Ben Packer's Week in Review

It's not uncommon for Bennett to do very well in the polls and then not perform on election day.

Israeli Arabs continue to riot and attack Jews and Jewish religious buildings throughout the country. The police refuse to deal with it in any meaningful way.

In truth, it's been known for a while that Israel and the UAE did things together, quietly. UAE even has a small, but active, Jewish community.

After the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was announced, it was rumored that other Muslim countries were on the brink of following suit. That hasn't happened yet.

At this point, it seems the jack is out of the box and new elections are a done deal. Folks are already starting to maneuver.

One of the least likely to be able to influence anything is Benny Gantz and his Blue and White party. Even more of his friends publicly encouraged him to drop out again this week.

Meanwhile, illegal construction by Arabs remained rampant. And there were no changes in the status of endangered Jewish religious sites or politically significant areas.

Unlike in the States, now right-wing protesters are starting to show up to counter (read: fight) the leftists.

Meanwhile, Saar announced some of his party's platform, such as a term limit for being prime minister, regional representation in the Knesset and… who cares, none of this stuff is going to happen.

The enforcement of the lockdown regulations also continues to be quite contentious, particularly since it's only done in charedi areas.

A nationwide lockdown is being considered, but in the meantime it was decided to lockdown only charedi areas because the courts won't protect them like they would other places.

The declared intent of the curfew is to prevent large drunken parties/festive gatherings in the evenings. The upcoming video footage of attempted enforcement will be incredible!

Everyone agrees that these numbers are up, but that's pretty much where agreement ends. Will the lockdown decrease the numbers?

What we have here is a game of "Mexican chicken" to see who blinks first. There cannot really be a viable left-wing/Arab/fake right government – the numbers just aren't there.

Quebec's attempt to use historical anti-Semitism to regain its former historical importance is similar in certain ways to the majority of the population of Quebec: ugly and stupid.

A few days into the conflict, it was announced that Naftali Bennett was no longer willing to join a coalition with the left-wing and Arab parties.

Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed this week that Israel in on the verge of diplomatic agreements with at least four additional Muslim countries.

Now Trump Administration officials, including Ambassador Friedman, are regulars at the Wall. Visiting such a revered place should never have been a question, much less prohibited.

Naftali Bennett of the Yamina Party has declared his desire to be prime minister. Him being elected to that position in March is about as likely as me growing taller.

Malawi announced plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem. It would be the first African country to do so.

Restrictions on outdoor weddings and protests have been lifted. While it's unclear how many people can protest at a wedding, 20 people are allowed at weddings and 20 million people are allowed at protests.

Yair Lapid has only one week left to put together a governing coalition. He spent this week inking deals with parties that everyone already knew were with him.

Blame for the continued spread is mostly being attributed to new mutations of the virus. And anti-Semites are just blaming the charedim.

It’s still unclear when the country will be opened to foreign tourists, but the spring seems like a good bet, maybe even Pesach.

Reports continue that Israel will establish relations with at least Sudan and Oman in the next few weeks. President Trump has said the number could be as high as nine countries.

Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu suffered what seemed like a severe political setback. The parties seeking to replace him, with the support of the Arab Ra'am party, formed a majority on a strategic Knesset committee.

Certainly the highlight of the process, at least for me, was Naftali Bennett's nominating himself.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, after receiving the mandate to form a coalition government from President Rivlin, continues to try to do just that.

One of the issues that has led to the political turbulence of the past few years is the draft. The Supreme Court previously ruled that the current law that exempts yeshiva students from military service is illegal.

Israel is experiencing two dramatic trends – lots of vaccinations administered and lots of new cases of Covid-19.