Moshe Bar Siman Tov: 'I respect Litzman, we're continuing to prepare'

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/280416

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov responded Monday morning to former Health Minister Yakov Litzman's (UTJ) claim that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "responded to the fears of the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov."

In that interview, Litzman had claimed that Israel's precautions were an "overreaction" to coronavirus and unnecessary.

"I respect Litzman, and I am happy that we did what we did," Bar Siman Tov said Monday morning.

Speaking with N12, Bar Siman Tov said that he is "sure that the situation would be different, if we hadn't done what we did."

 

Trump: Obama Was A 'Grossly Incompetent' President | MSNBC

Trump officials deflect blame for US death toll, escalate reopening push

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/18/politics/trump-us-death-toll-blame-reopen/index.html

 Two of President Donald Trump's top officials are now pointing the finger at the administration's own scientists and Americans' pre-existing health conditions to explain the country's world-leading Covid-19 death toll.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar suggested Sunday that underlying health conditions, including among minorities, were one reason for the high American death toll -- nearly 90,000 as of Sunday evening. And Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro added the government's own Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to its list of scapegoats alongside China and the Obama administration.

The White House has been escalating its effort to recast the narrative of its own chaotic response to the crisis as it aggressively pushes to reopen the country, a process vital to the fortunes of millions of people who have lost their jobs in lockdowns and its own political prospects in November.

The effort follows Trump's repeated early denials that the virus would be a problem for the United States and claims that his administration had it under control months ago.

The necessity for Adam to sin - Netziv (Bereishis 2:4)

Netziv (Bereishis 2:4):This is the story of the Heavens and Earth when they were created…We have explained that the acts that are the purpose of creation is for G-d who knows all that He created and watches over it.and this is the purpose of the heavens and Earth that G-d dwells in Heaven and so to speak judges all the items on the Earth  according to the deeds of man. All this happened because of man since everything is conditional according to his deeds. We have already explained that man has two modes of functioning 1) The Elevated man where he exists and functions in the world as an angel in Heaven 2) Normal Man who is concerned with his own personal needs These two modes  serve creation  because if everybody was like Adam before he sinned there would be no reward or punishment nor would G-d’s glory and kindness be revealed in the world. In fact the prime source for these is when man is in the second mode functioning as a normal man. Nevertheless a great deal of G-d’s honor is revealed by the angelic man amongst the masses of man. Given that there are in fact two modes of functioning if Adam was consistently in angelic mode  the entire sixth day when he was created, it would not be possible in the future to function as a normal man  That is because there is nothing new under the sun. from the six days of creation and afterwards. Consequently the world would not have achieved its purpose.for what it was made. On the other hand if Adam had been created in the second mode i.e. normal man then it would be impossible that angelic man should exist. Because that would constitute a new creation. On the other hand if man did not sin as the result of the influence of the serpent and Eve, it would have been necessary for G-d  to create an additional man who would be normal. This would lead that that the second man  would need to have two creations, in order that the world function properly. All this is alluded to by the verse “These are the developments of heaven and earth when they were created” These are the outcomes of heaven and earth at the time that they were created on the day that they were made… On the very day that they were finished and perfected by means of the change in man upon whom everything depended. Therefore in the Torah it is written Earth and Heaven because the change began from the events on the Earth and from this produced developments in Heaven where is located the supervision and eyes of G-d that track the deeds of man in the world . The Torah then relates how G-d brought about angelic man  who was by his very nature ufit to work the soil  since he was like a heavenly angel. Therefore man was displaced from this exalted state and thus was able to work in the fields and this completed the purpose of the world. It was only then that history began and that the heaven became G-d’s throne and the Earth His footstool and supervision happened according to the deeds of man and the manifrstation of G-d’s attributes. This is G-d’s glory

Whistleblower Rick Bright: The 60 Minutes interview

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Prosecution to charge sect leader Berland over tax evasion

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/prosecution-to-charge-sect-leader-berland-over-tax-evasion/

The state prosecution has informed attorneys for Rabbi Eliezer Berland that it intends to charge him with money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes, according to reports in Hebrew-language media.

 

Israeli man who firebombed Palestinian family found guilty on 3 counts of murder

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-may-18-2020/

Amiram Ben-Uliel also convicted of attempted murder, arson for attack on Dawabsha family in West Bank village of Duma that killed parents and 18-month-old baby

Jake Tapper: This is the danger of Trump's war on accountability

Trump Fires Inspector General Investigating Pompeo

Dems, Republicans disagree with Defense Sec. call to withdraw from Sinai

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/dems-republicans-disagree-with-defense-sec-call-to-withdraw-from-sinai-628401

Twelve lawmakers representing key Senate and House of Representatives committees called for continued U.S. support of the international peacekeeping force in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Esper reportedly has been pushing for the withdrawal of American troops from the U.S.-led force, despite opposition from Israel and the U.S. State Department. He has called for the withdrawal as a cost-cutting measure and because the soldiers are at increased risk.

Litzman: There was an overreaction on coronavirus

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/280391

Outgoing Health Minister Yaakov Litzman said on Sunday that he, too, thought there was an overreaction when preparing for the coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking in an interview on Reshet Bet radio, Litzman claimed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu "responded to the fears of the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov."

"I, too, thought it was an overreaction when my Director-General said there could be ten thousand dead. I shouted during the government meeting, in his presence, that it would not happen. The Prime Minister accepted this exaggeration and responded to the fears of the Director-General, I am not complaining about him, because overall the situation is excellent.”

 

Low-Tech Way to Help Some Covid Patients: Flip Them Over

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/health/coronavirus-proning-lungs.html?algo=identity&fellback=false&imp_id=680516836&imp_id=36060187&action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage

Turning ventilated patients onto their stomachs, called proning, helps them by opening their lungs. Now doctors are testing to see if it can keep others off ventilators altogether.