There are currently 17,024 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel, an increase of 44 cases in the past 24 hours, of whom half are students of the Hebrew Gymnasium high school in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein warned about a possible new lockdown at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, saying that the rate of new coronavirus cases is five times higher than a few days ago. He called on the Israeli public to adhere to health regulations and get tested if they have symptoms of the virus, saying that Israel can test 15,000 people per day. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the meeting that it’s too early to know if the spike will become a trend but emphasized that the economy must remain open.

A rocket ship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era in commercial space travel and putting the United States back in the business of launching astronauts into orbit from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade. NASA’s Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode skyward aboard a white-and-black, bullet-shaped Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off at 3:22 p.m. from the same launch pad used to send Apollo crews to the moon a half-century ago. Minutes later, they slipped safely into orbit. “Let’s light this candle,” Hurley said just before ignition, borrowing the words used by Alan Shepard on America’s first human spaceflight, in 1961.

An initially peaceful demonstration in New York City over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minnesota, spiraled into chaos as night fell Friday, as protesters skirmished with police officers, destroyed police vehicles and set fires. In Brooklyn, activists who had marched from Manhattan chanted insults at officers lined up outside the Barclays Center and pelted them with water bottles. Police sprayed an eye-irritating chemical into the diverse crowd multiple times, then cleared the plaza. Video posted to social media showed officers using batons and shoving protesters as they took people into custody and cleared streets. One video showed on officer slam a woman to the ground as he walked past her in the street.

There are 17,012 cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Motzei Shabbos, with only 1,917 active cases. There are 36 patients in serious condition of whom 34 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 284. There were 101 new cases of the coronavirus diagnosed over Shavuos, a number that is above the limit Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu set to determine if Israel would revert back to a lockdown. Netanyahu said at a press conference on May 4 that coronavirus restrictions would be re-imposed if any of three scenarios occurred: over 100 new cases in one day; if the number of new cases doubled in 10 days; or if there are 250 patients in serious condition. By the next day, the number of new cases decreased, with only 14 news cases diagnosed over Shabbos.

Shouting “Black Lives Matter” and “I can’t breathe,” several hundred people converged on the White House for a second straight day Saturday to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and President Donald Trump’s response. Trump, who earlier belittled the protesters, pledged to “stop mob violence.” “I stand before you as a friend and ally to every American seeking justice and peace, and I stand before you in firm opposition to anyone exploiting this tragedy to loot, rob, attack and menace,” the president said in Florida after watching the launch of a SpaceX rocket. “Healing, not hatred, justice, not chaos are the missions at hand.” At Lafayette Park, across from the White House, three lines of barricades separated protesters from a loose line of uniformed police officers.

Three teachers from the Hebrew Gymnasium school in the Rechavia neighborhood of Jerusalem tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday morning. On Wednesday, three students at the school tested positive for the virus. The students were tested while in self-quarantine after a 7th-grade student at the school was diagnosed with the virus on Tuesday, sending 60 students and nine teachers into isolation. The school is reportedly shutting down for the time being, only weeks after it reopened. All the students and staff members will be tested for the coronavirus.

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Monday is 16,720, an increase of only three cases since Sunday evening, with 43 people in serious condition of whom 34 are ventilated. The first death in five days from the coronavirus was recorded on Monday, raising the death toll to 280. The Knesset voted on Sunday to curtail the Shin Bet’s surveillance of Israeli citizens to track coronavirus patients and anyone who had been in contact with them, Ynet reported. The surveillance has raised much controversy over its violation of privacy rights and the Supreme Court ruled that the surveillance cannot continue without government legislation.

There are 16,717 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Israel as of Sunday, a rise of only five new cases in the past 24 hours, with only 2,285 cases still being active. A total of 44 patients are in serious condition, of whom 34 are ventilated. The death toll remains at 279 as no new fatalities were reported for the fourth day in the row. A resident of the Mishan nursing home in Be’er Sheva who tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend tested negative on Sunday when a second test was administered. As temperatures in Israel continued to drop on Sunday, Israelis were once again required to wear face masks. The Health Ministry temporarily lifted the requirement for face masks last week due to the severe week-long heatwave.

Hundreds if not thousands of Israeli websites were hacked in a cyberattack on Thursday, the National Cyber Directorate stated. The websites’ homepages were replaced with an anti-Israel video and the ominous (but poorly translated) message of: “The countdown of Israel destruction has begun since a long time ago,” in Hebrew and English. The anti-Israel video was also uploaded to YouTube with the statement: “An universal mission completed. It is done in order to support resistance and freedom of palestine.” “Hackers_Of_Savior” was named on the bottom of the page as the group responsible for the attack. The National Cyber Directorate said that it warned last week that Iran may perpetuate a cyberattack to mark al-Quds Day.

Israel’s 35th government was sworn in on Sunday at the Knesset on Sunday afternoon, the first government in Israel history that includes the position of “alternate prime minister,” after 507 days of repeat elections and a transitional government amidst the unprecedented coronavirus crisis. Prior to the government’s swearing-in, Israel’s Basic Laws were amended to create the new position of “alternate prime minister,” a vital part of the Netanyahu-Gantz coalition deal. The government will also be the largest in Israel’s history with 36 ministries and 16 deputy-ministries, many of them newly created to satisfy Likud MKs vying for ministerial positions in the new government.