During a meeting that was held yesterday between the CEO of the Israel Health Ministry, Professor Chezi Levy, and the heads of the various health care providers (HMOs) in Israel, it was made clear that the first 4 million batches of the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 are set to arrive in Israel by the end of the month and the first Israelis will be able to receive the vaccine within 3-4 weeks. During the meeting, Levy asked the HMOs to prepare to begin administering the vaccines during the upcoming month. According to the estimates being spread around in the Israeli media, 80,000 doses of the vaccine will be given to each of the HMOs daily. This is after they will arrive at the logistics center for the country in Shoham.

Sudan has threatened to freeze the normalization deal with Israel if it’s not removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism by the end of 2020, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. Removal from the terrorism sponsors list was the carrot that the US used to impel the African country to agree to normalize relations with Israel. Sudan is in desperate need of international aid and loans that require removal from the list and also wants to be granted immunity from lawsuits by terrorism victims. The Trump administration has begun the process to remove Sudan from the list but apparently it is not being accomplished quickly enough for Sudanese leader Gen.

The first Jewish wedding in the United Arab Emirates was a Chareidi one that took place in Dubai on Monday night, Kikar H’Shabbos reported. The chassan, from a Charedi family from London, is a talmid of Yeshivas Medrash Shmuel in Jerusalem and the kallah is the daughter of a Rosh Mesivta in Medrash Shmuel. About 100 family members flew to Dubai from Israel, the UK and other countries to participate in the wedding at the Park Hyatt Dubai Hotel. The family made a decision to hold the wedding in Dubai since both Israel and England currently have strict restrictions on the number of participants allowed at gatherings. The mashpia Rav Mota Frank, who traveled to Dubai last week, served as the Mesader Kiddushin.

Iran held a funeral service Monday for the slain scientist who founded its military nuclear program two decades ago, with the Islamic Republic’s defense minister vowing to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more power.” An honor guard carried the casket containing the body of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who reportedly was gunned down in a military-style ambush Friday that Iranian officials have blamed on Israel. Israel, long suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the last decade, has declined to comment on the attack. Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami gave a speech after kissing Fakhrizadeh’s casket and putting his forehead against it.

Israel’s Health Ministry published the daily statistics for new COVID-19 cases in Israel that listed 1,027 people testing positive for the disease on Friday, slightly down from Thursday’s total of 1,033. On Shabbos, as of 5:00 pm, 315 people tested positive for the disease. The number of actively ill people in the country also rose and now sits at 9,422, among them are 276 who are in serious condition, down 7 from yesterday, and 107 on respirators. Thus far, 2,845 people have died from the disease in Israel. Among those who tested positive recently are 10 staff members of the Isrotel Hotel at the Dead Sea during a routine test of the staff of the hotel. All services in the hotel have been suspended until full testing can be done of everyone on the premises.

As YWN reported last night, in a landmark vindication of religious rights, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an injunction, just minutes before midnight late Wednesday, against New York State’s arbitrary limit of 10 or 25 individuals in houses of worship with capacity for hundreds in Red and Orange zones. In so doing, the High Court sided with Agudath Israel of America and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn in their legal challenge against such limitations.

An Egyptian celebrity is facing criminal charges after an uproar ensued in Egypt due to a photo of him with an Israeli pop star that was posted online, prompting angry rants from newscasters and the actor-singer’s suspension from a stage and film professionals’ union. A lawyer filed a case against renowned singer and actor Mohamed Ramadan, who has millions of Arab followers, for causing “offense to the Egyptian people” via the photos. The outcry over Ramadan’s photograph with Israeli star Omer Adam highlights anti-Israel sentiment among most Egyptians who view any direct interaction with Israelis as taboo.

According to a report that was published in media outlets across the globe, the IDF received instructions to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. would launch an attack against Iran before the Trump administration ends. Israeli officials told the media on Wednesday, that there is no specific information that a large scale attack is imminent. Citing senior Israeli officials, Axios said there is no specific information that such an attack is imminent, but Israeli leaders believe the US president’s final weeks in the job will be “a very sensitive period.” The officials said Washington would likely update Israel before carrying out military action against the Islamic Republic.

President Trump has pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, bringing to end a tumultuous four-year criminal case that felled the three-star general before prosecutors reversed course and declared they had improperly pursued his case. A trump tweet said: “It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!” It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving! — Donald J.

A homeless man accused of pushing another man onto subway tracks in Brooklyn was arrested early Tuesday, police said. Michael Medlock, 33, was arrested on charges of attempted assault, reckless endangerment and menacing in Sunday’s attack on a 29-year-old man, one of a string of recent subway shoves. Police said the victim was riding a No. 4 train when Medlock suddenly began yelling at him. Both got off at the Atlantic Avenue station and Medlock shoved the other man onto the tracks and fled, police said. The victim climbed back onto the platform on his own and did not require medical attention. It wasn’t clear if Medlock had an attorney who could speak for him.