An Israeli man suspended his anti-vaxxer Facebook group after his pregnant sister-in-law, Osnat Ben Shitrit, 32, died of COVID-19 on Sunday morning. Osnat, who was 30 weeks pregnant, died due to complications in her health related to the coronavirus. Making the situation all the more tragic, doctors were unable to save her fetus even after an emergency C-section. Osnat had four children, the youngest of which is just a year-old, all of whom are now orphaned of their mother. Osnat had no underlying health conditions. She also left behind her husband, Rabbi Yehuda Ben Shitrit. Her brother-in-law spoke to the Israeli media outlet, Kan, and explained that he was an avid anti-vaxxer. “I formed one of the most successful groups on Facebook against the vaccines.

In a move that comes as no surprise to the Israeli public, the Health Ministry is pushing for the government to impose tightened restrictions on public activity during the upcoming Purim holiday. The initiative was first reported by Channel 12 news on Sunday evening. According to the report, senior health officials, including Health Ministry Director-General Professor Hezi Levy, held a meeting on Sunday in order to determine which restrictions the Ministry will recommend the government adopt for the upcoming holiday. Ministry officials decided to propose a curfew aimed at preventing mass gatherings on the evening of the holiday.

A quick-fire joke about Israel’s vaccination rollout on US comedy show Saturday Night Live has caused uproar and demands for an apology. In a parody of a news report, one of its actors joked that Israel – which has had the quickest rollout of any nation – has only been vaccinating its Jewish citizens. “Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population, and I’m gonna guess it’s the Jewish half,” cracked “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che to a chuckling audience. The single-line joke has been met with condemnation from Jewish groups that say it is anti-Semitic and referred to an ancient trope that Jews are responsible for plagues.

Reb Shlomo Aharon Galaster, z’l, who was hospitalized in HaEmek Medical Center in Afula with the coronavirus, was tragically left alone in his last moments of life on Thursday when his relatives were delayed in a traffic jam due to the snowstorm in Israel last week. Maher Ibrahim, the head nurse of the coronavirus ward, stepped in, taking a siddur and reciting Shema Yisrael in the niftar’s ear. “The family was making the long trip from Netanya to Afula” Ibrahim told Radio 103FM. “We prayed the whole time that they would manage to arrive in time, to at least see him in his final moments, but unfortunately his death arrived before they did.” “I took two courses on Judaism when studying for my M.A. in Ben Gurion University.

Fifty pregnant women ill with the coronavirus are currently hospitalized in Israel’s hospitals, with 10 in serious condition, 8 in critical condition, 7 ventilated, and one attached to an ECMO machine, according to Health Ministry data released on Sunday morning. The report comes on the tragic background of the petira of Osnat Ben Shitrit, 32, z’l, a pregnant woman and mother of four, who passed away on Motzei Shabbos of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, although doctors performed an emergency C-section, her baby died as well. “These are women who haven’t been vaccinated in the second half of their pregnancy, mainly in the last trimester,” said, Prof. Galia Rahav, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Sheba Medical Center, as quoted in a Ynet report.

Ivanka Trump is not running for a Florida Senate seat in 2022, The New York Times reported on Thursday. The Times cited a spokesman for incumbent Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who said that Ivanka told Rubio last month that she is not running. “Marco did speak with Ivanka a few weeks ago,” Rubio spokesman Nick Iacovella, said. “Ivanka offered her support for Marco’s reelection. They had a great talk.” There has been speculation that Ivanka, who together with her husband Jared Kushner, recently purchased a $31 million waterfront estate on Indian Creek Island, an elite Miami area known as the “Billionaire’s Bunker,” will be running for the Senate.

Rosh Yeshivas Mir Hagaon HaRav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel on Sunday called for yeshivah bochurim from abroad to remain in Israel for Pesach since their ability to return to yeshivah once they fly home cannot be guaranteed. The Mir administration sent the following letter to parents on Friday: “Due to the current situation in Eretz Yisroel, the appropriate authorities have advised us about a serious possibility, that Talmidei HaYeshiva who will leave for Pesach will not be able to return for the upcoming Summer Z’man.

Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing Saturday after one of its engines suffered a catastrophic failure and rained pieces of the engine casing on a neighborhood where it narrowly missed a home. The plane landed safely, and nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Boeing 777-200 returned to the Denver International Airport after experiencing a right-engine failure shortly after takeoff. Flight 328 was flying from Denver to Honolulu when the incident occurred, the agency said. United said in a separate statement that there were 231 passengers and 10 crew on board. The airline released no further details.

The woman who crossed into Syria and was detained by Syrian officials landed in Israel in the early hours of Thursday morning on a flight from Moscow. The woman is expected to be interrogated by the Shin Bet. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office announced early Friday that it had completed a Russian-mediated prisoner swap to bring home a young Israeli woman who crossed the border into Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:"Several days ago, a young Israeli woman crossed the border to Syria. I spoke twice with my friend Russian President Vladimir Putin. I requested his assistance in returning her, and he acted.

The Biden administration says it’s ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp repudiation of former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic. The administration also took two steps at the United Nations aimed at restoring policy to what it was before Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. The combined actions were immediately criticized by Iran hawks and are likely to draw concern from Israel and Gulf Arab states. In addition to signaling Thursday a willingness to talk with Iran, the administration also reversed Trump’s determination that all U.N. sanctions against Iran had been restored.