Join our Community

Support ToI and remove all ads

Learn more

English
Français
עברית

Get The Daily Edition
Account
Sign In
- Sign in
- Join our Community

Open Search form

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners

Input search

English
Français
עברית

Latest Articles
Latest Alerts
Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners
Community
- Join our community
- Sign in
- About The Times of Israel
- Advertise on The Times of Israel
- Contact us
- Download our App
  - For IOS users
  - For Android users
- Get the Daily Edition
- Follow us
- © 2026 The Times of Israel , All Rights Reserved
  
  Terms and conditions Privacy policy Your Privacy Rights

Input search

The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Thursday, March 19, 2020

Facebook
Twitter

View previous edition

View next edition

Protesters wave a black flag, an Israeli flag and an Israeli flag with the colors inverted, outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on March 19, 2020. The protest was against the recent decision by the Knesset speaker to shut it down for several days, and against what they described as "damage to Israel's democracy". (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

Protest calls 'to save Israel's democracy' from PM, Speaker

Demonstrators protest Knesset closure, fly black flags over threats to democracy

Police try to block convoy of cars from reaching capital, later detain 5 outside parliament building; opposition leaders decry law enforcement’s actions as undemocratic

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein gives a press statement in the Knesset, January 12, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Knesset speaker, Netanyahu pounded as ‘undemocratic’ after lawmakers locked out

Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein during a vote on a bill to dissolve the Knesset, December 11, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Knesset legal adviser says speaker can’t keep parliament closed

By Raoul Wootliff

A file photo taken on March 7, 2020 shows Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz delivering a statement in the central Israeli city of Ramat Gan. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)

Live updates (closed)

In shift, Gantz doesn’t rule out sitting in government with Netanyahu as PM

By Michael Bachner, Jacob Magid and Judah Ari Gross

After his party vowed in 3 election campaigns not to sit with premier due to his criminal indictments, centrist leader says wrong to ‘cling’ to past remarks during virus crisis

8:56 pm

89-year-old Israeli woman in critical condition due to COVID-19 -- hospital
8:24 pm

Health Ministry: COVID-19 cases in Israel up to 677
8:22 pm

The specifics of the new regulations: when are people allowed to leave home?

Israeli border police wear protective gear and masks at the Ein Yael Checkpoint, near the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, March 11, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 )

Israel starts surveilling virus carriers, sends 400 who were nearby to isolation

By Judah Ari Gross and ToI Staff

A security guard check the temperature of a customer to identify if he has a fever in a Rami Levy supermarket in Jerusalem on March 18, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)

Israel media reviewWelcome to the coronacracy: 6 things to know for March 19

Workers wearing protective gear against the coronavirus disinfect a synagogue in Israel, March 18, 2020. (Flash90)

Netanyahu: There may be fines for violating Health Ministry orders

People wear face masks arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. (Flash90)

Israel seals its borders to all foreigners amid coronavirus outbreak

Israeli citizens, permanent residents still allowed in, but non-nationals, even those who can quarantine, now barred; border crossings with Egypt, Jordan sealed

A Magen David Adom worker arrives to test a patient with symptoms of COVID-19, in Jerusalem on March 16, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Coronavirus crisisBrushing aside doubts, Health Ministry, Netanyahu praise Mossad test kit caper

A Magen David Adom paramedic seals a coronavirus screening test kit during a training exercise in the central city of Kiryat Ono on February 26, 2020. (Jack Guez/AFP)

To ease global virus test bottleneck, Israeli scientists suggest pooling samples

By Nathan Jeffay

From the blogs

Yossi Klein Halevi

Corona in Jerusalem: What story will we tell?

The morning after Israel’s first non-military emergency, will we awake even more divided against ourselves or remember we were all in this together?

Workers wearing protective clothes disinfect a synagogue in Bat Yam, on March 18, 2020, as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. (Flash90)

Analysis

Virus presents new mental health challenges, even for battle-hardened Israelis

Experts warn that resilience learned in times of terror may not be enough to equip people emotionally for the new reality

Students arrive to Hadar Elementary School in Kfar Yona, on March 12, 2020. (Chen Leopold/Flash90)

Online learning for elementary and middle school students to end Thursday

Magen David Adom worker wears protective clothing as a preventive measure against the coronavirus outside the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv that was converted to receive coronavirus patients, March 18, 2020.( Tomer Neuberg/Flash90 )

Amid shortages, Defense Ministry to take over buying corona-related medical gear

Workers wearing protective clothes disinfect a public playground in the coastal city of Bat Yam, on March 18, 2020 (Flash90)

Number of confirmed virus cases hits 529 as testing ramps up

Jump of 96 sick people over day earlier, partially due to increase in number of tests given; most patients doing well, 6 remain in serious condition

Workers preparing new wards following the spread of the coronavirus, at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan on March 17, 2020. (Flash90)

Seriously ill virus patients had prior health issues; condition of 2 worsens

The Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv on March 17, 2020. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem hotels begin housing coronavirus patients

Then-Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein (R) and President Reuven Rivlin at the swearing-in of the 23rd Knesset, March 16, 2020. (Mark Heyman and and Haim Zach/GPO)

Analysis

Haviv Rettig Gur

Why Israel’s politicians shuttered the Knesset just when Israelis needed it most

And why neither Likud nor Blue and White can claim the moral high ground in an impasse that sees the president imploring the speaker to get MKs back to work and serving democracy

President Reuven Rivlin (L) and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein in the Knesset during a special plenum session marking the 50th birthday of the parliament building, January 19, 2016. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israeli president to speaker, a Likud MK: Reopen Knesset, don’t damage democracy

By Raoul Wootliff and ToI Staff

My neighbor’s cough

Musings from a Tel Aviv apartment that gets fresh air, but no sunlight, as I can’t escape hearing the incessant symptoms of possible COVID-19 through the walls

Coping with coronavirus: Free yourself from fear

Tips from a trauma psychologist, including: practice good hygiene, talk to your kids, and find a reliable news site, but DO NOT tune in to news all day

The Coronavirus test we will all take

We can’t control world events, but we can control how we respond to them. Your children, spouse, colleagues and neighbors are watching you.

COVID-19: The numbers game

We still have a short window of time before our hospitals reach capacity, which means that how well each of us self-isolates has a real impact on the public good

An Israeli firefighter wearing protective clothes disinfects a bus station in the ultra-Orthodox town of Kiryat Ye'arim (Telz-Stone) after seventeen of the city's residents were found to have coronavirus, March 18, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Government offers NIS 50 million to coronavirus-fighting startups

Program headed by Israel Innovation Authority to provide grants to firms with potential technological solutions for combating pandemic

Up to 5,000 Israelis filing for unemployment every hour after surge in layoffs

By Luke Tress and ToI Staff

Bank of Israel to loan banks up to $15b. as shekel slides against dollar

By Luke Tress and ToI Staff

Coronavirus crisisTotal lockdown can be avoided if public obeys orders — top health official

Illustrative: University faculty practice distance teaching ahead of the online spring semester. (Haifa Technion Spokesperson's Office)

As virus keeps Israelis home, internet is coping with the higher loads… so far

By Shoshanna Solomon

Israel has seen a 25% rise in internet use over the past 2 weeks as citizens log in for online schooling, business videoconferences, Pilates lessons

Palestinian security forces block the entrance to the Angel Hotel in the the West Bank city of Bethlehem, March 5, 2020. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Israel, PA tighten coordination to fight COVID-19 pandemic

A Muslim woman makes her way past closed shops in a deserted alley, in the Old City of Jerusalem on March 16, 2020. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)

Arab sellers in Jerusalem’s Old City bemoan virus as ‘worse than war’

By AFP

An illustrative photo a yeshiva in Ashdod. (Yaakov Cohen/Flash90)

Health Ministry orders closure of all ultra-Orthodox schools

Order comes after police find 200 students at Haredi school in Tel Aviv violating ban on public gatherings of over 10 people to contain virus

Reporter's notebook‘We’re not scared’: Some ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are ignoring virus rules

Chief rabbi allows cellphones on Shabbat for lifesaving virus messages

Police break up another ultra-Orthodox wedding for flouting virus restrictions

A still from HBO's 'The Plot Against America.' (Michele K. Short/HBO)

TV review

Now may be the best time to watch HBO’s surreal ‘The Plot Against America’

By Jordan Hoffman

Steven Skybell, center, as Tevye and ensemble in the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” (Victor Nechay/ProperPix via JTA)

Interview

Yiddish theater gives fans what to kvell over as stars broadcast from home

By Jordan Hoffman

An apartment that was available for quarantine rental in Tel Aviv during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Courtesy Eyal Leventhal Ben David)

In age of coronavirus, battered vacation rental market touts quarantine pads

By Jessica Steinberg

Join The Times of Israel Community!

Help support our journalism and enjoy the site ADS FREE - for as little as $6 a month

JOIN US

More Headlines

Illustrative: Members of Ethiopia's Jewish community protest the Israeli government's decision not to allow all of them to emigrate at the synagogue in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, November 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)

Citing coronavirus fears, Israel suspends immigration of 250 Ethiopians

Followers of the Chabad movement dance on March 14, 2020, days before 770 Eastern Parkway's closure because of the coronavirus. (Youtube screenshot)

Coronavirus shutters 770 Eastern Parkway, HQ of Chabad, for first time ever

By PHILISSA CRAMER

In this February 18, 2020, photo, a view of the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Efraim on the hills of the Jordan Valley. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Settlement construction dips in 2019 but building approvals soar — watchdog

By AP and Jacob Magid

Illustrative: Workers prepare new wards for coronavirus patients at Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer on March 17, 2020. (Flash90)

Rothschild Foundation donates NIS 50 million to boost hospitals’ virus battle

By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff

Astronaut Jessica Meir before launching on a mission to the International Space Station. (Sergei Savostyanov/TASS via Getty Images / JTA)

High hopes‘This too shall pass’: Astronaut posts photo of Tel Aviv from space

Illustrative: Media members wearing protective masks film outside the Young Israel of New Rochelle synagogue on March 10, 2020, in Westchester County, New York. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

Orthodox lawyer at center of NY virus outbreak wakes from coma

Illustrative: Conservative Jews pray at the section prepared for prayer for the Women of the Wall at Robinson's Arch in Jerusalem's Old City on July 30, 2014. (Robert Swift/Flash90)

Conservative movement: Virtual minyans permitted during virus ‘crisis situation’

By JTA

Rabbi Yehiel Kalish (L) attends the swearing-in of Dafna Michaelson Jenet, his sister, at the Colorado House of Representatives in Denver, Janurary 11, 2017. (Courtesy of Michaelson Jenet)

Legislator US rabbi in Illinois loses Democratic primary bid

Eurovision 2020 contestant Eden Alene (Kan screen grab)

The day the music diedIsrael’s contestant cries on TV as Eurovision nixed over pandemic

By Jessica Steinberg

Visitors at the synagogue in Halle the day after a gunman targeted the house of worship in eastern Germany, October 10, 2019. (Jens Schlueter/Getty Images/via JTA)

German police stage nationwide raids on anti-Semitic group

Democrat Marie Newman smiles as she campaigns in the Archer Heights neighborhood of Chicago on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In Illinois, a J Street favorite beats an AIPAC darling

By Eric Cortellessa

British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaks at a National Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, on January 26, 2017, in London, England. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

British chief rabbi orders synagogues closed over coronavirus

View Edition by Date

February	March 2020					April
Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

The Times of Israel

Daily Edition

Free to Your Inbox

The email is either missing or invalid.

By signing up, you agree to our terms You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
podcasts
video

terms and conditions
privacy policy
Your Privacy Rights
about us
advertise with us
Jobs at The Times of Israel
contact us

Community

Join our community
Sign in

Get the Daily Edition

Enter your email address

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Whatsapp Follow us on X Follow us on Youtube Follow us on Telegram Follow us on Threads Follow us on Bluesky

© 2026 The Times of Israel, all rights reserved

Concept, design & development by

Developed by

Powered by

Never miss breaking news on Israel

Get notifications to stay updated

You're subscribed

Register for free
and continue reading

Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.

Email address

Please use the following structure: example@domain.com

Or Continue with

By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.

Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition

Register to continue

Email address

Or Continue with

Log in to continue

Email address

Something went wrong.
Please try again in a few minutes..

Sign in or Register

Email address * Password *

Incorrect password. Please try again or choose an option below.

I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link

Or Continue with

check your email

Check your email

We sent an email to you at .

It has a link that will sign you in.

Click the link in that email to complete your registration.