The Times of Israel | News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

Screen capture from video of Likud MK Miki Zohar chairing a meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, April 19, 2021. (Knesset Channel)

After defeat in key vote, Likud whip concedes Netanyahu won’t form government

In inaugural session of Arrangements Committee, Miki Zohar says Likud leader will lead right-wing parties into opposition

Screen capture from video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, April 19, 2021. (Kan)

In blow to Netanyahu, Ra’am gives Lapid’s bloc control of key Knesset panel

By Tal Schneider

Party leaders Naftali Bennett (left) and Yair Lapid during the swearing-in ceremony of the 24th Knesset, at the Knesset building in Jerusalem, April 6, 2021. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool)

Yamina still undecided on joining opposition ahead of vote on key Knesset panel

By Raoul Wootliff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives for the Likud party faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on April 19, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Lashing Bennett’s ‘absurd’ ambition, Netanyahu urges direct vote for PM

Ra'am party chief Mansour Abbas speaks with reporters, April 19, 2021 (Tal Schneider/Zman Yisrael)

Ra’am says it could back direct premiership vote, derides far-right ‘incitement’

By Aaron Boxerman

Screen capture from video of Likud MK Miki Zohar chairing a meeting of the Knesset Arrangements Committee, April 19, 2021. (Knesset Channel)

After defeat in key vote, Likud whip concedes Netanyahu won’t form government

In inaugural session of Arrangements Committee, Miki Zohar says Likud leader will lead right-wing parties into opposition

In blow to Netanyahu, Ra’am gives Lapid’s bloc control of key Knesset panel

By Tal Schneider

Yamina still undecided on joining opposition ahead of vote on key Knesset panel

By Raoul Wootliff

Lashing Bennett’s ‘absurd’ ambition, Netanyahu urges direct vote for PM

Ra’am says it could back direct premiership vote, derides far-right ‘incitement’

By Aaron Boxerman

Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccines arrive at a Clalit vaccination center in Jerusalem, on January 4, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)

Israel closes long-term COVID-19 vaccine deals with Pfizer and Moderna

Netanyahu says agreements, signed despite ‘political difficulties,’ will ensure ‘no more lockdowns’; bill set to be paid from excess Finance Ministry funds

A shipment of AstraZenaca coronavirus vaccines, intended for use by Palestinians. (courtesy)

Palestinians receive 72,000 AstraZeneca doses to boost stuttering vaccine drive

By Aaron Boxerman

Israelis wearing face masks walk in downtown Jerusalem on January 21, 2021, during the third national coronavirus lockdown. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Israeli hospital reports 65% drop in serious asthma cases due to mask-wearing

The Wuhan Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where the coronavirus is believed to have initially spread, seen January 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Dake Kang)

Report: Wuhan Huanan market was identified as pandemic risk 5 years before COVID

By TOI staff and Agencies

Centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, November 5, 2019. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

Analysis

Judah Ari Gross

Iranian enrichment is worrying, but weapons-grade uranium doesn’t a bomb make

Amassing high-grade fissile material is only the first step toward an atomic weapon, and Tehran’s latest violation of the JCPOA does not substantially change the timeline

Police officers stay in front of the 'Grand Hotel Wien' in Vienna, Austria, April 9, 2021, where closed-door nuclear talks with Iran take place. (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter)

Russia says Iran nuclear talks advancing, but some issues will take time

By AFP and TOI staff

Left: Then-US President-elect Joe Biden on January 14, 2021, in Wilmington, Delaware (AP Photo/Matt Slocum); Right: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, December 9, 2020. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Israel said worried Biden rushing to reenter nuclear deal, maybe ‘within weeks’

A photo aired by Iranian state television shows Reza Karimi in an Interpol-style 'wanted' poster. Tehran says Karimi was behind the sabotage at Natanz on April 11 that it has blamed on Israel (vide screenshot)

Iran said to ask Interpol to arrest Natanz ‘sabotage’ suspect

By AFP and TOI staff

Tales of the Times

The quirky, improbable, infuriating and uplifting

You're in the navy now
British forces recruit Israeli yacht for at-sea drill

By TOI staff
#TwitterFail
Israel’s Foreign Ministry botches Jimmy Fallon’s hashtag game

By JTA and TOI staff
Mandatory viewing
Trailer drops for summer TV ‘romantic drama’ of pre-state Israel

By Jessica Steinberg
Light years
Independence Day torch lighters span in age from 18 to 102

By Shira Hanau
Book tickets
Jerusalem writers festival back to in-person, with online option

By Jessica Steinberg
Over the moon
NASA names asteroids after Israeli student who found them

By TOI staff
Stoned Age
Israeli study: Prehistoric cave painters may have been hallucinating

By TOI staff
Bench(ing) player
NBA great Pierce lauds Shabbat in racy video that preceded firing

By Gabe Friedman
Kvelling
Yale to offer beginner Yiddish courses to fulfill language requirements

By Shira Hanau
Photographic memory
Images of Holocaust survivors displayed at Jerusalem city hall

By Jessica Steinberg
Sheikhdom with a view
Dubai police arrest group over balcony video of nude women

By AP
They were on a break!
‘Friends’ reunion special finally to start filming

By TOI staff
State of the art
Robot painter sells piece for $688K, now eyes music career

By Zen Soo and ALICE FUNG
Rap sheet
Tunisian rapper who claimed Jewish heritage accused of massive cons

By Caroline Nelly Perrot
Maximum awareness
Israeli dramedy ‘On the Spectrum’ hits HBO Max streaming service

By Jessica Steinberg and TOI staff
Mummy march
Egypt set for pharaohs’ parade as remains taken to new location

By Emmanuel Parisse
Nuclear slip-up?
US military account mysteriously tweets ‘;l;;gmlxzssaw’

By TOI staff
Mr (always) right
‘Miss me yet?’: At wedding toast, Trump talks about himself

By AFP
Armageddon's off
Earth safe from asteroid Apophis for 100 years, NASA says

By AP and TOI staff
Not in Egypt anymore
Israeli Embassy to UAE celebrates first Passover seder

By TOI staff

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