A government advisory panel endorsed a second COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, paving the way for the shot to be added to the U.S. vaccination campaign. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation for the vaccine from Moderna and the National Institutes of Health. The FDA advisers, in a 20-0 vote, agreed the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks for those 18 years old and up. The FDA’s green light for emergency use is expected quickly. Moderna would then begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home residents, to boost the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history. The campaign kicked off earlier this week with the first vaccine OK’d in the U.S., developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

Israel’s Health Ministry published a special notice on Wednesday outlining who in the population is a priority to receive the COVID-19 vaccination first, in what is being called “Operation Vaccinating For Life”. The notice, which was published by Israeli media outlets, said: “The decision with regard to prioritizing certain segments of the population, comes from logistical challenges that we face at the vaccination sites themselves. The operation will be undertaken in stages and will be timed accordingly in order to maximize safety, health, and effectiveness.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏ will be the first Israeli to get vaccinated for the coronavirus on Motzei Shabbos, and possibly the first world leader to do so. The prime minister’s inoculation at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer will be broadcast live to the Israeli public. President Reuven Rivlin, 82, will be vaccinated on Sunday at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. Also on Sunday, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi will be the first IDF officer to be vaccinated in order to set an example for the rest of the soldiers and staff, the IDF stated this week. Medical personnel will begin to be vaccinated on Sunday as well and those over 60 and at-risk populations will start receiving vaccinations on Monday.

The following important update was released by the Chaim VChessed Organization: In October, the Health Ministry of Israel released rules which would have granted quarantine exemptions to travelers arriving from Red countries, based on serological (antibody) testing. This news was a significant breakthrough for those who had suffered from Corona abroad but did not have PCR documentation. Disappointingly, in an embarrassing turnaround, this dispensation was suspended just a few days after it was established. However, in a new missive issued late on December 16, Dr. Sharon Elrai-Preis, Director of Public Health Services, announced that exemptions for travelers based on serological testing will be reinstated, effective Sunday, December 20. The details of the new process are still unclear.

Federal authorities on Wednesday unsealed an indictment charging a Kenyan man with trying to stage a 9/11-style attack on the United States on behalf of the terrorist organization al-Shabab. Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 30, who was arrested in the Philippines in 2019, was transferred to U.S. custody Tuesday on charges he conspired to hijack an aircraft and slam it into a building. He pleaded not guilty to terrorism-related charges during a brief court appearance Wednesday and was ordered held without bond. He faces a mandatory minimum 20 years in prison if convicted. His defense attorney declined to comment. Prosecutors said Abdullah got flight training in the Philippines between 2017 and 2019 and obtained a pilot’s license in preparation for an attack.

Just hours after Misaskim issued an advisory at the behest of the Karlsburger Rov, Rabbi Yechezkel Roth, warning kohanim of a change in handling that invalidated a heter allowing them to fly on El Al flights out of JFK that were transporting niftarim, the airline has taken positive steps that will rectify the situation in a matter of days. Misaskim founder and director Rabbi Yanky Meyer was contacted by a high ranking El Al official on Wednesday night who was completely unaware of the situation that affected kohanim.

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidential Elysee Palace announced on Thursday. It said the president took a test “as soon as the first symptoms appeared.” The brief statement did not say what symptoms Macron experienced. It said he would isolate himself for seven days. “He will continue to work and take care of his activities at a distance,” it added. Président Macron, Emmanuel, je vous souhaite un prompt rétsblissement. President Macron, Emmanuel, wishing you a speedy and full recovery.@EmmanuelMacron @Elysee — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 17, 2020 It was not immediately clear what contact tracing efforts were in progress.

Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Jerusalem has room for a Palestinian capital in an interview with the London-based Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, published on Thursday morning. Gantz said that “Jerusalem will remain united but there’s room for a Palestinian capital in it. It’s a vast city, filled with sites that are holy to all of us.” Gantz also stated that he doesn’t believe that peace can be reached in the Middle East without settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict first. He said that Israel won’t withdraw to pre-1967 borders but a compromise with the Palestinians could be reached. “I want the Palestinians to be part of the peace process,” Gantz said, referring to Israel’s recent peace deals with a number of Arab states.

The man killed by police Sunday after he opened fire on the steps of a landmark New York City cathedral had a note in his pocket that said he had planned to take hostages and use them as leverage to get U.S. aid for Latin America, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. Luis Vasquez, 52, started shooting as people were leaving a Christmas choral concert that had just ended outside the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan, the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Witnesses said they heard Vasquez screaming, “Shoot me! Kill me!” as police officers at the event returned fire, killing him. No one else was injured.

A report earlier this week said that senior officials from a large Muslim-majority country that has no official ties with Israel recently visited the Jewish state. The report did not identify the name of the country but it has recently become apparent that the delegation was from Pakistan. Most thought that the delegation from an “Asian Muslim-majority country” was from Indonesia, but Indonesia has denied that it is considering normalizing ties with Israel.