Data shows more children are getting sick and dying from Covid

 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/data-shows-more-children-are-getting-sick-dying-covid-n1281616

Only a small proportion of young children with Covid get severely ill or die. Though weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Covid deaths among children under age 15 also reached its highest level in September, only 41 children died of Covid from Sept. 4 to Oct. 2.

Results of the Long-COVID Survey Among Children in Israel

 https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/13092021-01

 In conclusion, in accordance with the data collected from around the world, it is evident that coronavirus has long term effects not only on the adult population but among children as well. The rate of reported long-term infection means that there are thousands of children in Israel who experience long term symptoms.

Rabbi Benzion Mutzafi: The government is untrustworthy, but vaccines are a must

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/318232

 A senior haredi rabbi has denounced Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as “a liar”, while ruling that

According to a report Tuesday by Kikar HaShabbat, Rabbi Benzion Mutzafi, a senior decisor of Jewish law in the Sefardic haredi community, responded to a question regarding whether one should rely on the government vis-à-vis its recently-launched mass vaccination campaign for children ages 5-11.

the public should get vaccinated against COVID-19, despite misgivings about the government.

 Rabbi Mutzafi responded by denouncing the government and Prime Minister Bennett, while separating the issue of trust in the government from relying on the vaccine.

“He is a known liar,” the rabbi responded. “But the Holy Torah commands us to listen to the doctors and to get vaccinated.”

הפוסק: "בנט שקרן מועד, אך צריך להתחסן"

 https://www.kikar.co.il/406926.html

 גאון רבי בן ציון מוצפי, מגדולי הפוסקים בציבור הספרדי, נשאל בימים האחרונים על הצורך לחסן ילדים, בצל אי האמון של הציבור החרדי בממשלה והעומד בראשה, נפתלי בנט. הפוסק השיב בנחרצות כי לשמוע בקול הרופאים ולהתחסן.

בשאלה ששיגר לו אחד מתלמידיו, נכתב: "לכבוד הרב, אין אמונה בממשלה, רה"מ מצטייר כשקרן! מאוד מתלבטת אם לחסן ילדים קטנים, לא יודעים מה ההשלכות של החיסון! אנחנו הורים - התחסנו, אבל ילדים קטנים? אולי לחסן רק לשפעת כרגע?"

בתשובתו הגיב הרב בנחרצות: "הוא שקרן מועד! אך התורה הקדושה מצווה אותנו לשמוע בקול הרופאים ולהתחסן".

בתשובה נוספת שכתב הרב מוצפי בנושא החיסונים, הדגיש הרב את הצורך להתחסן ולא להמתין בכדי לשמוע האם ייצרו חיסון חדש בשל וריאנט האומיקרון: "לא להמתין כלל. כי הוא מסוכן, ומי שמחוסן גם אם חלילה יחלה יעבור בצורה קלה מאוד. גם רוב הסיכויים שהחיסון יעיל, לכן יש למהר ולחסן היום".

A Party, and Nation, in Crisis

 https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/republican-party-america-democracy-in-crisis/620839/

 Stating plainly that one of America’s two major parties, the party putatively devoted to advancing the ideas and ideals of conservatism, has now fallen into autocratic disrepute is unnerving for a magazine committed to being, in the words of our founding manifesto, “of no party or clique.” Criticism of the Republican Party does not suggest an axiomatic endorsement of the Democratic Party, its leaders and policies. Substantive, even caustic, critiques can of course be made up and down the Democratic line. But avoiding partisan entanglement does not mean that we must turn away from the obvious. The leaders of the Republican Party—the soul-blighted Donald Trump and the satraps and lackeys who abet his nefarious behavior—are attempting to destroy the foundations of American democracy. This must be stated clearly, and repeatedly.

Jordanian doctors jailed for causing deaths of COVID-19 patients

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/jordanian-doctors-jailed-for-causing-deaths-of-covid-19-patients-687921

A Jordanian court sentenced five senior health officials to three years in jail on Sunday for causing the death of 10 COVID-19 patients following an oxygen outage in a major state hospital, state media said.

The court found the former director of the state hospital in Salt, a city west of the capital, and four of his senior aides responsible for the deaths, the media said. The patients, who were being treated in the hospital, died in March when staff failed to act after oxygen ran out in a COVID-19 ward for nearly an hour.

The disaster, which politicians and local activists said exposed gross negligence in the state health system during a spike in COVID-19 infections, sparked anti-government protests across many cities and provincial towns.

Parents knowingly sent their child to school after they tested positive for Covid-19. 75 classmates were forced to quarantine

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/06/us/student-quarantine-covid-school-trnd/index.html

One family's decision to send their child to school after testing positive for Covid-19 resulted in dozens of canceled Thanksgiving plans for other classmates, according to a California school district.

Parents of one elementary student knew their child tested positive for the virus but continued to send them to school for seven days, Dr. Brett Geithman, superintendent of Larkspur-Corte Madera School District in Marin County, told CNN.

The student attends Neil Cummins Elementary School in Corte Madera, about 30 minutes north of San Francisco.

The parents' actions resulted in around 75 classmates being forced to quarantine starting November 19.

Health Min.: Over 40% of new cases diagnosed in young children

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/318158

 Israel's Health Ministry on Monday morning revealed that a total of 521 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed throughout Sunday, bringing the number of active cases nationwide to 5,330.

 Of the 153 COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized, 112 are in serious condition, and 75 of them are in critical condition. A full 62 of the patients are intubated, and 23 are hooked up to ECMO (heart and lung) machines.

Missing years (Jewish calendar)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_years_(Jewish_calendar)

If traditional dates are assumed to be based on the standard Hebrew calendar, then the differing traditional and modern academic dating of events cannot both be correct. Attempts to reconcile the two systems must show one or both to have errors 

Dr. Andy Goldfinger: Quantum Theory and G-d

Israel's first liberal rabbi MK swims against Orthodox tide

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1mjew5ky

The first liberal rabbi in the Knesset, Gilad Kariv from the Labor party, has his sights set on ending the monopoly of the ultra-Orthodox on many aspects of everyday life in the Jewish state.

 

Right wing builds its own echo chamber

 https://www.axios.com/conservative-social-media-crypto-publishing-internet-56a77cbd-89c6-480a-a8a4-6092b7eea481.html

Conservatives are aggressively building their own apps, phones, cryptocurrencies and publishing houses in an attempt to circumvent what they see as an increasingly liberal internet and media ecosystem.

The bottom line: Conservative media has been a powerhouse for a long time, but this phase of its expansion isn't just about more or louder conservative voices — it's about building an entire conservative ecosystem.

Margaux Pinot: 'I thought I was dead,' says French judoka as partner released over domestic violence accusations

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/12/04/football/margaux-pinot-judo-domestic-violence-spt-intl/index.html

 Violence against women in France has risen to the fore in public debates in recent year​s, with much media attention focused on the dozens of women killed by their partners each year. ​

In 2020, security forces reported 159,400 victims of domestic violence committed by partners (or former partners), according to the country's interior ministry, an annual increase of 10% that includes 139,200 women.

Corruption in the Austrian Justice System

 https://www.facebook.com/derStandardat/posts/judges-last-waltz-in-vienna-corruption-in-the-austrian-justice-systemby-ken-came/10156978757671963/

This story was referred to the leading Jewish newspapers in the UK during 2018, The Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph, all of which have covered the Beth Alexander case in the past. Their editors declined to publish.

In March 2018, an earlier version of this story was handed in person to Austria's four Appeal Court presidents, Manfred Scaria, Klaus Schröder, Gerhard Jelinek and Katharina Lehmayer. The office of Manfred Scaria (Linz) responded but the others failed to make any coherent reply. It is unknown whether these judges intiated action against Thau or Göttlicher but in the context of Austrian judicial culture, assumptions may be made. Details were also sent to the State Prosecution Service (WKStA) and the Generalprokurator Dr. Franz Plöchl but no action resulted. This means that there is now no competent authority that can investigate and ensure accountability. Consequently, legal opinion now suggests that Austria has violated the 1955 State Treaty and should be referred to the United Nations as required by the Treaty.