Week after deadly terror, rally calls to legalize outpost * Deri agrees plea bargain, to quit as MK * Jewish guide to Xmas in NYC * Erdogan to rabbis: Israel ties ’vital’

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, December 23, 2021 Live updates [LIVE: Thousands rally against demolishing illegal outpost where terror victim studied]( By [TOI staff]( [Protesters flock to Homesh following end of traditional mourning period for Yehuda Dimentman, who was killed in shooting attack]( [Aryeh Deri admits to tax offenses as part of plea deal, will resign from Knesset]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Attorney-general confirms agreement won’t see Shas party leader charged with moral turpitude, allowing him to run again for office; good-governance group vows High Court appeal]( [Far-right MK Ben Gvir summoned by Knesset security over gun incident in parking lot]( By [Stuart Winer]( Chinese food review [Put the ‘oy’ in Christmas joy with this Jewish guide to navigating Xmas in NYC]( By [Jordan Hoffman]( [There is probably plenty to do in the City That Never Sleeps this December 25 – but we’re skipping all that in favor of a timeless Jewish tradition: Chinese food and a movie]( [Two British studies indicate lower hospitalization rate for Omicron]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Findings show those who fall ill are less likely to become severely sick; but experts warn high infectiousness could still lead to more overall severe cases]( [COVID cases surge globally ahead of holidays as China locks down city of 13 million]( By [Jing Xuan Teng]( [In long-awaited milestone, US health regulators authorize Pfizer coronavirus pill]( By [AP and TOI staff]( [AstraZeneca says its booster shot is effective against Omicron]( By [Roland JACKSON]( [New daily COVID cases rise to 1,400 as ministers vow no lockdown is coming]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Health minister says lockdowns and travel restrictions cannot be a long-term solution: ‘We can’t endlessly live in a bunker’]( [Israel scrambles to avoid paralyzing economy ahead of Omicron ‘tsunami’]( By [TOI staff]( [Health minister: Israelis over 60 can get 4th COVID shot from Sunday]( By [TOI staff]( Top Ops [Yehuda Kurtzer]( [When a US Muslim leader said Zionist Jews can’t be trusted allies]( [The line she drew between the few ’good’ (anti-Zionist) Jews and all the rest sows division and polarization. Jews and Muslims who work together know better]( [Shmuley Boteach]( [Billie Eilish is right about the dangers of pornography]( [A human need for erotic imagery seems innate, so cater to it in a ’kosher’ way and protect yourselves from pernicious exploitative internet porn]( [Jonathan Muskat]( [Not letting Jewish tourists into Israel is legitimate]( [The argument that Israel must admit all Jews into the country immediately would apply only if Diaspora Jews were fleeing persecution]( [Nerya Meir]( [Jews are not foreigners]( [It’s time we realize that while COVID-19 persists, the support and confidence in Israel from Jews around the world may not. Israel must act before it is too late.]( [Israel’s Christian community is growing, 84% satisfied with life here – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Pre-Christmas study finds high education levels, contrasts with warnings from Church leaders that ‘radical’ Israeli groups are driving Christians from Holy Land]( [4,000 US immigrants moved to Israel in 2021, the highest annual figure since 1973]( By [TOI staff]( [US national security adviser says deadline for Iran talks coming ‘within weeks’]( By [TOI staff]( [Jake Sullivan’s visit to Israel said to calm some of Israel’s concerns; gaps between Jerusalem, Washington ‘smaller than we’d expected,’ official tells news site]( [Iran nuclear talks to resume on Monday, says EU diplomat]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [US Navy says it seized arms from Iran likely bound for Yemen]( By [AP]( ToI podcast [Daily Briefing Dec. 23 – Why are MKs and newsmakers on reality TV?]( By [TOI staff]( [Reporter Amy Spiro and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur discuss the cult of Israeli celebrities on local reality shows, where newsmakers compete for votes onscreen]( [Erdogan tells visiting rabbis ties with Israel are ‘vital’ for regional stability]( By [TOI staff]( [Turkish leader once again speaks of his desire to mend relations with Jewish state, says antisemitism is ‘a crime against humanity’]( [He attended cross burnings, wore a wire, risked his life to expose who was in KKK]( By [JASON DEAREN]( [US Army vet Joseph Moore helped feds foil 2 murders, crack down on white supremacists in Florida; says phenomenon ‘more prevalent and consequential than any are willing to admit’]( [Blinken said to discuss Israel-Indonesia normalization during visit to Jakarta]( By [TOI staff]( [Report says US secretary of state raised the idea last week with senior officials, but Israeli sources expect no immediate breakthrough]( [Morocco, Israel mark first anniversary of US-brokered renewal of ties]( By [AFP]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [Avoiding the worst-case COVID scenario]( [In a sea of confusion and misinformation, the imperative to vaccinate marks the island of sanity — and the only proven means of avoiding the darkest of predictions]( [Parent threatens nurse at Beersheba school for administering COVID vaccines]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel’s Omicron response smacks of panic, 4th shots should wait, says immunologist]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [IDF: Palestinian gunman opens fire at troops in Ramallah, is shot dead]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Israeli army says Palestinian shot at them from passing vehicle as soldiers entered city to search for suspects; Hamas praises attack]( [Israel said to hand over 2 Palestinians wanted by Ramallah]( By [TOI staff]( [Hosting Biden’s security adviser, Abbas urges closer US-Palestinian ties]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [CRM]( [Ex-Mossad officials pan ‘power-crazy’ Yossi Cohen for alleged state secrets leak]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Investigative report on former spy chief revealing secrets to a woman with whom he was having an affair and her husband draws criticism, but also support from pro-Netanyahu pundits]( [Likud to expel 1,000 members, probe 7,000 more, amid intensifying power struggle]( By [TOI staff]( [Delivery driver claims guards at PM’s office assaulted him, broke his ribs]( By [TOI staff]( [Is CUNY’s mystery cash donor a New York Jew? There’s a $180,000 reason to think so]( By [PHILISSA CRAMER]( [Several clues relating to a box of small bills sent anonymously to the city college point to the benefactor being Jewish]( [US Orthodox Jews financially fragmented but mostly secure, survey finds]( By [Luke Tress]( [Polluting company agrees to clean up in return for extension of Negev concession]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Rotem Amfert and parent company the ICL Group guarantee to address decades of waste caused by phosphorus mining, rehabilitate soil and water]( [MKs advance bill to ease prosecution, raise punishment for wildlife poisoning]( By [Sue Surkes]( [CRM]( [Accuracy of new Brazilian TV show on Holocaust-era hero called into question]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [The new series ‘Passports to Freedom,’ as well as Yad Vashem, credit Aracy de Carvalho with saving Jews during the Holocaust — but historians suggest otherwise]( More Headlines [Slinging slang / Academy of the Hebrew Language picks ‘lunacy’ as its word of 2021]( By [TOI staff]( [15-year-old charged with multiple counts of rape, sexual assault of minors]( By [TOI staff]( [Jewish artist to pull works from Swiss museum over Nazi-era collection]( By [Agnès PEDRERO]( [Kohavi rejects idea Israel’s best should go to cyber units, says fighters are elite]( By [TOI staff]( [Suspected terrorist tried to kill his wife before attempted stabbing attack]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Secret Service: Nearly $100b stolen in pandemic relief funds in the US]( By [JENNIFER McDERMOTT]( [Syrian war killed 3,700 in 2021, lowest annual toll since outbreak a decade ago]( By [AFP]( [IDF officer faces 79 counts for filming dozens of soldiers without their consent]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [From the web / US financial software giant Intuit to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup]( [Israeli faces Thailand jail time after leaving quarantine, evading police for 5 days]( By [TOI staff]( [US Capitol rioters face harsh sentences as judges crack down on insurrectionists]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [2 homeless men die within hours in Bat Yam of apparent hypothermia]( By [TOI staff]( [The daily edition]() [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? 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