By: Marcy Oster – Jewish Telegraphic Agency; jta.org

Hundreds of Israelis gathered at the Western Wall on Sunday evening after a prominent rabbi in Israel called for a mass prayer for those infected by the coronavirus.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed, and the Association of Communitiy Rabbis, organized the service in Jerusalem’s Old City as reports surfaced Sunday that at least three Israelis on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Tokyo Bay have tested positive for the deadly virus.

By: Nathan Jeffay – The Times of Israel; timesofisrael.com

At perennially parched freshwater lake where Jesus walked on water, weeks of major rainfall could see nearby dam opened to send water into Jordan River for first time since 2013

TIBERIAS — It’s a Tu Bishvat dream come true for Tiberias residents: The Sea of Galilee is at its highest level that most can remember.

“We’re at the top level of excitement that people reach around here,” said Rami Ben-Tzvi, 72, standing by the rowing club that he runs. He looked in amazement at the water in front of him. Although the level is still 210.04 meters (689 feet) below sea level, it’s some 1.75 meters (5.74 feet) higher than at the start of January.

Ben-Tzvi said the last time he can remember such a scene at the Sea of Galilee, Israel’s largest source of fresh water, was during the major storms of 1992. He noted that it’s a new sight to many locals.

Rain since early January has been so plentiful that if the downpours predicted for the rest of this week take place, the water level could soon rise by around 1.25 meters (4.1 feet), at which point a city accustomed to worrying about drought would be at risk of flooding.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-sea-of-galilee-fills-to-bursting-israelis-joy-overflows/

By: Zachary Keyser – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Almost 270,000 tourists came into the country via international flights, also about 8% more than last January and almost 18% more than two years ago.

Around 308,500 tourists visited Israel during January, an 8% increase from last January and a 20% increase from 2018, according to the Tourism Ministry. Israel welcomed a record 4.5 million tourists into the country in 2019.

Nearly 268,900 of those tourists entered the country via international flights, a 7.6% increase from last January and 17.8% more than January 2018.

Revenue from incoming tourists during January was about $437 million (NIS 1.5 billion).

“Tourism records continue to shatter, and we end January 2020 with an 8% increase in incoming tourism on January 2019 and 20% more than in January 2018,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-boasts-an-eight-percent-annual-increase-in-tourism-for-January-617356

Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting at his office in Jerusalem with ministry director generals and staff officials on Sunday morning to discuss how to deal with the recent outbreak of coronavirus in China.

“Our readiness will include all arms of the Israeli administration. Our foremost goal is to postpone the arrival of the virus to Israel. I say ‘postpone’ because its arrival is unavoidable. We will then identify, treat, isolate and deal with those infected,” said Netanyahu following the meeting.

He expressed his appreciation for China’s efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019 n-Cov), but added that “the spread is apparently inevitable, in the sense that we will need to deal with it forthwith.”

https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-holds-national-preparedness-meeting-over-coronavirus-outbreak/

By: Emily Jones – CBN News; cbn.com

JERUSALEM, Israel – An Israeli border officer was set on fire yesterday after he was hit by a Molotov cocktail thrown by Palestinian rioters in the city of Hebron.

Video circulated by Palestinian media online shows the officer taking a direct hit to the shoulder and neck area with a flaming Molotov cocktail before his vest catches on fire.

The armed officer is seen grabbing at his body to put out the fire and running away from the direction the weapon came from. The fire was out seconds later.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/israel/2020/february/lsquo-i-experienced-a-miracle-rsquo-israeli-soldier-alive-after-being-set-on-fire-by-terrorist-during-riot

By: Eliana Rudee – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Both employers and workers believe that it could help them economically, though politically and socially is a different story altogether.

With campaigns under way before the third round of Israeli elections within a year on March 2, Likud officials, and the Blue and White Party, have repeatedly made statements over the past few weeks in favor of annexing the Jordan Valley.

And that has elicited vocal reactions among the public both for and against the idea.

The Trump administration’s peace plan, revealed at the White House on Jan. 28 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance, gave American approval for annexation, paving the way for the next Israeli government to actualize its campaign promises.

https://www.jns.org/israelis-and-palestinians-consider-how-jordan-valley-annexation-plan-will-affect-them/

By: Israel Today Staff – israeltoday.co.il

After 20 years of requiring painful concessions of Israel, it’s now the Palestinians’ turn

For the past two decades, the formula underlying the Middle East peace process was to accept the Palestinian positions, turn a blind eye to their transgressions (because they were the “oppressed”), and require painful concessions of Israel.

After more than 20 years of failure despite intensive diplomatic efforts, US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” finally proposes a different approach by effectively turning the peace process on its head.

As top Israeli media commentator Amit Segal wrote: “While Israel will gain its concessions immediately and without conditions, the Palestinians now have to go through ten levels of hell” if they want to gain theirs.

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/trump-deal-of-the-century-flips-peace-process-on-its-head/

By: Times of Israel Staff – timesofisrael.com

The Israeli Air Force on Thursday inaugurated its second squadron of F-35 fifth-generation stealth aircraft, known as the “Lions of the South,” reviving the historic 116th Squadron.

“The Air Force shoulders a great responsibility daily. From this moment, the 116th Squadron returns and becomes part of our strategic arm, part of our qualitative advantage over our enemies,” Israeli Air Force chief Amikam Norkin said at the ceremony at the Nevatim air base in the Negev desert where they will be based.

“The challenges that stand before you are many and varied. Now we are stronger,” he said.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-air-force-inaugurates-its-second-f-35-squadron/

By: Henry Benjamin – Jewish Telegraphic Agency; jta.org

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — An Australian woman has taken down the Nazi flag she was flying from her home following a joint effort by neighbors and local police, as well as a Jewish member of Parliament.

Cheryl Lawdron told reporters that she had German ancestry and had the right to fly the flag featuring a large swastika and other Nazi symbols on her property in the country town of Beulah.