Coronavirus crisis in France sparks antisemitic conspiracy theories

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Coronavirus-crisis-in-France-sparks-antisemitic-conspiracy-theories-623458

Disease-related antisemitic conspiracy theories haven't been seen in France since the plagues of old. But with the new coronavirus pandemic, the strain is re-emerging.

 

Quebec Hasidic Jewish community under quarantine due to coronavirus oubreak

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Quebec-Hasidic-Jewish-community-under-quarantine-due-to-coronavirus-oubreak-623438

The region's public health department noted that there have been 10 confirmed cases of coronavirus discovered among members of the Tosh Hasidic community.

 

Coronavirus: US Navy removes Captain Brett Crozier who raised alarm

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52145230

 

The commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt has been removed after saying the US Navy was not doing enough to halt a coronavirus outbreak on board the aircraft carrier.

But acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said the commander "exercised extremely poor judgement".

On Thursday, Mr Modly told reporters that Capt Crozier was being fired for allegedly leaking the letter to the media.

He said the letter "created the impression the Navy was not responding to his questions".

"It creates the perception the Navy is not on the job; the government is not on the job. That's just not true."

Trump passes the buck as deadly ventilator shortage looms

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/02/politics/donald-trump-ventilators-leadership-coronavirus/index.html

Navarro said the President had ordered General Motors to manufacture ventilators in "Trump time -- which is as fast as possible," even though the President rebuffed calls for weeks from critics to fully utilize the Defense Production Act to surge their manufacture. On Monday, the President said that Ford had agreed to repurpose production lines to build 50,000 ventilators in 100 days.

"Trump time" is not going to be fast enough for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said on Thursday his state has about six days at the current "burn rate" of ventilators.

"It's very simple: A person comes into the ICU unit. They need the ventilator, or they die. It's that basic proposition," Cuomo said during a CNN town hall on the coronavirus.

Cuomo said the state had bought 17,000 ventilators but they have yet to be delivered because they are coming from China and 50 states and the federal government are competing for the equipment. New York has only 4,000 ventilators in the state, Cuomo said.

"Obviously, nobody would say that this was the best way to do it," Cuomo said, "to have 50 states compete, but that's where we are."

 

DeSantis risked the lives of Floridians

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/02/opinions/desantis-risked-the-lives-of-floridians-louis/index.html

Despite surging numbers of fatalities in New York and Washington and a rising tide of Florida editorial boards demanding action, DeSantis did not issue a statewide stay-at-home order until April 1. That made Florida the last state with more than 5,000 coronavirus cases to implement a statewide shutdown.

"Unlike some other governors, DeSantis ignored the obvious for too long, and Floridians likely are sicker for it," the Miami Herald said in a scathing editorial. "His statewide essential-services-only order, though welcome, is indeed, too late."

On March 22, the same editorial board has issued another action under the pointed headline: "Coronavirus is killing us in Florida, Gov. DeSantis. Act like you give a damn."

 

Jewish doctor urges Israel to follow his off-label coronavirus treatment

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/jewish-doctor-urges-israel-to-follow-his-off-label-coronavirus-treatment-623355

  Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a Jewish family medical practitioner from Monroe, New York, who claims to have an off-label treatment for the  coronavirus, sent a letter on Wednesday to Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov, urging him to follow his protocol.

 While some anecdotal studies indicated that these drugs might be effective, other doctors have criticized Dr. Zelenko’s protocol, saying that more research is needed, and warned about the drug's side effects. Another point of criticism was that not all of Zelenko’s patients were formally diagnosed with COVID-19 because of a shortage of tests. 

 “He reports that after a follow-up period of eight days, there have been no deaths, no incubation and only four hospitalizations,” Dr. Dinerstein added. “So there you have it, a bunch of patients, no firm diagnostic information, no ages, no co-morbidities, and a follow-up period that is several days shy of adequate. Could he be right? Perhaps, but this report doesn't clarify.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/ct-nw-nyt-coronavirus-vladimir-zelenko-hydroxychloroquine-cure-20200402-s4rwdsfi5ncx7oyxoiwgmoml7y-story.html

 Zelenko’s treatment arrived at a useful moment for Trump and his media supporters, who have at times appeared more interested in discussing miracle cures than testing delays or ventilator shortages.

Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, quickly promoted Zelenko’s claims on his TV and radio shows. Mark Meadows, the incoming White House chief of staff, called Zelenko to ask about his treatment plan. And Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, praised him in a podcast interview this week for “thinking of solutions, just like the president.”

Few people have been as hopeful about hydroxychloroquine as Trump, who has enthusiastically promoted it for weeks as “very effective” and possibly “the biggest game changer in the history of medicine” —even as health experts have cautioned that more research and testing are needed.

In virus epicenter NYC, disaster guru puts blame squarely on Trump White House

https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-virus-epicenter-nyc-disaster-guru-puts-blame-squarely-on-trump-white-house/

 I think President Trump continues to be talking about the preposterous idea that somehow the state and city do not know what they need,” Redlener said. “He keeps questioning the needs expressed by the city.” He called the president’s recent consideration of a mandatory quarantine for New York “kind of an inappropriate suggestion” and said that he was happy the president decided not to go through with the idea.

What the Nurses See: Bronx Hospital Reels as Coronavirus Swamps New York

https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-the-nurses-see-bronx-hospital-reels-as-coronavirus-swamps-new-york-11585702641

The pandemic has hit the borough hard, and Christina Norstein has witnessed things she never has before

why was Rivka afraid of her husband - two views

העמק דבר בראשית פרק כד פסוק סד
(סד) ותשא רבקה וגו' ותרא את יצחק. בעודו עומד ומתפלל והי' אז כמלאך אלהים נורא מאד, וכמבואר ברבה שראתה ידיו שטוחות בתפלה, על כן נבעתה מאד:
ותפל מעל הגמל. מרוב פחד ואימה, אמנם לא ידעה ממי היא מתפחדת, ואלו לא היתה יושבת עם העבד על גמל אחד, והיתה יושבת מאחוריו עד שראתה שאח"כ האיש הולך לקראת העבד ועומד ומדבר עמו ככל אדם, והי' דעתה מתקרר בתוך כך, עד שבהודעה אח"כ מי הוא האיש הי' כבר סר הפחד ממנה, אבל בהיותה יושבת עם העבד, ובתוך הפחד שאלה את העבד:
העמק דבר בראשית פרק כד פסוק סה
(סה) ותאמר אל העבד. אחר שפסק מתפלה, וראתה שאותו האיש שנתפעלה ממנו הולך לקראתם, על כן שאלה, מי האיש הלזה. אשר אני מתפעל ומפחד ממנו, וכמבואר בב"ר על לשון הלזה, משמעו אדם מאוים ונורא, על כן כששמעה ממנו שהוא אישה, ותקח הצעיף ותתכס. מרוב פחד ובושה כמו שמבינה שאינה ראויה להיות לו לאשה, ומאז והלאה נקבע בלבה פחד ממנו, ולא היתה עם יצחק כמו שרה עם אברהם, ורחל עם יעקב, אשר בהיות להם איזה קפידא עליהם או שינוי דעה לא בושו לדבר רתת לפניהם, משא"כ רבקה. וכל זה הקדמה להסיפור שיבוא בפרשת תולדות שהיו יצחק ורבקה מחולקים בדעות, ומכ"מ לא מצאה רבקה לב להעמיד את יצחק על דעתה בדברים נכוחים כי היא יודעת האמת כי עשו רק ציד בפיו, וכן בשעת הברכות, וכל זה הי' סיבה מהקב"ה שיגיעו הברכות ליעקב דוקא באותו האופן וכאשר יבואר במקומו טעם הדבר, ואלו היתה רבקה עם אישה כמו שרה ורחל עם אנשיהן, לא הי' מגיע בזה האופן, והכל בהשגחה פרטית מראש שתגיע רבקה ליצחק בשעה שתבהל ממנו, ויצא אחרית דבר כפי רצונו ית':

מדרש אגדה (בובר) בראשית פרשת חיי שרה פרק כד סימן סד
ותפל מעל הגמל. נפילה ממש, ובאותה נפילה איבדה בתוליה

 ילקוט שמעוני תורה פרשת חיי שרה רמז קט
ותפול מעל הגמל [כ"ד, ס"ד] לפי שראתה ברוח הקדש שעתיד לצאת ממנו עשו הרשע נזדעזעה ונעשית מוכת עץ ויצא ממנה דם בתולים מיד אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא לגבריאל רד ושמור את הדם שלא יסריח ולא יהיה בו מום בא יצחק עליה ולא מצא לה בתולים חשדה מאליעזר אמר לה בתולותיך היכן הן אמרה לו כשנפלתי מן הגמל נעשיתי מוכת עץ אמר לה שקר את מדברת אלא אליעזר פגע בך ונשבעה לו שלא נגע בה הלכו ומצאו העץ צבוע דם מיד ידע יצחק שהיא טהורה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא מה אעשה לעבד הזה שהיה חשוד אמר למלאכי השרת הכניסוהו חי בגן עדן הוא אליעזר בן נמרוד והוא תמיה גדולה יצחק יצא מגן עדן חי ואליעזר נכנס לגן עדן חי:

Pakistan overturns murder conviction in Daniel Pearl slaying

https://www.timesofisrael.com/pakistan-overturns-death-sentence-for-briton-convicted-over-daniel-pearl-murder/

  A Pakistani court Thursday overturned the murder conviction of a British Pakistani man found guilty of the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Instead, the court found Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh guilty of the lesser charge of kidnapping and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

In January 2011, a report released by the Pearl Project at Georgetown University following an investigation into his death made chilling revelations, claiming that the wrong men were convicted for Pearl’s murder.

The investigation, led by Pearl’s friend and former Wall Street Journal colleague Asra Nomani and a Georgetown University professor, claimed the reporter was murdered by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the September 11 2001 attacks, not Sheikh.

Trump's Covid-19 reelection strategy

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/01/opinions/trump-covid-19-response-reelection-strategy-lockhart/index.html

All of this confirms that while the president was slow off the mark to respond to the pandemic, he was always working off a political plan that had his reelection as the top priority.

In January and February his administration didn't see a political benefit in getting out ahead of this. In late March as the cases grew, that changed. But judging from his actions, it's still politics and reelection that are largely driving his response.

 

Boston Globe Editorial Board: Trump 'Has Blood On His Hands' | The Last Word | MSNBC

National Stockpile Of Emergency Equipment Nearly Gone, Trump Says

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marleycoyne/2020/04/01/national-stockpile-of-emergency-equipment-nearly-gone-according-to-report/#119de12f88be

 Topline: The national stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE), including gloves, masks and gowns needed to shield healthcare workers from coronavirus exposure, is nearly gone, Trump said Wednesday—an increasingly dire problem as the number of reported infections swells to 200,000 nationwide.

 

Maddow: Lack Of US National Coronavirus Policy Is Insane. And Fatal. | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC