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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Tuesday, August 31, 2021

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In this image made through a night vision scope, Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the US Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 30, 2021, as the final American service member to depart Afghanistan. (US Central Command via AP)

War, seen as colossal failure, claimed over 2,400 US lives

Final US evacuation flights leave, ending America’s 20-year Afghanistan war

By Robert Burns and Lolita C. Baldor

A few hundred US citizens are left behind as final military transports depart just before midnight; General hopes they will still be able to leave Taliban-ruled country

In this image provided by the US Air Force, flag-draped transfer cases line the inside of a transport plane Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, prior to a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The fallen service members were killed while supporting non-combat operations in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Jason Minto/US Air Force via AP)

America’s longest war cost thousands of lives, trillions of dollars

By Ellen Knickmeyer

Afghan residents and family members of the victims gather next to a damaged vehicle inside a house, day after a US drone airstrike in Kabul on August 30, 2021. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)

US military investigating reports it killed 7 children in Kabul airstrike on IS

By ToI Staff and Agencies

A Taliban fighter sits in the cockpit of an Afghan Air Force aircraft at the airport in Kabul on August 31, 2021 (Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)

US military disables scores of aircraft before leaving Kabul airport

By AFP

Also rendered useless: a high-tech rocket defense system worth millions of dollars that could not be dismantled in time

Taliban revels in US ‘defeat,’ says withdrawal a ‘big lesson for other invaders’

AnalysisThe 20-year war may be over, but Biden’s Afghanistan challenges remain

By AAMER MADHANI and Zeke Miller

Republicans lash out at Biden for ‘stranding’ Americans in Afghanistan

By AFP

Job Posting

Telus is hiring a part-time, remote independent contractor

If you live in Israel and are fluent in Hebrew and English, this work from home role could be for you

Children take samples as part of a coronavirus test at Sheba Medical Center for students to return to school at the beginning of the new academic year. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Israel hands every child a DIY virus test, in bold bid for safe school restart

By Nathan Jeffay

Plan aims to stop kids who are infected but don’t realize it from coming in, thus reducing COVID spread, says expert; trust between parents, schools and authorities seen as key

View of a classroom in a girls shool in Tzfat, August 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Ministers OK barring unvaccinated and untested teachers, doctors from workplaces

The rooftop infinity pool at Isrotel's newest hotel, The Orient, in Jerusalem. (Courtesy Ori Akerman)

Under fire, Isrotel nixes plan to pay out huge dividends after taking COVID aid

A man turns on LED candles at a memorial for Israel's victims of COVID-19, in Jerusalem, November 8, 2020. (AP Photo/ Oded Balilty)

Israel’s COVID death toll passes 7,000; over 500 felled by virus in August alone

Travelers seen in the departure hall at the Ben Gurion International Airport, on July 19, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

EU moves to reimpose COVID travel restrictions on Israel, US

Parents and children from the "Cramim" school receive a COVID-19 home kit test ahead of the opening of the new school year, in Jerusalem, on August 30, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Israel hits new record daily COVID cases, with testing high ahead of school year

Former Webpals CEO Inbal Lavi at a 2019 event in Ramat Gan (via Facebook)

ToI investigatesFormer investor is Russian oligarch sanctioned by US

For feted adtech startup, a meteoric rise partly fueled by alleged fraudsters

By Simona Weinglass

Until recently, Webpals was one of Israel’s fastest-growing tech firms. But leaked documents show links to clients with questionable business practices, and worse

A child poses with her COVID-19 home kit test that she received from her school, ahead of the opening of the new school year, in Jerusalem, on August 30, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

ToI podcast

Daily Briefing Aug. 31 – Pencil case, snack, COVID test: Israel girds for school

Health correspondent Nathan Jeffay examines planned September 1 start of school year, and environment correspondent Sue Surkes looks at Israel’s high methane emissions

Yahli, Shachar, and Rumi, who will begin school in the upcoming academic school year, seen in Moshav Yashresh, on August 28, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Bennett says schools will open Wednesday, eases in-person learning rule

A health worker prepares a Covid-19 vaccine in Jerusalem, on August 24, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Side effects feared from vaccine are more common in COVID cases — Israeli study

By Nathan Jeffay

Sayed Sadaat, former communications minister in Afghanistan, poses for a photo in Leipzig, eastern Germany on August 29, 2021. (JENS SCHLUETER / AFP)

Former Afghan minister now doing food deliveries in Germany speaks to Israeli TV

By ToI Staff and Agencies

Sayed Sadaat tells Kan broadcaster he’s improving his German in hopes of getting government position; urges world to recognize Taliban government, EU to accept more Afghan refugees

Alexander Kahn on CNN, Aug. 27, 2021. (Twitter screenshot via JTA)

Holocaust survivor’s son who rescued Afghans: ‘I put myself in their position’

By Gabe Friedman

A health worker takes a swab sample on from a man at a temporary COVID-19 testing facility in the northern city of Safed, on August 31, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

Israel leads world in rolling average of new daily infections per capita — data

Revised Health Ministry figures show coronavirus cases passed 11,000 for first time Monday; 719 people hospitalized in serious condition with COVID complications

6:22 pm

UN chief warns 'humanitarian catastrophe' looming in Afghanistan
5:54 pm

Palestinians riot along Gaza border for 4th night in a row
5:37 pm

Charity warns of shortage of oxygen devices to treat COVID patients at home

A coffin carrying the body of Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli at a funeral in Tel Aviv on August 30, 2021. Shmueli died nine days after being shot in the head during riots on the Gaza border. (Police spokesperson)

Thousands mourn at Tel Aviv funeral for slain Border Police officer

Barel Hadaria Shmueli’s mother eulogizes him as ‘a king,’ but angrily accuses IDF, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of negligence, with many in crowd booing PM

The funeral of Border Police officer Barel Hadaria Shmueli at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery on August 30, 2021. (Police spokesperson)

Family of fallen Border Police officer urges commission of inquiry into death

By ToI Staff and Judah Ari Gross

Border Police officer Barel Shmueli (left) killed in a shooting by a Gaza gunman on the border on August 21, 2021, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (right). (Border Police; Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Man arrested for threatening to kill Bennett in comment on post on troop’s death

By Emanuel Fabian

Illustrative: A woman looks out from the entrance of the family house, that displays posters with pictures of Hussein Salem Abu Ghosh, 19, during his funeral in the West Bank refugee camp of Qalandia, on the outskirts of Ramallah, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

Israel agrees to send NIS 500 million to PA, bypassing terror stipend freeze

By Judah Ari Gross

So-called loan to Ramallah will be paid back via garnished tax revenue held by Israel, allowing Jerusalem to circumvent its own law requiring offsetting funds PA pays to terrorists

Palestinians and their spouses protest to demand West Bank residency cards in front of the PA's Civil Affairs Commission in Ramallah (courtesy: Alaa Mutair)

Gantz announces plans to legalize thousands of undocumented Palestinian spouses

By Aaron Boxerman

Palestinians burn tires on August 30, 2021 during a protest along the border fence with Israel. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)

IDF chief threatens response as Gazans riot on border for 3rd night

David M. Glickman

The moral lapse of bashing synagogue crowd limits in a pandemic

In a diatribe that scolds rabbis for exercising caution, Liel Leibovitz has misused his international platform to grandstand instead of to save lives

Legal or not, synagogues must not meet indoors

Yes, we are all exhausted from this whole process but particularly now, we need to stay focused and the responsibility has to be shifted to us

515 Israelis died in August, schools should stay shut in September

Following this government’s serial missteps, and with more than 125,000 unvaccinated teachers and students, opening schools now can kill children

Israel and Poland have so much more to do together

The diplomatic crisis obscures decades of work to build trust, respect and mutual understanding. We must continue to work together to face history

Illustrative: The Ramaz School’s Morris and Ida Newman Education Center in New York City. (Manhattan Sideways via JTA)

NY Jewish institutions hit with 150 child sex abuse lawsuits since 2019

By Asaf Shalev and Ella Rockart

Claims were filed after Child Victims Act opened up a two-year window for abuse survivors to seek redress for incidents that otherwise fell outside of the statute of limitations

Israeli AI startup bets on robotic beehives to save global bee populations

By Ricky Ben-David

Beewise says round-the-clock monitoring, care for honeybees will make world of difference in protecting pollinators, global food supply and agriculture

Check Point CEO Gil Shwed speaks at the Cybertech Israel Conference and Exhibition, in Tel Aviv, on January 31, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Cybersecurity giant Check Point acquires Israeli startup to protect cloud emails

By Ricky Ben-David

Team of surgeons implant CartiHeal's scaffold into a 30-year-old woman's knee at Hadassah Medical Center, August 2018 (Hadassah Medical Center)

US orthobiologics firm to buy Israeli medical tech company CartiHeal

By Ricky Ben-David and Shoshanna Solomon

Defense Minister Benny Gantz at a state memorial ceremony marking 7 years since Operation Protective Edge at the National Memorial Hall at the entrance to the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, June 20, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel and US working on ‘Plan B’ if Iran nuke talks fail, Gantz says

By Judah Ari Gross

In wide-ranging briefing, defense minister says intel ties with US getting stronger, calls for strengthening the PA and keeping a strict blockade on Gaza until Hamas frees captives

Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro attends a farewell session at the Knesset ahead of his departure from the role on January 17, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Biden taps former ambassador Dan Shapiro as US point man to Israel on Iran

Illustrative: To create a pre-recorded online service, Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann, center, and musicians and singers from Mishkan Chicago recorded the songs and prayers of the High Holidays in August. (Courtesy of See3 Digital Events/ via JTA)

High Holidays 5782

For American kids and adults, COVID-19 High Holiday safety questions answered

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Joshua Mitnick covered the Israeli-Palestinian story for over two decades for publications such as The Wall Street Journal and the New York Jewish Week. (Courtesy of Lesley Benedikt via JTA)

Obituary

Joshua Mitnick, a compassionate Israel reporter in a harsh region

Colleagues, family remember the Middle East correspondent for his love of the land and its peoples and his passion for good food and music

Meni Naftali, the former manager of the official residence of then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arrives to his libel trial against the Netanyahu family, at the Herzliya court on December 2, 2019. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Former Netanyahu caretaker awarded NIS 170,000 in libel suit

Meni Naftali to receive damages from a range of Netanyahu associates after filing a lawsuit more than six years ago

Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a conference in southern Israel on July 22, 2021. (Flash90)

Sa’ar orders work to begin on bill setting prime minister term limits

Likud MK Nir Barkat speaks at a conference in Jerusalem, on August 2, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud MK Barkat backs PM term limit, but not if it’s directly aimed at Netanyahu

More Headlines

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, August 27, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Fake snoozeFact checkers debunk MK’s claim that Biden fell asleep in Bennett meet

Muhammed Faiz Dhiab. (courtesy)

Haifa man shot dead at home in latest murder in Israel’s Arab community

By Emanuel Fabian

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman speaks at a press conference about the state budget, at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, August 30, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Liberman rolls out ‘most social budget ever’; predicts swift passage

Defense Minister Benny Gantz (L) and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speak, during the swearing-in ceremony for President Isaac Herzog, on July 7, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Right-wing ministers rankled by Gantz meeting with PA’s Abbas

Israeli human rights activists protest calling for the release of Anhar al-Deek, 25, at the entrance to Damon prison, northern Israel, on August 29, 2021. (Roni Ofer/Flash90)

Alleged Palestinian stabber to give birth in prison while awaiting trial

By Aaron Boxerman

A Magen David Adom ambulance service vehicle at scene where a 6-year-old boy was found lifeless in a hot car, in the southern Sdot Negev regional council, August 31, 2021. (Magen David Adom)

6-year-old boy found dead after being forgotten for hours in a hot car

A picture taken on July 11, 2021, shows a pipe system used to transfer water from Israel to Jordan by Mekorot, Israel's national water company, near Kibbutz Masada by the border with Jordan (background), south of the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Tiberias, one of the main water sources in Israel. (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

Israel-Jordan ties boosted by rare alignment in interests on water, energy

Homes are flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, August 30, 2021, in Lafitte, Louisiana. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Hurricane Ida causes 2 deaths, as thousands in US face weeks without power

By Rebecca Santana and JAY REEVES

A bullet hole is seen on the helmet of an IDF soldier, who was shot at while responding to a violent protest near Hebron in the West Bank May 12, 2021. (Shin Bet)

Shin Bet arrests Palestinians who shot at IDF soldier during May clashes

By Emanuel Fabian

Israeli businessman Shaul Elovitch and his wife, Iris, at the District Court in Jerusalem, April 6, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)

Defendants in Netanyahu graft case oppose further questioning of key witness

Ian Seidenfeld competes in a gold medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, August 28, 2021. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images via JTA)

Tokyo 2020In upset for US, 20-year-old Jewish athlete wins Paralympic table tennis gold

By Emily Burack

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, at a House Financial Services Committee hearing, July 20, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)

Congresswoman Tlaib demands Israel release body of alleged Palestinian attacker

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