Israel is taking the necessary measures to respond to a serious public health crisis. But the disruption to the economy could spell poverty for hundreds of thousands more Israelis unless the government intervenes.
Meanwhile, senior defense officials say cooperation with the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza is going well, and that the coronavirus has “calmed the Middle East down.”
The Europeans have grown accustomed to criticizing and preaching to the Jewish state, but it appears that tiny Israel has something to teach Europe this time, particularly in terms of striking the right balance between personal liberties and the good of the many.
Israel's unprecedented actions to check the spread of the coronavirus and keep the population safe require the public to have faith that it will continue to receive accurate and complete information from the Health Ministry.
The world, and certainly our neighbors, care not for our political deadlock. Israel has been rendered a mere bystander in the face of dramatic developments that could profoundly impact us.
The anti-Netanyahu camp is ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater, like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib did when she spurned the PM's offer for her to pay a non-political visit to her ailing grandmother.
The novel coronavirus outbreak will likely die out before the end of winter, but the massive blow to global aviation and tourism industries will last much longer.
The main issue about the emergence of the new coronavirus is the fact that we are dealing with it as we go. The public has to trust that the government is doing everything it can to minimize its impact.
The Egyptians, as usual, will be called upon to help calm the situation, along with the UN's mission to Gaza. They've likely already engaged with the sides, but will only be able to make progress after the current tit-for-tat subsides.
The Democrats have become a party divided between the moderates, obsessed with destroying Trump, and the socialists, obsessed with destroying the Democrats.
