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 Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Facebook
Twitter

View previous edition

View next edition

A police officer and an IDF soldier at a temporary checkpoint in Jerusalem on April 8, 2020, before a nationwide curfew takes effect for the first night of Passover. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Passover coronavirus curfew takes effect in communities throughout Israel

Israelis barred from traveling more than 100 meters from their homes until Thursday morning as part of government measures to prevent fresh virus outbreak over holiday

8 more virus deaths bring toll to 73; 10 are from Beersheba elder care facility

37-year-old Israeli dies of virus – the youngest to date – as toll rises to 65

Why is this virus different: A pre-Passover Q&A on what the experts have learned

By Nathan Jeffay

Rabbi Vanessa Ochs is the author of the new book, 'The Passover Haggadah: A Biography.' (Courtesy)

Author interview

This year’s ‘virtual’ seders have an ancient echo, says Haggadah historian

By Rich Tenorio

A Magen David Adom worker wears protective gear in a field of mustard while collecting test swabs in the northern Israeli city of Safed on March 31, 2020. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Israel media review

This too shall pass(over): 7 things to know for April 8

By Joshua Davidovich

Israelis are trying to make the best of a Seder night like no other, looking on the bright side of an otherwise devastating crisis and finding crumbs of freedom where they can

Residents of Beit Shemesh shop at a vegetable stand hours before the start of the Passover holiday. April 8, 2020. (Sam Sokol)

Fretting and making do, Israelis prepare to celebrate the Exodus in isolation

A dining hall is set up for a Passover Seder at Tel Aviv's Dan Panorama hotel on April 7, 2020. (Israel Defense Forces)

Amid curfew, hundreds of Israelis will gather at this government-approved Seder

Magen David Adom medical team members, wearing protective gear, handle a coronavirus test sample at a drive-through site in Tel Aviv, March 22, 2020. (Flash90)

Interview

Is humanity having an admirable moral moment? A philosopher’s pandemic insights

Moshe Halbertal is heartened by leaders placing the well-being of their elderly above market solutions. But it’s all mixed in, ‘as usual with humans, with very dark aspects’

Medical personnel carry an oxygen tank into Elmhurst Hospital Center's emergency room after inspecting it outdoors, April 7, 2020, in New York during the current coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

With 1,939 fatalities, US records highest death toll in single day

New York governor says state appears to be nearing the peak of its outbreak but urges citizens to continue staying indoors

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a primary election night campaign rally in Los Angeles, March 3, 2020. (Chris Carlson/AP)

Biden offers US Jews comfort ahead of a Passover plagued by coronavirus

By Eric Cortellessa

Glenn Fine, then Acting Inspector General from the US Department Of Defense, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 6, 2017. (AP/Carolyn Kaster)

Trump removes inspector general set to oversee $2 trillion stimulus package

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo briefs the media inside a nearly completed makeshift hospital at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New Yor, March 27, 2020. (Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo via AP)

After hundreds at funeral, Cuomo tells ultra-Orthodox to halt large gatherings

Governor warns NYPD will enforce coronavirus social distancing regulations after funeral for rabbi in Brooklyn draws large crowd

The late Rabbi Yaakov Perlow speaks at Agudath Israel of America's 2019 convention in Stamford, Connecticut. (Courtesy/Agudath Israel via JTA)

Yaakov Perlow, a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi in US, dies of coronavirus at 89

By Josefin Dolsten

Illustrative: An Israeli family seen during the Passover Seder on April 3, 2015. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

In reversal, US Orthodox groups say no shared Passover Seders should take place

By Josefin Dolsten

Keir Starmer of the UK Labour party delivers a speech at an election campaign event in Harlow, England, November 5, 2019. (AP/Matt Dunham)

In talk with Jewish leaders, new UK Labour chief vows to root out anti-Semitism

Keir Starmer apologizes for anti-Jewish hatred in party, promises independent complaints review process; community heads relieved, appreciative

AnalysisNew Labour boss is no Corbyn, but unlikely to reverse party’s anti-Israel stance

By Raphael Ahren

NHS workers are swabbed at a drive-in facility to test for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, set up in the car park on the outskirts of Manchester on April 4, 2020. (Oli SCARFF / AFP)

From our partner121 British Jews have died of COVID-19, tripling in a week

Ohad Navon, 26, in the Bolivian Amazon (courtesy)

Lost in the Amazon amid pandemic, a starving Israeli ‘nomad’ finds his way home

By Marissa Newman

Unmasking matzah

What if you discovered that the coronavirus pandemic was no more – that a cure and a vaccine were found? The Israelite slaves in Egypt knew that split-second reversal of reality

The quality of darkness

The ninth plague literally left the Egyptians in the dark; for the Israelites, it simply cloaked the coming light of redemption

The Yom Kippur of the ultra-Orthodox

The tragic results of bad initial advice from leading rabbis is a wake up call to Haredi Jews to start making their own decisions

Amos Yadlin and Ari Heistein

Calls to reduce pressure on Iran’s regime are reckless and misguided

The desperate Iranian people must get humanitarian aid, but the maximum pressure policy against their corrupt, bumbling leaders must be maintained

Police at a temporary checkpoint on Route 1 outside Jerusalem on April 8, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

Police official says only small handful of Israelis been caught violating curfew

By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff

Not a car to be found on roads typically filled with pre-holiday traffic, thanks to restrictions barring families from holding seders with anyone they don’t already live with

6:19 pm

US State Department wishes Jews happy Passover
5:53 pm

Report: German foreign ministry restricts Zoom use due to security concerns
5:53 pm

11 Congress members call on Israel to refrain from West Bank annexatoin

Analysis

As kosher food factories in China fall victim to COVID-19, Diaspora feels impact

Though Passover supplies got out on time, shutdowns in virus’s epicenter and one of the world’s largest economies leave a marked ripple effect on observant Jews around the globe

Illustrative: In this Thursday, February 27, 2020, photo, a worker checks yogurt coming off the production line at the Mengniu dairy factory in Beijing. Reporters were invited to China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. this week to be shown how companies are reviving after anti-virus measures shut down most of the world's second-biggest economy. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Israel signs deal with Chinese firm to enable 10,000 virus tests a day

Times of Israel PodcastsLISTEN: WhyWhyWhy! presents: Eggs

China’s virus pandemic epicenter Wuhan ends 76-day lockdown

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference about the coronavirus, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on March 25, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

ToI investigates

Simona Weinglass

Amid crackdown on fake news, Netanyahu’s own Facebook posts rapped as misleading

The PM keeps citing a Hong Kong firm’s chart showing Israel atop a ‘safest countries’ list. A little digging shows why experts urge more skepticism before we share such claims

Illustrative: Late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's grandson, Yonatan Ben Artzi, speaks at a memorial ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Rabin's assassination, at the president's house in Jerusalem on October 25, 2015. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

Rabin’s grandson wishes for Netanyahu to catch virus, die in prison; apologizes

Benny Gantz in Ramat Gan on March 9, 2020 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Gantz: Unity government, ‘but not at any cost’; Likud: He reversed his positions

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov at a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, March 11, 2020. (Flash90)

Health Ministry head: When we drop to dozens of new cases a day we’ll ease rules

Moshe Bar Siman-Tov says in next few weeks government may increase number of those allowed to return to workplace, permit people to venture more than 100 meters from home

Bnei Brak hospital says it is at full capacity for patients needing ventilation

Schools could gradually resume after Passover, starting with special ed students

Israel to expand virus grants to self-employed workers

Setting the stage for Passover with matzah at the Wood River Jewish Community’s Hebrew school. (Courtesy of the Wood River Jewish Community via JTA)

Virus outbreak derails Sun Valley Jewish community’s Passover plans

By Penny Schwartz

Idaho resort town has recorded a higher number of COVID-19 cases per capita than New York City, with several members of local congregation among the infected

Moshe Grunwald. (Facebook via JTA)

Family of deceased New York Holocaust survivor mourns over wrong body

Crews load chemical reagents and protective suits onto an El Al plane in South Korea on April 8, 2020. (Defense Ministry)

Plane with tens of thousands of virus tests takes off from Seoul for Israel

By Judah Ari Gross

As Israel scrambles to purchase the reagents necessary for the chemical analyses, government makes deal with South Korea to supply some, but still far less than what is needed

With newly trained troops and a detailed manual, the IDF ‘koshers’ for Passover

By Judah Ari Gross

Former chief rabbi Bakshi-Doron hospitalized with coronavirus

IDF lets 20 hilltop youth quarantine together against government guidelines

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

A supermoon is seen over Belvoir castle in Leicestershire, England, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Year’s brightest supermoon rises over world battered by pandemic

By ToI Staff and AP

The exterior of the Arak heavy water production facility in Arak, Iran, 360 kilometers southwest of Tehran, October 27, 2004. (AP Photo)

Iran atomic chief says modernization work on heavy water reactor progressing

By ToI Staff and Agencies

[Illustrative] German police patrol to make sure that the distance regulations are observed during the coronavirus outbreak in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 23, 2020. (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

European cops nab 9 suspects in $100m fraud with ties to Israel’s binary options

By Simona Weinglass

Illustrative: An ambulance in Rabat, Morocco, April 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Number of virus fatalities in Morocco’s Jewish community reportedly rises to 11

By ToI Staff and AFP

UK’s two main Jewish papers announce liquidation, talk vaguely of future hopes

Students fly back to Israel from Turkey, April 8, 2020 (Screen grab/Kan)

After first flight canceled, group of Arab Israeli students returns from Turkey

Chief Medical Officer for the UK, Chris Witty, speaks during a press conference about coronavirus in 10 Downing Street in London, March 9, 2020. (AP/Alberto Pezzali)

From our partnerUK Chief Medical Officer’s dad was killed by Palestinian terrorists in 1984

Left, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on December 22, 2019. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov, Pool). Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar meets with the head of the Central Elections Commission, Hanna Nasser, in Gaza City on October 28, 2019. (AP/Khalil Hamra)

Netanyahu: Israel ready for ‘constructive action’ to return captives from Gaza

Tal Kallai, aka Talula Bonet (R), and Yuval Edelman, aka Ziona Patriot on the show Quarantine. (Screen capture/YouTube)

All dressed upQuarantined drag queens land TV show in Israel

By ISAAC SCHARF

Israeli security forces demolish a building near Beit Jala in the West Bank, August 26, 2019. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Israel agrees to halt most demolitions of Palestinian buildings during pandemic

Felix Klein, the German government's first-ever special envoy to the Jewish community, at the 'Berlin wears a kippah' protest, April 25, 2018 (courtesy BMI)

Germany warns of spike in anti-Semitism linked to virus

By AFP

An encrypted cellphone, USB device and piece of paper with a code on it that were found in the possession of an Israeli citizen suspected of spying on Israel for Iran, who was arrested on March 16, 2020. (Shin Bet)

Shin Bet nabs Israeli citizen accused of spying for Iran

By Judah Ari Gross

View Edition by Date

March	April 2020					May
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

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.