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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Tuesday, December 22, 2020

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Blue and White MK Miki Haimovich votes in the Knesset against a bill that might have staved off elections, December 21, 2020 (Knesset channel screenshot)

Inside story

Hiding in the parking lot and ignoring calls, rebel MKs send Israel to elections

Likud MK comes to Knesset in decoy car, another ignores officials’ messages but responds to pro-cannabis activists. A Blue and White MK naps in his car, before a last-minute entry

Knesset members shout at each other after a bill that might have staved off elections is defeated, December 21, 2020 (Knesset channel screenshot)

Knesset rejects bill to delay budget deadline, sending Israel to elections

By Raoul Wootliff

Likud MK Michal Shir at an orientation day at the Knesset, April 29, 2019. (Noam Moscowitz/Knesset)

Renegade Likud MK quits after hastening election; colleague calls her a ‘bitch’

By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 22, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

As new election is called, PM blames Blue and White, predicts ‘huge win’

Netanyahu asserts Gantz decided to allow ‘continued dictatorship of the left in the justice system’; Gantz retorts: ‘More lies than words’ in premier’s statement

10:46 pm

Knesset speaker calls on all sides not to 'exacerbate tensions' during campaign
10:25 pm

With chairmanship up in the air, Yad Vashem names Ronen Plot as acting head
9:56 pm

Knesset officially dissolves, Israel heads to new elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the weekly cabinet meeting, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem on June 21, 2020. (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)

Analysis

Elections will end Gantz’s unhappy career; wily Netanyahu strides confidently on

The Blue and White leader has been outmaneuvered every step of the way by the veteran PM, who next time will face more experienced challengers, from his own side of the spectrum

MK Asaf Zamir makes a surprise appearance in the Knesset on December 22, 2020 to vote against a coalition budget bill. (Knesset spokesman/Danny Shem Tov)

Israel media reviewNot afraid to run: What the press is saying on December 22

By Joshua Davidovich

Yamina leader Naftali Bennett at a protest against the state's intention to close the Hilla Project, outside the Knesset in Jerusalem on August 12, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Bennett: Goal ‘to replace Netanyahu,’ won’t back bill to let PM avoid legal woes

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein applauds as a man is vaccinated at an eldercare facility in Sha'arei Tikva, December 22, 2020 (Health Ministry)

Edelstein: Israel ‘has entered the 3rd wave,’ no choice but to go into lockdown

Health minister says country has ‘missed the train’ on tightening restrictions and must now enter a full closure, as virus test positivity rate climbs above 5%

Nearly 30,000 vaccinated in first two days of drive; 270,000 book appointments

By Stuart Winer

With over 3,500 new cases, virus czar says fast decision needed on lockdown

BioNTech CEO confident vaccine developed with Pfizer works on UK virus variant

By AP and ToI Staff

Gal Gadot in 'Wonder Woman 84.' (Courtesy, Warner Bros. Films)

Film review

‘Wonder Woman 84’ isn’t the biggest let-down of 2020, but that’s not saying much

By Jordan Hoffman

From the blogs

Shira Pasternak Be'eri

I am not throwing away my shot

Still debating? Like you, I’m worried about the unknown dangers of the COVID vaccine. But I’m more worried about the dangers of getting COVID-19

Teach ‘A Christmas Carol’ in yeshiva. Really.

Dickens’ immortal tale of Ebenezer Scrooge perfectly reflects Jewish teachings that frame repentance as a return to a moral life

Dramatic educational changes are underway in the Arab world

Until recently, Saudi textbooks presented Islam as the only true religion and denounced Jews and Christians as enemies of Muslims

The funeral of Esther Horgen, killed in an apparent terror attack in the West Bank, December 22, 2020 (Screen grab/Ynet); Inset: Esther Horgen (Courtesy)

Mother-of-6 killed in apparent terror attack remembered for her ‘joy for life’

Family and friends bury Esther Horgen a day after her body was found in a West Bank forest when she didn’t return home from a run

Israeli security forces clash with Palestinians in the village of Beit Dajan, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, December 11, 2020. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

After murder, IDF sends reinforcements to West Bank, halts home leave for troops

By Alexander Fulbright

The scene of a shooting in the Old City of Jerusalem on December 21, 2020. (Magen David Adom)

Palestinian teen opens fire on police near Old City gate, is shot dead

By Judah Ari Gross

A joint Israel-US delegation, led by Meir Ben-Shabbat (right) and Jared Kushner (center) is greeted on landing in Rabat, after the first direct flight between Israel and Morocco, December 22, 2020 (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)

First Israel-Morocco flight arrives in Rabat to seal normalization deal

By Judah Ari Gross and Agencies

Joint US-Israeli delegation makes historic whirlwind trip to sign bilateral deals, including on aviation, tourism, water and finance

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner after planting an olive tree at the Jerusalem Grove of Nations on December 21, 2020. (Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)

Kushner: Trump’s Jerusalem recognition led to ‘explosion of peace’ in region

The bomb-wrecked US Embassy in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, March 22,1999. (Khalil Senosi/AP)

Sudan says US Congress is moving to end its pariah status as a terror sponsor

An Israeli military submarine sails past cargo ships in the Mediterranean Sea, Israel, on September 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli submarine reportedly crosses Suez Canal in ‘message’ to Iran

By ToI Staff and AFP

Vessel said to have surfaced and faced Persian Gulf, in show of force amid threats over killing of nuclear scientist; in similar move, US sub crosses Straight of Hormuz

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi speaks during an Israeli Navy ceremony in Haifa, on March 4, 2020. (Flash90)

IDF chief warns Iran against attack, says retaliation plans already drawn up

Second Temple-era ritual bath that was discovered during construction work on a modern tunnel under the 1920 Catholic Church of All Nations. (Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)

Archaeology

Ancient ritual bath may mark first New Testament-era find at Jesus’ Gethsemane

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Israeli police officers scuffle with demonstrators during a protest after a young settler was killed earlier today in a car crash during a police chase, outside the Police headquarters in Jerusalem on December 21, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Settlers, police clash in protest over car chase death of teen; 40 arrested

Some 200 demonstrators try to break into Jerusalem police HQ after Ahuvia Sandak, 16, dies as officers chase youths suspected of throwing stones at Palestinians

Shin Bet officer mistakenly opens fire on Israeli vehicle in West Bank

Teen accomplice to deadly Duma arson attack on Palestinian family enters prison

Suspect, 16, dies in police chase of settlers who threw rocks at Palestinians

Illustrative: A young devotee, face smeared with turmeric powder, participates in a procession towards Golconda Fort during Bonalu festival in Hyderabad, India, July 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Archaeology

‘Globalized’ early Bronze Age Levantines consumed exotic Asian nosh, study shows

By Amanda Borschel-Dan

Israeli singer Netta Barzilai, who won the 2018 Eurovision song contest, in Tel Aviv, January 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Behind the Headlines

Join ToI Community to catch our interview with Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai

In this week’s Behind the Headlines, exclusively for ToI Community, we sit down for a candid conversation with the Israeli pop star who took the world by storm

Illustrative. A pile of $100 bills. (choness, iStock by Getty Images)

Israeli tech firms raise record $9.93 billion in 2020 but M&A deals plunge

By Shoshanna Solomon

IVC and Meitar’s 2020 tech review shows cybersecurity, fintech and internet of things sectors nabbed the most funding; IPOs up both on TASE and in the US

Illustrative: Dollars and shekels. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Shekel surges to 12-year high on USD, even as elections, lockdown loom

By Shoshanna Solomon

A stock market ticker screen in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, in the center of Tel Aviv, March 15, 2020. (Flash90)

Amid coronavirus, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange attracts most IPOs since 2007

By Shoshanna Solomon

Vocalist Tamar Rada at a 2016 performance. The singer/songwriter will be performing at the 11th Hullageb Ethiopian-Israeli Festival, taking place December 24-30, 2020. (Courtesy, Tamar Rada)

Festival of Israeli-Ethiopian culture keeps the beat, even online

By Jessica Steinberg

More Headlines

Supreme Court President Esther Hayut and justices arrive to hear petitions against the Jewish Nation-State Law, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on December 22, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In first, High Court mulls voiding quasi-constitutional nationality law

By Aaron Boxerman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Health Ministry in Jerusalem on December 9, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

AG tells High Court: Netanyahu is bound by conflict of interest agreement

The James R. Browning United States Courthouse building, a courthouse for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is shown in San Francisco, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Microsoft, Google, Cisco, Dell join legal fight against Israeli spyware firm NSO

By ToI Staff and Agencies

Amnon Straschnov, center, Avraham Ben Shushan, left and Yisraela Friedman meeting to discuss the submarine affair inquiry on December 1, 2020. (Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry)

Submarine probe panel steps down amid frustration over scope of inquiry

David Schenker, US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 9, 2019. (Hussein Malla/AP)

US warns Chinese investments in Israeli tech could pose a security threat

The LINK scooter, developed by US firm Superpedestrian, is touted as the industry's first and only e-scooter with intelligence on board (Courtesy)

Israeli-founded maker of ‘smart scooters’ gets $60 million from investors

By Shoshanna Solomon

People are silhouetted against the sky at dusk as they watch the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter, December 21, 2020, in Edgerton, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A star is bornSaturn and Jupiter ‘touch’ in night sky to create a ‘Christmas Star’

By AFP and ToI Staff

Commander of the Jerusalem District Police, Doron Yedid (C) seen in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim as police close shops and disperse public gatherings, March 30, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Top cops quit Israel Police following new commissioner pick

Illustrative: A worshiper walks past a Pittsburgh Police officer, and a private security guard outside the main entrance of the Beth Shalom synagogue after attending a Shabbat morning service on Nov. 3, 2018 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

After attacks, Congress doubles security funds for houses of worship, nonprofits

An illustrative photo of students at a Jewish day school. (Courtesy of The Epstein School via JTA)

Orthodox Jewish, Catholic groups push up US stimulus funds for private schools

A Palestinian man loads a horse cart with sacks of flour received from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), at a warehouse in Gaza City, September 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Canada announces $70 million in aid for UN’s Palestinian refugee agency

By AFP

Attorney General William Barr speaks during a news conference, December 21, 2020, at the Justice Department in Washington. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)

US Justice Department charges bombmaker in 1988 Lockerbie plane attack

By Eric Tucker and MICHAEL BALSAMO

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