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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Tuesday, December 31, 2019

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Iraqi protesters set ablaze a sentry box in front of the US embassy building in the capital Baghdad to protest against the weekend's airstrikes by US planes on several bases belonging to the Hezbollah Brigades, on December 31, 2019 (Ahmad AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Iraqi supporters of Iran-backed militia break into US embassy in Baghdad

By AP and ToI Staff

Protesters burn property in front of the US embassy compound, in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 31, 2019. (Khalid Mohammed/AP)

Trump accuses Iran of ‘orchestrating’ Baghdad embassy breach and violence

By Agencies and ToI Staff

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Lisbon, Portugal, December 4, 2019. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Netanyahu praises ‘important’ US strikes on Iran-backed militia

By ToI Staff and Agencies

Israeli environmentalists protest against Noble Energy's gas rig flushing test, outside the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv on December 31, 2019. Sign reads 'Don't poison us, now is the time to wake up.' (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Thousands flee their homes for fear of pollution as gas field goes online

By Nathan Jeffay

Venting and checks at Leviathan offshore rig worry coastal residents, who remain wary of assurances the activities are safe

The Noble Energy control room on the Leviathan platform on December 31, 2019. (Noble Energy)

Despite pollution fears, gas flow begins from behemoth Leviathan field

By Shoshanna Solomon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting of right-wing parties at the Knesset, November 20, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

Facing indictments, PM set to appoint welfare, agriculture, diaspora ministers

Criminal charges mean Netanyahu can’t hold cabinet posts other than premier; Likud, Shas lawmakers expected to win appointments

7:30 pm

Iran blasts 'audacity' of US to blame it for Iraq violence
7:26 pm

Netanyahu to appoint welfare, agriculture, diaspora ministers tomorrow
7:17 pm

Jewish groups to hold solidarity march in New York City

A member of Iraq's Kurdish Jewish community takes part in a ceremony on the last night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in the Iraqi town of Al-Qosh, December 29, 2019. (SAFIN HAMED / AFP)

Hanukkah candles burn in Iraqi Kurdistan, where few Jews remain

By AFP

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and activists protest against the Israeli legal system outside a court hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on whether a lawmaker facing criminal indictment can be tapped to form a coalition, December 31, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Wary court hears petition, to rule later on whether Netanyahu can form coalition

By Raoul Wootliff

‘Why now?’ asks top Supreme Court justice, indicating a disinclination to intervene; AG’s representatives tell judges they should not express opinion during an election period

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an event marking the eighth night of Hanukkah, on December 29, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)

Israel media reviewWill he, won’t he: 6 things to know for December 31

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem, February 1, 2015. (Alex Kolomoisky/Pool)

Inside Story

Raoul Wootliff and Raphael Ahren

Netanyahu’s ‘cornerstone’: How the PM will seek immunity from prosecution

After two years of speculation, Israel will soon find out whether the premier plans to appeal to parliament to avert corruption charges. But that’s just the start of the process

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with then-Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein during a Likud faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on October 27, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Netanyahu said to formulate immunity request, inform Knesset speaker of plan

By Raoul Wootliff and ToI Staff

Blue and White co-chairman Yair Lapid delivers a statement to the media at the Knesset, May 13, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Lapid: Netanyahu deceived the public, lied to his voters on immunity bid

Synagogue security: Not a do-it-yourself job!

5 rules from a veteran of ’various security services,’ or how a well-trained team can make the difference between life and death in an emergency

Avi Issacharoff

With Hamas truce bid, Netanyahu and Bennett head to disastrous new 2-state idea

The PM and defense minister seem to be moving toward creating a de-facto state in Gaza, and another comprising Israel and the West Bank. This would have dire consequences

The decade in review: Religion and state

Israel’s once sacrosanct status quo seems less relevant than ever, with the essence of what it means to be a Jewish state in flux and at stake

James R. Russell

Who started World War II?

If we really need to ask, let’s take care not to forget which country bore the brunt of it, paying a high price to end the war

Ramapo police officers escort Grafton Thomas, the suspect in the Monsey attack, from Ramapo Town Hall to a police vehicle, in Ramapo, New York, December 29, 2019. (Julius Constantine Motal/AP)

Monsey suspect searched Hitler, anti-Semitism ahead of attack, prosecution says

By RYAN TARINELLI, Jim Mustian and Larry Neumeister

Grafton Thomas hit with additional hate crime charges and denied bail, but family insists he has deep mental health issues, not motivated by hatred of Jews

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a news conference on anti-Semitism at a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, Dec. 29, 2019. (Adi Eshman/JTA)

New York City to launch three initiatives to combat anti-Semitism

Members of the Guardian Angels, left, a volunteer safety patrol organization, stand in front of the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, December 30, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

In New York, fear and defiance as Jews wrestle with anti-Semitism crisis

By Peter HUTCHISON

Mitchell Silber testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on an assessment of the Fort Hood deaths. (AP/Lauren Victoria Burke)

New York Jewish community hires security czar amid rash of attacks

Mitchell Silber, who headed NYPD Intelligence unit, to lead effort aimed at helping Jewish institutions in city and some surrounding areas protect themselves

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, talk to reporters after a meeting with African-American clergy and civil rights leaders to condemn the attacks on Jews in New York in recent weeks. (Courtesy of the Foundation For Ethnic Understanding via JTA)

Al Sharpton gathers black leaders for meet with rabbi in wake of Monsey attack

Rep. John Lewis speaks at a news conference in the Capitol on the Voting Rights Advancement Act, Deember. 6, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images via JTA)

After cancer announcement, praise for US congressman who built Jewish-black ties

A 19-year old British woman, right, covers her face as she leaves from the Famagusta court after her trial, in Paralimni, Cyprus, Monday, Dec. 30, 2019. (AP/Philippos Christou)

Not a ‘fair trial’? UK expresses unhappiness with Cyprus over rape claim verdict

By ToI Staff and AP

London says it is ‘seriously concerned about … deeply distressing case’ after British woman convicted of lying about gang rape by Israelis; some allege political motives

Protesters stage a demonstration outside a court house in Paralimni, Cyprus on December 30, 2019, in support of a 19 year-old British woman who was found guilty of fabricating claims that she was gang raped by 12 Israelis. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Cyprus defends court after UK protests British teen’s conviction over rape claim

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Illustrative image of the end of the year and the past decade (DaLiu iStock by Getty Images)

587 exits worth $70b: Startup Nation had booming decade, has still bigger dreams

By Shoshanna Solomon

Israeli soldiers checking for explosives at Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem after a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed 15 people, August 9, 2001. (Courtney Kealy/Getty Images/JTA)

Israeli terror victims sue Arab Bank for NIS 20 billion for financing attacks

By Stuart Winer

In first case filed in Israel, 1,132 plaintiffs claim Jordan-based bank played an active role in funding and encouraging terrorism that killed hundreds in 1995-2005

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting at the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 6, 2019. (Abbas Momani/AFP)

‘A strange paradox’: Abbas derides Israel for softening on Hamas, punishing PA

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh chairs a cabinet meeting in the Jordan Valley village of Fasayil, on September 16, 2019. (Majdi Mohammed/AP)

PA claims Israel-Hamas ceasefire would further divide Gaza from West Bank

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A person with a flag of Israel hugs another person in front of a synagogue in Halle, Germany, October 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

Year in review

Top 10 Jewish stories of 2019: From rising anti-Semitism to Tiffany Haddish

By JTA

2019 saw 10% rise in traffic accident deaths, official data shows

National Road Safety Authority chief laments insufficient budget to reduce crashes; leader of road safety group says ‘cutting funds and shirking responsibility costs lives’

Rescue forces and police at the scene of a deadly collision between two cars on Route 443 near Giv'at Ze'ev on December 1, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A fatal traffic accident between a car and a truck on Rout 98, December 31, 2019. (Magen David Adom)

Woman, 40, dies in crash; medics fight to save girl, 14

A man looks through garbage in the Florentin neighborhood of Tel Aviv. November 12, 2019 (Sara Klatt/FLASH90)

1.8 million Israelis, half of them children, live in poverty — government

More Headlines

People preparing to evacuate as fires hem in the city of Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia. (screen capture: YouTube)

Thousands trapped on Australia beach as devastating wildfires close in

By Andrew BEATTY

Illustrative: A police van in Munich, Germany on July 11, 2019. (Lino Mirgeler/dpa via AP)

Two arrested in Germany over vandalism to Jewish cemetery

By AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sochi, Russia, September 12, 2019. (Shamil Zhumatov/Pool Photo via AP)

Israeli, German envoys take a stand against Putin’s claim Poland started WWII

By AP and ToI Staff

Iranian military personnel ride in a patrol boat as they take part in the 'National Persian Gulf Day' in the Strait of Hormuz. (ATTA KENARE / AFP/File)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reportedly seizes ship in Gulf over ‘smuggled fuel’

By Agencies and ToI Staff

US philanthropist Richard Marc Rappaport at Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, July 2014. (Facebook)

US businessman said swindled by Israeli wife is a major donor for Israel causes

A 39- year old man was shot and killed in the Galilee village of Basmat Tab'un on December 30, 2019. (MDA)

Man shot to death in car amid wave of violence in Arab towns

Benny Gantz gives a statement in Tel Aviv after giving up his coalition-building bid on November 20, 2019. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Report: Yad Vashem denies Gantz request to speak at anti-Semitism summit

Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn (C) is escorted as he walks out of the Tokyo Detention House following his release on bail in Tokyo on April 25, 2019. (Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn skips bail in Japan, arrives in Beirut

By AP

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at the “We the People" summit featuring 2020 presidential candidates in Washington, D.C., April 1, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images via JTA)

Bernie Sanders healthy enough for presidency, doctors say after heart attack

By Will Weissert and LAURAN NEERGAARD

Anatoliy Kesselman shows off his brainchild, Dragon’s Breath zhug, in Odessa, November 1, 2019. (Cnaan Liphshiz/JTA)

Jews in Ukraine spice up fundraising with the country’s first zhug factory

By Cnaan Liphshiz

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton lectures on foreign policy at Rackham Auditorium on October 10, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

Tradition!Hillary Clinton gets teary-eyed watching Yiddish ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

By Emily Burack

The cast of the Israeli series 'Fauda,' which is available on Netflix. (Ohad Romano/via JTA)

Hard hit‘Fauda’ a smash in 3rd season as 1 million Israelis watch debut

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November	December 2019					January
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16	17	18	19	20	21	22
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