Those Were the Headlines of the Year 5781

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September 6, 2021, 7 AM ET

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You may remember 5781 as a year defined by just the Coronavirus, vaccinations and elections, but looking back at our headlines, even we were surprised at how busy and packed a year it was, and how much more actually happened that affected our lives. Join us as we take a journey back through some of the stories and headlines that helped define 5781. And may 5782 be a better year for all of us. Shana Tova.

Jonathan Pollard

We have been waiting for 35 years to write this headline. It was a pleasure to be able to write this article. Jonathan Pollard Comes Home Jonathan Pollard: ‘I Don’t Regret Helping My People and my Land’

Abraham Accords

A Monumental Day in History: Signing of the Abraham Accords by US, Israel, UAE, Bahrain Saudi Arabia Green Lights Israel’s Use of Air Space for UAE Routes First Delivery of Samaria Goods Shipped to UAE in Wake of Abraham Accords Abraham Accords Sees Sweet Results in Form of D’vash Business Cooperation UAE Food and Water Minister Talks Tomatoes with Hebrew U’s Agriculture Experts

Against the Abraham Accords

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain at the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony at the White House, Sept. 15, 2020. / Avi Ohayon/GPO

Clearly though, not everyone is a fan of Middle East peace when it doesn’t involve Israel giving up land. Biden’s State Department Can’t Say ‘Abraham Accords’ Biden Suspends F-35 Deal with UAE Biden’s Second Slap at Trump & the UAE: Reinstating Aluminum Tariffs Biden May be Ready to Sacrifice Abraham Accords for Iranian Deal The US Is Undermining the Abraham Accords Tom Friedman Accuses Israel of ‘Abraham Accords Washing’ and Ignoring the Much Preferred ‘2-State’

Iran & Friends

Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's new president / Mahmoud Hosseini / Tasnin News Agency / Wikimedia Commons

Remember That Name, Fakhrizadeh Saudis Suspicious of Dan Shapiro’s Role in Iran Talks Dan Shapiro is Back Oops! Hezbollah Fails to Hide All Evidence of Secret Beirut Missile Factory in Media Visit Watch: Massive Explosion in Lebanon’s Beirut Harbor, Dozens Buried Under the Ruins Israeli-Owned MV Helios Ray Vessel Hit by Explosions in Persian Gulf, Near Strait of Hormuz British Blame Iran for Attack on Israeli-Operated Ship In Gulf

Sheikh Jarrah and Arab Pogroms

Israeli mounted police clash with Arab protesters in Sheikh Jarrah, May 6, 2021. / Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90

District Courts Rule in Favor of Jewish Owners of 3 Homes in Eastern Jerusalem, Evict 87 Arab Squatters Following Muslim Riots, Israel Declares State of Emergency in Lod Thousands of Israeli Jews Purchasing Guns following Guardians of the Walls Pogroms Scientist Avi Har-Even, 85, Succumbs to Injuries from Acco’s Arab Riots Rabbi Dov Lior in Lod: This Was Kristallnacht – No Peace with Savages

Coronavirus and Vaccinations

Magen David Adom begins the second phase of vaccinations, Jan. 12, 2021. / Courtesy of MDA

Prime Minister Netanyahu First Israeli To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Netanyahu: Everything Opens After Pesach, April 5th Bennett Calls on 1 Million Israelis to Get Vaccinated to Stop Spread of Delta

US Elections

Anti-Trump protester in Baltimore the weekend after US 2016 presidential elections. / Elvert Barnes PROTEST PHOTOGRAPHY / Wikimedia Commons

Ohio Special Election has Become Latest Battleground in Democratic Party’s Clash Over Israel Netanyahu and Joe Biden Talk for the First Time since Elections Likud MK on Chance that Biden Is Elected: ‘We Survived Pharaoh, We’ll Survive This, Too’ Revealed: A Young Senator Biden Delivered Egyptian Disinformation to Israel Ahead of Yom Kippur War

Bennett’s Government

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett leads a cabinet meeting on the budget, August 1, 2021. / Emil Salman/POOL

Left Upset at Netanyahu’s Inroads with Israeli Arab Leader Smotrich: Netanyahu’s Whitewashing of Mansour Abbas Will Terminate the Jewish State Nothing Wrong with your Set: Bennett Could Become Prime Minister Next Week Bennett Swiftly Congratulated by US President Biden Bennett Faces the Opposition First Time as Israeli Prime Minister Bennett Consolidates Power, Purging his Opposition Within Yamina Ra’am’s Price for Joining Bennett-Lapid Government: Bedouin Controlled Negev

Gantz, Evyatar and the Settlements

Gantz, Bennett, Sign Evyatar Outpost Deal, New Jewish Community Saved That’s still up in the air Bennett Slammed for Gantz-Abbas Meeting, Right Fears Another Withdrawal Bennett Folds Under US Pressure, Cuts Down Settlement Construction to 2,000 Units

Fires

Israeli firefighters and citizens try to extinguish a fire which broke out in a forest near near Beit Meir, outside of Jerusalem on August 15, 2021. / Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Massive Fire Outside Jerusalem Fire Commissioner: This Worst Blaze in Jerusalem Area was Man Made Arson Causes Mass Blazes in Gvaot, Gush Etzion

BLM & US Antisemitism

BLM March, Springfield, Oregon / David Geitgey Sierralupe

BLM, US Progressives, Depict Israel as White Oppressor vs. Hamas as Black Victims Antisemitism is Prompting American Jews to Hide – Even in New York Arabs Burn and Beat Jews in Midtown Manhattan as ADL Tallies 193 Anti-Semitic Incidents Tied to Gaza War The LA Black Lives Matter Rally That Became a Pogrom Democrats Were For Riots Before They Were Against Them Walter Wallace Violence Spreads to Brooklyn from Philadelphia; Jews Told to Leave Philly Protest Dov Hikind Leads Rally Outside NBC Protesting SNL Joke

The Squad

If Looks Could Kill, AOC Would Blow Up Sen. Manchin’s Head The ‘Squad’ Wins Reelection, Adds New Anti-Israel Congresswoman The 2021 Squad Is Bigger, Posing Real Threat Against the Democratic Establishment When Rashida Tlaib Dog Whistles Mein Kampf 94,000 Democratic Socialists Listen AOC Withdraws from Rabin Memorial Event

Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry’s Israel: We Refused to Obey their Boycott, So They Won’t Renew our Franchise First Jewish Store in US Announces It’s Dumping Ben & Jerry’s Ben & Jerry’s ‘Independent Board’ Chair Also Linked to Group That Justifies Arab Terror Ben And Jerry’s Taps Beinart to Defend Israel Boycott to Franchisees

China and Israel

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Chinese president Xi Jinping, in Beijing on March 21, 2017. / Haim Zach / GPO

Israel Inaugurates Chinese-Operated Haifa Bay Port, Large Ships Can Now Dock Bolstered By Chinese $400 Billion Deal, Iran Won’t Stop Enriching Uranium Until Biden Drops Every Last Sanction

Palestinian Authority

52 Arab Collaborators Demand that Israel Try PA Judges Who Sentenced Jewish Man to Death Palestinian Authority Rejects Israeli Shipment of COVID-19 Vaccine This Is How Israel Loses Its Sovereignty in Judea & Samaria