Israel is slowly getting back to normal. Stores and businesses are opening along with shopping malls and gyms. Schools and kindergartens are beginning to open, but with restrictions on the number of children in each class and how the day is structured for them. Other areas of life are still in lockdown, especially restaurants (take away only), theatres, movies, concerts, and other recreational and cultural facilities.

But, even though there is light at the end of the rainbow, we still have to take care because the path from national recovery to national catastrophe is a short and slippery one. When outside of the home, we must continue to wear face masks, temperatures are taken before entering stores, the numbers of people who can enter a shopping mall or large department store is dictated by the facility’s total floor area and we still have to maintain at least 6 feet distance from others. The government and Ministry of Health has warned that, if the numbers of confirmed cases begins to rise, we may face another lockdown. So, the name of the game is responsibility. We owe it to our neighbors, our friends, our families, and our communities to do whatever we can to stay on the path to recovery,

We hear a lot about what is happening in the US and our hearts go out to the American people and especially the families and loved ones of those who have succumbed to this insidious and invisible attack. From here, in Israel, we want to send our prayers and hopes to you all. We know you will prevail! We especially want to send a message of thanks and appreciation to the tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, medical technicians, paramedics and all of support services that are working day and night to provide care to those who have been infected. You are all heroes and we want you to know that you, your Israeli brothers and sisters and those around the globe are in our thoughts and have our thanks.