70% of Adult Israelis Have Been Vaccinated

February 26, 2021

Israel: Iran’s Nuclear Actions Require Immediate International Response

Ex-IDF Generals, Top Mossad Officials Urge Biden's Return to Iran Deal

Hundreds of Israelis Stuck in Russia, Ukraine, UK Due to Airport Closure

Amazon’s New Anti-Sabbath Policy Sends Religious Jews into Unemployment

Russian Armed Drones Used in Syria in Recent Years

Israeli NGO to Teach Israeli Smart Farming in the Caribbean

Israel Beaches Covered in Tar after Oil Spill

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Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) on Tuesday morning said that 70% of Israelis over age 16 have been vaccinated.

"The good news: Over 70% of Israeli citizens over age 16 have been vaccinated - 4,456,000 people, of whom 3,076,000 have received the second dose as well," Edelstein said.

"The less good news: Mass infection parties have been planned for us. Therefore, we will act to impose a night curfew and drastically reduce public transportation over the Purim holiday.

"These guidelines have been written in blood - keep them!" he urged.

On Monday night, the Health Ministry proposed a plan which would impose nighttime curfews from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. between Thursday and Sunday. The plan would restore the restriction on travel, barring Israelis from going more than 1,000 meters from their homes, and would close all businesses during the curfew hours. (INN / VFI News)

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. - Jeremiah 17:14

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle-East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

With Iran moving to limit some UN inspections of its nuclear facilities, Israel on Wednesday said the Islamic Republic’s actions threaten regional stability and require an immediate international response.

“Iran is crushing the last vestiges of oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency and continues to challenge and threaten regional stability,” Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a statement.

“Iran’s extreme steps necessitate an immediate international response,” he said.  “The Iranian policy is a statement of intentions as to its desire to continue to clandestinely develop nuclear capabilities.” (TOI / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you continue to protect us from the threat of nuclear war.”

A group of former top officials from Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission, the IDF, and the Mossad sent a letter on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing support for the US return to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

Led by former IDF deputy chief of staff Matan Vilnai, Commanders for Israel’s Security said in the letter that it “welcomes the American initiative to get Iran to again transparently follow the guidelines in the JCPOA, as long as it includes an Iranian commitment to abide by UN Security Council Resolution 2231” regarding the development of ballistic missiles.

In addition to Vilnai, the letter was signed by former Mossad director Tamir Pardo, former IDF OC Operations Directorate Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, former National Security Council head Uzi Arad, and Eli Levite, the former principal deputy director-general for policy at the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you give wisdom to those who bear the responsibility of leadership.”

Hundreds of Israelis are stranded in Russia, Ukraine, and the UK and are unable to return to Israel, despite having entry permits. There are no direct flights to Tel Aviv, and passengers face financial, health, and logistical difficulties using the only connecting flight through Frankfurt.

On Monday, the government reduced the number of people who can enter the country per day from 600 to 200.

There reportedly are about 90 Israelis stuck in Kiev with permission from the Transportation Ministry’s Exceptions Committee to return, and another 40 are waiting for a permit.

In Moscow, there are said to be some 150 Israeli citizens who have received permission to return and about 50 waiting for a permit. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you watch over and protect those who are stranded far from home.”

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A new corporate directive is making it impossible for Sabbath-observant Jews to sell on Amazon Prime and even making it difficult to buy on the subscription service. 

Amazon announced in August 2020 that as of February 1, businesses that deliver from non-Amazon warehouses through Amazon Prime in their Seller Fulfilled Prime program must agree to fulfill orders six days a week. Amazon Prime is a subscription service that includes free two-day delivery. The new guidelines allow members to specify that they want their purchase to be shipped immediately, even if they order on Saturday. 

The sellers may choose Saturday or Sunday delivery to fulfill their six-day-a-week commitment, but shipping carriers like FedEx and UPS offer limited or no pickup on Sundays, and any carriers that do offer Sunday pickups do not typically ship until Monday. This leaves the sellers with no alternative that would allow them to fulfill the six-day requirement. (i365 / VFI News)

“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.” - Exodus 31:13

A video and reports this week indicated that Russia deployed its stealthy Okhotnik drone to the Tiyas base in Syria near Palmyra. This may have happened several years ago but it also shows an increase in Russian drone activity in Syria. Russia’s Orion drone and its S-70 Okhotnik ("Hunter") drone are seen in the video.

Thomas Newdick at The Drive notes that “while part of the purported combat sequence shows the Orion carrying four small weapons on underwing pylons, these areas have been deliberately obscured.” He notes that investigations online concluded that the “video was made sometime between December 2017 and early April 2019, which would coincide with the previously reported in-theater trials.”  

The video was shown on Russia’s Channel One. The Orion drone, sometimes called Inokhodets, is Moscow’s answer to US armed drones such as the Reaper. Russia has been lagging behind the US in drone production and has been trying to catch up. The deployment of the S-70 is interesting because Russia is not thought to have many of these wing-shaped stealth drones.  (JPost / VFI News)

“If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” - Isaiah 54:15-17

A local NGO is looking to share the secrets of Israel’s agricultural know-how and innovation with people in the Caribbean in a free webinar series that began on Wednesday evening.

The event, organized by Volcani International Partnerships and the Caribbean Israel Leadership Coalition, will feature leading Israeli experts presenting various applications of smart farming to government officials, farmers, and entrepreneurs in the Bahamas, Anguilla, Aruba, and Barbados, the organization said.

“The idea for this started when we began organizing a private webinar for the Minister of Agriculture of the Bahamas,” said Tali Gottlieb, COO of VIP. “Within a week of announcing the project, we had more than 2,300 people signed up. The CILC promoted the program very aggressively, and a lot of the registrants said that they were very eager to learn from it.” (JPost / VFI News)

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” - Genesis 1:29

From Nitzanim near the Gaza Strip to the shores bordering Lebanon, 106 miles of the Mediterranean coast have been covered with tar. 

The pollution was noticed first on Wednesday, but stormy weather the following day carried out the oil and tar to Israel’s beaches. 

Thousands of volunteers organized by various Israeli environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) joined efforts to clean the beaches and save the animals that were hurt. One whale washed ashore and died; dozens of sea turtles have perished.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Saturday it had been informed by the European Maritime Safety Agency that an oil spill located about 30 miles off Israel’s coast was the pollution source. They had dismissed all reports that Israel had any prior knowledge of the spill before it had reached the seashores. (Fox / VFI News)

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” - Genesis 1:28

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