NEW YORK (Newsmax) – A disturbing new study reveals that people who are infected with COVID-19 could lose their immunity to the novel coronavirus within months. Researchers at King’s College London analyzed the blood of infected patients and healthcare workers and found that the levels of protective antibodies peaked about three weeks after the first symptoms appeared. However, those antibodies were found in only 17% of the patients three months later. According to The Daily Caller, in some patients, the antibodies were virtually undetectable. “People are producing a reasonable antibody response to the virus, but it’s waning over a short period of time and depending on how high your peak is, that determines how long the antibodies are staying around,” said D...
NEW YORK (Newsmax) – A group of Catholic churches around the country that were vandalized and burned over the weekend might be linked to the same George Floyd-related protests aimed at destroying symbols and statues. Black Lives Matter leaders have demanded the toppling of statues of former U.S. presidents, abolitionists and Confederate symbols following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Activist Shaun King went one step further and called for any image depicting a “White European” JC to be ripped down because they represent “White supremacy” and “racist propaganda.” Some on social media users have brought attention to the scarcity of coverage surrounding the church burnings “Churches are being burned to the ground. What?” ri...
TEHRAN (JNS) – The Iranian judiciary announced on Tuesday that it had executed a former defense ministry staffer who sold information to the CIA, Reuters reported. According to the report, based on Iranian news sources, judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said that Reza Asgari had worked for the defense ministry for many years, when he developed connections with the CIA that continued after his retirement. He said that Asgari sold data related to Iran’s missile program to the U.S. intelligence agency. Esmaili pointed, as well, to another case—that of Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, an Iranian accused of spying for the CIA and Israeli Mossad—who was sentenced to death for having “collected and transmitted intelligence” on the location of Islamic Revolutiona...
TORONTO (AP) — The U.S. and Canada are poised to extend their agreement to keep their shared border closed to non-essential travel to Aug. 21, but a final confirmation has not been given, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The agreement would likely extend the closure by another 30 days. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement this week, and spoke on condition of anonymity. The restrictions were announced on March 18 and were extended in April, May and June. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week that a decision on the border would be announced “in the coming days.” “We’re going to continue to work hard to keep Canadians safe and to keep our economies flowing and we will have more to say later t...
Former President Barack Obama on Monday said voting by mail shouldn’t be a partisan issue and that every voter should have a chance to do it, especially given the coronavirus crisis. “Voting by mail shouldn’t be a partisan issue — especially during a pandemic,” Obama tweeted. “Everybody should be able to request an absentee ballot, and make their voice heard in every election.” Democrats, including Obama, have touted mail-in voting as a public safety measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the polls and a way to encourage voting among vulnerable populations. Read more at The Hill.
President Donald Trump has been granted a second 45-day extension to file his personal financial disclosure forms, which give the American public its only detailed look at the president’s private business interests, according to a letter released by the White House. The forms are supposed to detail Trump’s income, debts, stock holdings and outstanding loans for the year 2019. They were originally due May 15, but Trump got an extension until the end of June. On June 29, then, Deputy Counsel to the President Scott Gast granted Trump a second extension, until August 13, according to the letter. Federal law allows only two such extensions. Gast’s letter said that the extension was given for “good cause,” but did not specify what that cause was. A White House sp...
The Tel Aviv District Court ruled on Monday against an Amnesty International petition to cancel the export license of the Israel-based technology company NSO Group, whose spyware, Pegasus, enables the remote surveillance of smartphones. Amnesty International filed the petition in January, claiming that “NSO Group, the Israeli company marketing its technology in the fight against COVID-19, contributed to a sustained campaign by the government of Morocco to spy on Moroccan journalist Omar Radi,” a human-rights activist critical of the powers-that-be in Rabat. The court explained its ruling in favor of NSO on the grounds that the granting of export licenses in Israel “is done after the most rigorous process,” and that even after even after an export license is grante...
Yerushalayim has started construction on parts of an NIS 3 billion (approximately $870 million) major highway that will eventually serve as a ring road around Israel’s largest city, with the goal of significantly alleviating traffic throughout the capital. At the same time, planners hope that the project will provide easier access for those entering or passing through the city from all sides. Building has already commenced on the southern and central sections of the Eastern spur of the highway, which consists of a three-pronged, 10-kilometer (6.2 miles) stretch of pavement known as “The American Road.” When fully completed, the road, which will include bridges and tunnels, will stretch from the Arab neighborhood of Tzur Baher in the southeast to the Naomi Shemer Tunnel i...
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has arrested at least six Palestinians for speaking their mind on the matter of Israel’s plan to apply its laws to several West Bank areas, the AFP reported Tuesday. In early June, Channel 13 aired a report by Tzvi Yehezkeli, a prominent Israeli journalist and documentarist, which saw Yehezkeli approach people in the streets of West Bank communities and ask them what they thought of the annexation. Some of the people he approached said they were hoping they could get Israeli citizenship and lashed out at the PA as a “corrupt” entity that “has failed.” “I want an Israeli identity card,” one Palestinian is heard saying. Another stated that he didn’t see “Israelis as enemies — their government is the...
A Canadian political party leader has called Jews “liars and deceivers” and a “tribe of parasites.” A flier posted on the Facebook page of the Canadian Nationalist Party, led by Travis Patron, is titled “Beware The Parasitic Tribe.” It includes New Testament phrases and anti-Semitic tropes, such as calling Jews “so-called ‘inside manipulators’ ” and stating “Everywhere these people go, they infiltrate the media, they hijack the central bank, and they infect the body politic like a parasite.” The July 11 flier also accuses Jews of being “black sheep” who “hide and they perpetrate and they pull the strings … And they laugh about it … And they watch us … And we fight each other &he...
BALTIMORE — Maryland teachers unions and the state PTA are supporting virtual learning for the fall. The Maryland State Education Association, Baltimore Teachers Union and Maryland PTA issued a joint call for the fall semester of the upcoming school year to be held virtually. The three groups sent a letter Tuesday to Gov. Larry Hogan and State School Superintendent Karen Salmon encouraging them to support virtual learning to protect the health and safety of Maryland students, educators and families. || Read the letter || Part of the letter reads: "We must rise above politics and focus on the reality and complexities of safely reopening schools. If we open our schools too quickly and without adequate safety precautions, the result will be that some educators, s...
Author, writer and editor Bari Weiss has resigned from The New York Times, complaining in a letter to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger of “unlawful discrimination, hostile work environment, and constructive discharge.” In the letter, Weiss wrote that she had become “the subject of constant bullying by colleagues who disagree with my views.” “I have learned to brush off comments about how I’m ‘writing about the Jews again,’” Weiss writes. Weiss, a graduate of Columbia University, is the author of the 2019 book How To Fight Anti-Semitism. For the Times, she wrote movingly about, among other topics, the 2018 deadly attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in her hometown of Pittsburgh. Before the Time...
Jerusalem, Israel - July 14, 2020 - Frimet and I are today announcing a breakthrough in our efforts to see the mastermind of the August 9, 2001 Sbarro pizzeria massacre, the savage killer of our beloved daughter Malki הי"ד, brought to justice. Via this media release, we report that 18 leading American Jewish organizations have come out in support of our goal. (Other organizations, as well as individuals, have given us generous active help in this long-running effort. We are hugely grateful to them and will acknowledge their role publicly soon.) Ahlam Tamimi, the unrepentant Jordanian woman and Hamas agent who was convicted in Israel for her role in choosing the central Jerusalem pizzeria as the target for the massive bombing attack that killed 15, injured and maim...
Gov. Larry Hogan has directed local leaders to step up enforcement of public health requirements in bars and restaurants across the state as the number of positive cases in those under the age of 35 continues to rise. State health officials have connected an increasing number of COVID-19 cases to non-compliance with face covering and physical distancing rules. “The vast majority of bars and restaurants in our state are in compliance, but some are flagrantly violating the law and endangering public health,” Hogan said. “You have the responsibility to enforce these laws. Violators should be warned, fined, have actions taken regarding their licenses or closed if necessary. Local health departments, local liquor boards and inspectors and local law enforcement agencies must ...
New research at Hebrew University and Mount Sinai suggests that common drug could make coronavirus no more dangerous than the common cold. Could a simple drug, that has been on the market for decades, be used to treat COVID-19? A research team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)’s Professor Yaakov Nahmias says that early research looks promising; their findings appear in this week’s Cell Press’ Sneak Peak. Over the last three-months, Nahmias and Dr. Benjamin tenOever at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center have focused on the ways in which the SARS-CoV-2 (aka, the coronavirus that’s causing our current pandemic) changes patients’ lungs in order to reproduce itself. Their major finding? This virus prevents the routine burning of carbohydr...
Health Ministry confirmed daily record of 1,681 COVID-19 cases Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the government’s next steps in the battle to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting was dubbed as a new “deliberation forum” which may replace the formal Coroanvirus Cabinet, Hebrew-language outlet N12 reported. It includes Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Finance Minister Israel Katz, National Security Council chief Meir Ben Shabbat, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, and former health minister director general Moshe Bar Siman Tov -- among other health and economics experts. Read more at i24
The last state to adopt anti-BDS legislation was Oklahoma in May The governor of Missouri signed an anti-BDS law prohibiting this state to do business with companies that boycott Israel, Israel Hayom reported on Tuesday. The passage of the law marks the 32nd state to adopt measures of some form against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement. The bill in Missouri's state legislature was passed last April, with 95 votes for and 40 against. It was later ratified by Missouri's upper legislative chamber in May, with a single dissenting vote out of 29.  The text explicitly prohibits Missouri and state entities from signing contracts of more than $100,000  with companies of 10 or more employees who are engaged in the BDS movement against the Jewish s...
Baltimore County, Md - July 14, 2020 - In the latest effort to support Baltimore County’s small businesses, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski today announced the Small Business COVID-19 Reimbursement Grant Program, a $3 million grant fund to reimburse service industry businesses for investments in critical improvements to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of employees and patrons. “Baltimore County’s service industry is a critical link of our local economy and we must do whatever we can to be a strong partner in their recovery,” said County Executive Olszewski. “These establishments have had to quickly adapt to new ways of doing business and we’re proud to offer these new funds to help support their efforts to ...
Volunteers will affix Mezuzot to homes across the United States NEW YORK – The OU's Project Community 2020 (PC20), an initiative focused on giving teens and young adults an enjoyable and enriching summer while helping their communities during the Coronavirus pandemic, has partnered with the Mayberg Foundation’s MyZuzah to launch two programs for teens, hoping to increase the number of Jewish homes in their towns with mezuzot on their door posts. As part of the partnership, PC20 MyZuzah fellowship programs have launched in South Florida and in the District of Columbia, and others are being launched in additional communities across the country. MyZuzah utilizes what the organization has termed “fair-trade” Mezuzot, which they define as being purchased from scri...
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