Serious COVID cases double in week * ToI investigates: Receding Western Wall compromise * Iran justice workers rally * Hefetz saga exposes draconian interrogation tactics

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Sunday, January 9, 2022 [Number of seriously ill COVID patients jumps past 200 as pandemic surges]( By [TOI staff]( [Positive test rate up to 11.71% — highest since October 2020 — as 17,521 new cases diagnosed on Saturday; over 500 hospitalized]( [Over 250,000 people have received 4 COVID vaccine doses — ministry]( By [TOI staff]( [Cyprus identifies combined ‘Deltacron’ COVID strain, but says unlikely to spread far]( By [TOI staff]( Live updates [LIVE: New ‘Citizenship Law’ advances in Knesset months after it lapsed]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Legislation pushed by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked set to once again mostly bar Palestinians who marry Israelis from receiving permits to live with their spouses in Israel]( ToI investigates [Will the Western Wall compromise deal ever be realized?]( By [Amy Spiro]( [With mixed messages from the government and a Supreme Court dragging its feet, the status quo of monthly scuffles at the holy site appears to have no end in sight]( [National blackout hits Lebanon; power company blames protester sabotage]( By [AFP]( [Firm says activists stormed key substation and disconnected equipment, causing major disruptions amid ongoing crisis]( [Lapid speaks to Macron, calls for pressure on Iran as Vienna nuclear talks continue]( By [Amy Spiro]( [UN fingers Iranian port as key weapons conduit for Yemen rebels]( By [AFP]( Top Ops [Steven E. Zipperstein]( [How not to make the case for Palestinian statehood]( [With a long history of rejecting offers, making a legal case for sovereignty is a losing battle. The conflict isn’t a legal dispute, it’s an inherently political one]( [Benjamin Porat]( [Israel’s Rabbinate should welcome these kashrut and conversion reforms]( [They do reduce the Rabbinate’s centralized power, but in very different ways, which fundamentally upholds the rabbis’ authority, rather than undermining it]( [No plans to evacuate Israelis from Kazakhstan, senior diplomat says]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Official cites good ties between nations, says authorities are ‘taking control of the situation’ there]( [Kazakhstan says 164 people killed in unrest, including 3 children]( By [Jim Heintz]( [Blinken to Kazakhstan: It’s hard to get Russians to leave once they’re in your home]( By [Agencies]( ToI podcast [Daily Briefing Jan. 9 – Rising Omicron numbers and Israel’s new consul general in NY]( By [TOI staff]( [ToI editor David Horovitz weighs in on coronavirus and death of 4-year-old by stray bullet, as US correspondent Jacob Magid discusses interview with new envoy Asaf Zamir]( [Hamas claims to nab Palestinian who aided alleged 2018 Mossad hit in Malaysia]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Hamas says unidentified suspect admitted to involvement in slaying of Fadi al-Batsh, an engineer who allegedly helped the terror group build weapons; father demands death penalty]( [PA President Abbas arrives in Sharm el-Sheikh to meet Egypt’s Sissi]( By [TOI staff]( [Intel reports repeatedly missed threat to Capitol, even as others saw danger foment]( By [Eric Tucker and MICHAEL BALSAMO]( [Documents obtained by AP show Capitol Police assessed risk of violence as improbable while other reports cautioned of ‘significantly dangerous situation’ with Congress as target]( [Old guard Republicans get rebrand by denouncing Trump]( By [Camille CAMDESSUS]( [New COVID rules for schools take effect; borders reopened to vaccinated foreigners]( By [TOI staff]( [Under guidelines adopted amid Omicron surge, the vaccination rate of each class will no longer determine if kids go to school in person or remotely]( [Students to get free home COVID tests amid concerns over price, availability of kits]( By [TOI staff]( [IDF puts troops back in separated capsules as COVID tears through army]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( Exposé [High-profile cases shine harsh light on Israel’s draconian interrogation tactics]( By [Chen Shalita]( [As they dominate headlines, former Netanyahu aide Nir Hefetz and businessman Moshe Hogeg allege their testimonies were extracted cruelly; rights activists say that’s nothing new]( [CRM]( [A new museum tells the story of Singapore’s Jews, starting with their Baghdad roots]( By [Jordyn Haime]( [Countless landmarks in the city pay homage to the contributions and rich 200-year history of the small Jewish community, which now has a place to showcase its achievements]( [‘So degrading’: Israeli woman recalls detention in Belarus for cannabis possession]( By [TOI staff]( [Maya Reiten, who was jailed over medical marijuana in her bag, says she lost track of time until she saw Hanukkah festivities on TV: ‘Each day I drew the candle… and blessed it’]( [Iran justice workers hold rare protests after Raisi reneges on wage hike promise]( By [AFP]( [Demonstrators decry ‘hypocrisy of the government and parliament,’ threaten to ‘shut down the justice system’]( [Tehran rally demands justice on 2nd anniversary of jet downing]( By [AFP]( [After poet dies of COVID in Iranian jail, activists blame Tehran]( By [Stuart Williams]( [When refugees arrive in America, a NY nonprofit makes sure they feel like neighbors]( By [julia GERGELY]( [The New Neighbors Partnership matches arriving families with established ones with kids of the same age, so hand-me-downs can keep coming for years and lasting relationships formed]( [Russia rules out concessions ahead of security talks with US over Ukraine]( By [Nina Larson and Shaun Tandon]( [Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov says Kremlin ‘disappointed’ with signals coming from NATO and Western Europe as he prepares to meet US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman in Geneva]( [Analysis / Kazakhstan unrest adds uncertainty to US-Russia talks on Ukraine]( By [NOMAAN MERCHANT]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Visiting family of toddler shot dead, police and defense chiefs vow to find culprits]( By [TOI staff]( [Police drop rape suspicion against gynecologist; court extends custody]( By [TOI staff]( [Tigray rebels claim dozens killed in strike on civilian camp in Ethiopia]( By [Tanya Willmer]( [Saudi princess freed after nearly 3 years in jail, following international pressure]( By [AP]( [1 million sign petition to strip Tony Blair of knighthood over Iraq War]( By [TOI staff]( [From our partner / Polish envoy for Jews: Holocaust research law ‘one of stupidest ever’]( [Sister of US officer slain by extremists sues Facebook for promoting radicalism]( By [DAISY NGUYEN]( [Webb telescope’s ‘golden eye’ opens in space, in last major hurdle]( By [Marcia Dunn]( [Body of woman, 24, found near University of Haifa]( By [TOI staff]( [Taliban FM makes first trip to Iran since group seized control of Afghanistan]( By [AFP]( [Masonic archive amassed by Nazis still has secrets to reveal, curators say]( By [Stanislaw Waszak]( [Obituary / Marilyn Bergman, Oscar-winning composer, dies at age 93]( By [Hillel Italie]( [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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