NOVEMBER 18 • 2021 | 41

ERETZ

A

m Yisrael recently 
ended the period 
of the Jewish High 
Holidays, a traditional period of 
reflection for the Jewish people. 
It begins with Rosh Hashanah, 
the New Year, followed by Yom 
Kippur, a day of fasting and 
repentance, and concludes 
with Sukkot, the Feast of 
Tabernacles, the holiday com-
memorating the 40 years of 
biblical wandering in the desert 
to the Promised Land.
The past year has seen 
changes in the land that are 
both promising and chal-
lenging, full of dramatic and 
exciting events from politics to 
sports, hi-tech to pandemics. 
Here are few that dominated 
the Israeli headlines.

NEW GOVERNMENT
On the political front, Israel 
voted in a new government 
and a new prime minister 
after three elections failing 
to reach conclusive results. 
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s 
longest-reigning premier, and 
his Likud party were sent to 
the opposition by voters in the 
fourth election, held in March 
2021. The new coalition is 
Israel’s most diverse government 
to date, including parties from 
both ends of the spectrum and, 
for the first time ever, an Arab 
party. The White House wel-
comed a new face to the Israeli-
USA relations arena when 
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, 
on his first official state visit, 
met with President Joe Biden at 
the Oval Office in late August.
The Knesset also voted in a 
new president, in accordance 
with the national presidential 
timetable of seven years. Unlike 
the prime minister, the pres-
ident is largely a ceremonial, 

apolitical figure. The popular 
Reuven “Rubi” Rivlin ended 
his term this summer and Isaac 
“Bougie” Herzog took office 
as Israel’s 11th president. He is 
also the first president who is 
the son of a former president; 
his father, Chaim Herzog, 
was installed as Israel’s sixth 
president in 1983. As a teen-
ager, Isaac Herzog attended 
high school in New York and 
American Jewish summer 
camps; and as a college stu-
dent he attended NYU and 
Cornell. Herzog faced off 
against Miriam Peretz, a prom-
inent educator, public speaker 
and recipient of the Israel Prize. 
Eighty-seven of the 120 Knesset 
members voted for him, mak-
ing his election the largest victo-
ry in Israel’s presidential history.

BATTLING COVID 
Eighteen months into COVID, 
Israel is learning to live with 
the pandemic. With one of 
the highest vaccination rates 
in the world, the first country 

to vaccinate 12–16-year-olds 
and a quick rollout of the 
third booster vaccine, life in 
Israel is approaching normal-
cy. Schools opened according 
to schedule on Sept. 1, and 
indoor and outdoor events are 
taking place with precautions 
and vaccination guidelines. 
The holidays saw Israelis 
enjoying their proximity to 
Europe and traveling once 
again. While infection num-
bers plummeted in the early 
summer, they were on the rise 
during the holiday period, 
now reducing again. The most 
encouraging news is the rela-
tively low number of seriously 
ill patients, directly related to 
the high vaccination rate and 
the booster shot that over half 
of Israeli adults have taken. 
Thanks to the high vaccina-
tion rate, the reopening of the 
economy and a robust hi-tech 
market, the economy is push-
ing ahead in the shadow of the 
pandemic, with the Bank of 
Israel predicting a GDP growth 

this year of 5.5%.
Israelis were elated with their 
record results at both the Tokyo 
Olympics and Paralympic 
Games. The all-star national 
judo team won bronze in 
the mixed event, and Israeli 
athletes brought home a bronze 
in Taekwondo and two golds in 
gymnastics. For the first time in 
the country’s Olympic history, 
Israel participated in baseball.
Israel wrapped up the 
Paralympic Games ranked a 
respectable 22 on the medal 
ladder, bringing home six gold 
medals, two silver and one 
bronze. Swimmers Ami Omer 
Dadaon and Mark Malyar 
created new world records in 
swimming, and swimmer Iyad 
Shalabi is Israel’s first Arab 
citizen to bring home a medal. 
The outstanding athletes with 
disabilities served as a wonderful 
source of pride and inspiration 
for the entire country. 
The new year ahead holds 
many challenges, but Israel is 
off to a promising start. 

Israel’s Year in Review

NAOMI MILLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Artem Dolgopyat, President Isaac Herzog and Linoy Ashram with their Olympic gold medals at the 
President’s Residence in Jerusalem, Aug. 16, 2021. 

ITAY BEIT-ON/GPO

