

I’m speaking specifically of your threat to “permanently” close synagogues and churches that refuse to comply with the ban on public gatherings.

Mr. Mayor, what gives you that authority?

Mr. Mayor, who gives you that authority?

https://www.christianpost.com/voices/mayor-de-blasio-you-have-overstepped-your-bounds.html