Yachad Ministries’ 's News Update April 29, 2021 (17th Iyyar, 5781)

For the Yachad Report Newsletter For April 2021

Israel Records No New Daily COVID Deaths for First Time in 10 Months; According to the latest Health Ministry figures, no new COVID-19 daily deaths were reported Thursday in Israel for the first time in ten months. In data released Friday, the death toll remained unchanged from the day before at 6,346. The last date there were no new fatalities was June 29, when morbidity levels remained subdued following the initial coronavirus wave. The ministry said of the 35,027 tests performed Thursday, 129 new cases were recorded, a positive test rate of 0.4 percent. The country has logged 837,870 confirmed infections since the pandemic began.

Israel-UAE Conference Under Threat of Terrorism; There was concern about terrorism at a joint Israel and United Arab Emirates influencer conference in Dubai in early April, participants told The Jerusalem Post. According to Israeli participants in the four-day event, UAE security services had warned the organizers that there was intelligence indicating that was interested in the event. “The organizers told us that UAE Security notified them that there was chatter about how the Iranians were aware we were in the Emirates,” Emily Schrader, founder of Social Lite Creative, said. To mitigate the threat, the organizers implemented several security precautions and notified the participants.

Israel's Navy Ready to Attack from the Sea Like Never Before; Operations carried out by the Israel Navy in what is dubbed the “war between wars” have been kept in the shadows, until recently. But a series of leaks to the media, and reports on Iranian attacks against Israeli-owned civilian cargo ships, revealed the intensity of the ongoing shadow war between Jerusalem and Tehran in the areas of the and the Persian Gulf, as well as the role of the in that war. The Navy is comprised of three main active units: the 3rd Flotilla (Shayetet 3), the missile ship unit; the 7th Flotilla (Shayetet 7), the submarine unit; and the 13th Flotilla (Shayetet 13), the Navy commando unit.

Syrian Air-Defense Missile Falls in Southern Israel; IAF Strikes Launchers; A Syrian surface-to-air missile (SAM) fired at an Israeli Air Force fighter jet that had been involved in airstrikes on targets in Syria exploded in Israel’s southern Negev region early on Thursday. Warning sirens went off in the region of the Bedouin village of Abu Qrenat, in the northwest Negev, said the . Residents in the south and Jerusalem reported hearing a loud blast, according to a report by Mako. Soon afterward, the IAF “struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional Syrian surface-to-air batteries in the area,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.

UN Atomic Agency: Iran Has Installed Additional Advanced Centrifuges at Natanz; ON WEDNESDAY, the UN atomic agency said Iran has installed additional advanced centrifuges at its Natanz nuclear plant, the site of a recent blast blamed on Israel. According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, seen by Reuters, Iran added two more cascades of IR-4 centrifuges and six clusters of IR-2m at its underground facility. The IAEA also confirmed that some of the centrifuges were in use and said the Islamic Republic plans to install another four cascades of the IR-4 at Natanz. “On 21 April 2021, the Agency verified at FEP that: … six cascades of up to 1,044 IR-2m centrifuges; and two cascades of up to 348 IR-4 centrifuges… were installed, of which a number were being used,” the report said.

Unemployment in Israel Drops Below 10% for First Time Since Pandemic; Israel’s unemployment rate is falling faster than expected, dropping below 10% in March for the first time since before the pandemic. According to Israel Employment Services, the national unemployment rate reached 9.5% for March, compared to 14% in February. Unemployment was 9.8% during the first half of March, and just 8.9% during the second half of the month, as Israelis began to enjoy the fruits of the economy’s reopening. Eilat, the southern tourist town that previously had the highest rate of unemployment in Israel, saw its unemployment rate drop by some 60% in March as tourism began to return. Following the announcement, Finance Minister Israel Katz instructed National Insurance Institute director-general, Meir Spiegler, not to reduce unpaid furlough payments by 10% until June 12, the day of when furlough payments for May will be made.

Israeli, UAE Fighter Jets Fly Together in Large International Exercise in Greece; Israeli fighter jets were flying alongside Emirati aircraft last week as part of a major international aerial exercise hosted by Greece, simulating in-air dogfights, large airstrikes, and rescue operations, the Israeli military confirmed last Tuesday. This is not the first time that Israeli and Emirati pilots have flown with one another — they both participated in a similar Greek-led exercise in 2017 and an American drill the year before — but it marks a rare case of open military cooperation between the two countries, even following last year’s landmark normalization agreement. Seven countries joined Greece in its Iniohos exercise this year: Cyprus, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, France, the United States, Spain, and Canada. The exercise kicked off last Sunday and was scheduled to last through last Friday.

Solar Panel Breakthrough Discovery Could Help Increase Energy Production; Research from the Technion, Ben Gurion University, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin have made a breakthrough in better understanding semiconductors used in solar panels. The scientists were led by Professor Avner Rothschild and studied the efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells in producing energy. Sunlight can be harvested through photovoltaic cells, which as the name indicates, transforms sunlight directly into energy (volts), and photoelectrochemical cells transform sunlight into hydrogen fuel. The photovoltaic cells are problematic in that they can only generate energy during daylight hours and use rechargeable batteries to store energy at night. This method is cost-inefficient and only a short-term solution. Photoelectrochemical cells however can store energy without exterior batteries; by using special semiconductors, light energy can split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be stored as fuel to later produce energy.

Israel Pledges to Prevent a Nuclear Iran in Talks; Israel pledged to do “whatever it takes” to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons when it participated Friday in the first-ever quadratic meeting with the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and Greece. “We will do whatever it takes to prevent the extremist and antisemitic regime [in Tehran] from acquiring nuclear weapons,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told reporters in Paphos, Cyprus. Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias also issued statements, as did UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash. Ashkenazi invited the three diplomats to visit Israel in the near future.

Israeli Cabinet Concerned the US Wants an Iran Deal “At All Costs”; Israeli ministers expressed concern about the nuclear talks between the US and Iran, following a diplomatic-security cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The Americans want a deal at all costs and the Iranians know it,” said a source in the meeting. The Biden administration is open to hearing Israeli concerns, the source added but doesn’t seem to be taking them into consideration. The diplomatic-security cabinet meeting – the first in two months – focused on the Iranian threat a week after a major attack on the nuclear site at Natanz, as well as an attack on an Iranian ship serving as a military base on the Red Sea, both by Israel according to security sources, and as the US and Iran hold indirect negotiations.

Israel Disappointed in US 'Folding' to Iran; Jerusalem is very disappointed by what unofficial political sources define as a "complete folding of America" in the nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday morning. In contrast with the heated confrontation the Obama Administration had with Israel in 2015, the Biden administration is trying to prevent surprises and is updating Israel on its moves. However, the difference in attitude between the two countries is enormous. According to information received by Israel, the six powers and Iran are indeed close to signing an agreement that will stipulate that the parties will return to the original nuclear agreement signed in 2015, from which President Trump withdrew in 2018.

Deputy Chief of Iran's Quds Force Dies of Apparent Heart Attack; The deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force, Brigadier General Mohammed Hejazi, died Sunday, the IRGC announced. Hejazi died of a "heart condition" the Iranian military said, without providing additional details. Hejazi was appointed deputy commander of the Quds Force in January 2020, following the assassination of Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani. The American Jewish Committee has accused Hejazi, then an adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of taking part in the planning of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires.

Iran Commander-In-Chief Issues a New Threat to Israel; The commander-in-chief of the Iranian military said Israel would soon “disappear,” while touting Iran’s efforts to bolster the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s “plan to defeat the Zionist regime”. Major General Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, addressed mourners at the funeral of Mohammed Hejazi, deputy commander of the Quds Force, Monday morning. Brigadier General Hejazi died Sunday of a "heart condition" the Iranian military said, without providing additional details. Hejazi was appointed deputy commander of the Quds Force in January 2020, following the assassination of Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani.

Direct Flights Between Israel And Bahrain Starting in June; Gulf Air, the national airline of Bahrain, announced that in June, the airline will provide direct flights between Bahrain and Israel, according to a report by Mako. Direct flights from Bahrain will be landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. The first flight will take off from Bahrain to Tel Aviv on June 3 and land in the Israeli city at 11:50 a.m. This news comes months after the peace agreement between Israel and Bahrain that was part of the Abraham Accords, as well as meetings in recent months between Gulf Air and senior figures in the Israeli aviation industry, where both sides have expressed support for both countries to have direct flights.

Israeli Ninth-Grader Wins Gold at European Girls Mathematical Olympiad; Israel's team for the European Girls Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) won two medals in this year's competition, which was held remotely on Friday. Ninth-grader Noga Friedman of Rehovot's De Shalit Middle School won a gold medal and Ya'ara Shulman, a tenth-grader who studies at Herzliya's Rishonim High School, won a silver medal. They were joined on the team by Nicole Grossman, a senior from Ehad Ha'am High School in Petah Tikva, and Tamar Pe'er, another tenth-grader who studies alongside Shulman at Rishonim in Herzliya.

Dutch Soccer Fans Chant Anti-Semitic Slogan Before Match against Ajax; Fans of the Dutch soccer team Vitesse chanted “, Hamas, Jews to the gas” at a fan rally before a scheduled match against Ajax, an Amsterdam-based team known for its history of Jewish supporters. Police began examining footage from the action on Wednesday night, which occurred in Arnhem, where Vitesse is based. The two clubs played Sunday, and Ajax won 2-1. Supporters and rivals of Ajax often affectionately refer to the club and its fans as “Jews,” out of recognition of the centuries-long strong presence of Jews in Amsterdam. It’s a pattern across Europe, used for fans of teams in England, , and Germany. But in the Netherlands, the “Hamas, Jews to the gas” chant has become more commonplace in recent years. Pascal van Wijk, director of the Vitesse team, condemned the chants. “It is just deeply saddening that a small group of supporters misbehaved in such a way.”

Robert I. Solomon: Messianic Rabbi, [email protected] Jeffery Blalock: Ministries Coordinator, [email protected] Yachad Ministries, 950 Pine Grove Road, Roswell, Georgia 30075 E-mail: [email protected], Web Page: https://www.yachad.com/ Phone: 770-641-3000 (ext. 6) Sharing Yeshua in unity with both Jew and Gentile

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