Israel paid tribute to the chief executive of international drug maker Pfizer Inc. during its Independence Day celebrations Wednesday, thanking him for a partnership that has helped the country carry out one of the world’s most successful coronavirus vaccination campaigns. At Israel’s main Independence Day ceremony in Jerusalem, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla delivered a recorded video message broadcast on national TV: “Together we are demonstrating that through mass vaccination we can defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and save lives.” Bourla, a son of Jewish Holocaust survivors from Greece, had reportedly been invited to attend in person as a representative of Diaspora Jewry but was unable to come.

A disturbing incident took place on Thursday morning in a shul that houses a kollel in South Africa when thieves ripped a tallis into strips to tie up the Rav and two avreichim, leaving them on the floor of the Ezras Nashim as they stole their belongings and ran off, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. There were only three men left in the Kollel in Kehillas Shomrei Emunin in Johannesburg on Thursday morning when the armed thieves entered. After they tied up the men, they stole the men’s phones, the kollel’s laptops, and a car belonging to one of the avreichim. The building is guarded by a private security company whose guards regularly patrol the area but for some reason, the guards somehow missed the incident.

As is their annual “Minhag”, the Neturei Karta members living in Meah Shearim protested against the State of Israel on Thursday evening. The group of around 200 people, many of them identified as local misfits, consisted of half adults, and half children. Some were wearing sackcloth as they mourned the 73rd birthday of Israel. Most were holding black flags, while others held Palestinian flags. Some children held posters in Arabic, while others held signs in English. One man holding a bullhorn and leading the massive protest, chanted remarks which were followed by the usual “Gevald!” reponse from the crowd.

A congressional hearing on the pandemic turned personal when Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) loudly attacked Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease doctor, about when Americans will be able to stop taking public health precautions like wearing masks and physical distancing. Rep. Jordan (R-OH) demands Dr. Fauci give him a date for the end of COVID mitigation measures: “15 days to slow the spread turned into 1 year of lost liberty.” Fauci says: “I don’t look at this as a liberty thing, Congressman Jordan. I look at this as a public health thing.” Rep. Jim Jordan: “Are we gonna be here two years from now wearing masks …?” Dr. Fauci: “You’re ranting again.” Rep. Jordan: “Here’s how it works, Dr. Fauci.

Twelve years after Jonathan Pollard ordered a Sefer Torah from his jail cell, Pollard, now a free man living in Israel with his wife Esther by his side, brought his Sefer Torah to Kever Yosef in Shechem on Monday night. Pollard commissioned the Sefer Torah while in prison, paying for it with his own funds, planning to dedicate it to Kever Yosef. The Hachnasas Sefer Torah was held with the participation of HaRav Shmuel Eliyahu, the Rav of Tzfat and the son of HaGaon HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu, z’tl, who supported Pollard over many years, HaRav Elyakim Levanon, the Rav of the Shomron, the head of the Shomron Regional Council Yossi Dagan, and many others.

A new twist was added to the monthly provocation of the Women of the Wall group on Tuesday as the newly elected Reform Rabbi MK took advantage of his parliamentary immunity to bring a Sefer Torah into the Kosel plaza, which is against Israeli law. MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) caused an uproar by the Kosel on Tuesday morning on Rosh Chodesh Iyar by hiding a Sefer Torah in his bag for the Women of the Wall group and refusing to allow the guard at the entrance to search his belongings. Kariv then proceeded to read from the Torah for the members of the Women of the Wall in a gathering at the upper plaza of the Kosel.

The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the city’s police chief said Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as “an accidental discharge.” It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant. The shooting sparked violent protests in a metropolitan area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd’s death. “I’ll Tase you! I’ll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!” the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released at a news conference.

Crowds of protesters gathered Sunday in a Minnesota city where the family of a 20-year-old man says he was shot by police before getting back into his car and driving off, then crashing several blocks away. The family of Daunte Wright said he was later pronounced dead. The death sparked protests in Brooklyn Center late into Sunday night as Minneapolis was already on edge midway through the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyd’s death. Brooklyn Center, a city with a population of about 30,000, is located on the northwest border of Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov.

The driver of a car was killed when his car exploded on Yirmiyahu Street in Holon on Sunday afternoon. According to a Police department spokesperson it appears that the incident was a targeted attack caused by an explosive device that was attached to the vehicle and investigators, were active at the scene scanning the area for any evidence that may point to that conclusion. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Yosef Shushan, who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed: “I arrived in a United Hatzalah ambulance together with other volunteers from the area in response to an emergency regarding a car that was on fire. According to one of the eye-witnesses at the scene, the car exploded.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin landed in Israel on Sunday in the first official visit by a US official since President Joe Biden took office in January. Austin’s visit will include discussions about US arms supplies to Israel and “reassurances” on the current US discussions on rejoining the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Austin traveled to the Kirya IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv and was welcomed at an official welcoming ceremony followed by meetings with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Eshel, the head of the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, Maj. Gen. Tal Kalman, and the head of the Political-Military Bureau at the Defense Ministry, Zohar Palti. שר ההגנה האמריקני לויד אוסטין הגיע לישראל.