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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Thursday, November 18, 2021

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Defense Minster Benny Gantz speaks at Haaretz Democracy Conference in Jaffa, on November 9, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Gantz’s house cleaner, an ex-bank robber, accused of trying to spy on him for Iran

By Judah Ari Gross

With indictment filed, Shin Bet security service says Omri Goren spoke to an Iran-linked hacking group about giving them access to the defense minister’s computer

An illustrative image of a hacker (Михаил Руденко; iStock by Getty Images)

Amid ongoing cyberwar, Iran uses new tactic: Doxing Israeli foes

By Judah Ari Gross

Illustrative: A cybersecurity expert stands in front of a map of Iran as he speaks to journalists about the techniques of Iranian hacking, on September 20, 2017, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP/Kamran Jebreili)

Iran-backed hackers accused of targeting ‘broad range of victims’ in US

By Eric Tucker, Alan Suderman and Frank Bajak

Israeli couple Mordi and Natalie Oknin, who were held in Turkey for a week on suspicion of espionage, are greeted upon their arrival home in Modiin on November 18, 2021 following their release. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

'We thought they'd be jailed for 10-15 years,' says relative

Israeli couple arrive home after being held in Turkish prison as suspected spies

By Tal Schneider and ToI Staff

Israel thanks President Erdogan for helping end saga of Natali and Mordy Oknin, arrested last week for photographing his Istanbul palace; couple thanks ‘entire nation of Israel’

Natali and Mordy Oknin, who were held in Turkey for a week on suspicion of espionage, speak to journalists hours after they were released at their home in Modiin, November 18, 2021 (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israelis freed from Turkish prison: ‘A Hanukkah miracle — we were jailed for 8 days’

President Isaac Herzog (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right). (AP)

With couple freed, Erdogan tells Herzog Turkey-Israel ties key to regional security

By Lazar Berman

Mordy and Natali Oknin embrace their daughter Shiraz after landing back in Israel on November 18, 2021 (Screencapture/Airport's Authority)

Behind the scenes

Media blackout and smokescreens: How Israel released a couple from Turkish detention

By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff

Mordy and Natali Oknin’s family reportedly knew of the progress for many hours, but all involved kept silent; phone call by Natali to family was released publicly as diversion

Natali and Mordy Oknin, who were held in Turkey for a week on suspicion of espionage, speak to journalists hours after they were released at their home in Modiin, on November 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Local arrest that was spiraling into crisis: Turkey’s detention, release of Israelis

The family of Natali and Mordy Oknin speak by phone with Natali on November 17, 2021, for the first time since she and her husband were arrested eight days earlier in Turkey. The couple, both Egged bus drivers, are being held separately and face espionage accusations, which they and the Israeli government firmly deny. (Channel 13 screenshot)

‘It’s tough but I’m strong’: Woman held in Turkey speaks with family for 1st time

Give the gift of life to Israelis

Saving lives is in our blood. And it’s in yours too. Send your donation today!

Bacteria just emerging from the newly discovered 'chaotic' state, in a Hebrew University lab. (Hebrew University/Orit Gefen/Yoav Kaplan)

Israeli lab finds out why some germs dodge drugs, opening door to life-saving fix

By Nathan Jeffay

Bacteria are safe from antibiotics when they’re in a chaotic state, says Hebrew University team, hoping drug-makers will respond with a new class of antibiotics

Moshe Hogeg, Beitar Jerusalem owner, seen during the Israeli Premier League match between Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Beersheba at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, on August 25, 2019. (Flash90)

Beitar Jerusalem owner Hogeg arrested for alleged massive crypto fraud, sex crimes

Police say Moshe Hogeg and seven other suspects pocketed tens of millions of shekels in ‘systematic’ scam; he denies allegations

Natali and Mordy Oknin, who were held in Turkey for a week on suspicion of espionage, speak to journalists hours after they were released at their home in Modiin, on November 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Live updates (closed)

‘I didn’t think I’d get home alive’: Israeli couple recalls time in Turkish custody

After returning to Israel, Natali and Mordy Oknin say they were never told they were suspected of spying after being arrested for photographing Erdogan’s palace

8:00 pm

Gantz, top defense officials consult on settler violence
7:28 pm

Biden says 'considering' US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
7:07 pm

Erdogan's role in release of couple could signal improving Israel-Turkey ties - reports

From the blogs

Why Israel may soon attack Iran

The world’s largest state-sponsor of terror, sworn to destroy Israel, is approaching the nuclear threshold. It’s not an existential threat for the US. It is for Israel.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, second right, listens to head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi while visiting an exhibition of Iran's new nuclear achievements in Tehran, Iran, April 10, 2021. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

US said to raise proposed interim deal with Iran in talks with Israel

Suggestion from Americans aimed at buying time for nuclear negotiations; Israeli official opposed move, fearing it would become permanent, report says

Yonina Rubinstein

When kids don’t speak: Crucial advice from a sexuality educator

A message for parents following claims against renowned children’s book author Rabbi Chaim Walder: Talk to your kids. It can save their lives.

David M. Glickman

I love living Jews

I am worn down by the narrative of persecution — I want to learn the lessons of replanting seeds in new soil, of how to build and rebuild again and again

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meets with US Ambassador the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in the West Bank city of Ramallah, November 17, 2021. (Wafa)

US envoy presses Abbas on human rights, prisoner payments during Ramallah meet

PA president denounces Israeli decision to blacklist Palestinian human rights groups, thanks Linda Thomas-Greenfield for US condemnations of Israeli settlement approvals

Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., participates in the House Financial Services Committee meeting to organize for the 115th Congress on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via JTA)

Jewish Republicans lead efforts to head off reopening of US consulate in Jerusalem

Andrea Meza, the reigning Miss Universe from Mexico, poses overlooking the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock Mosque as she tours the Old City of Jerusalem, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, ahead of the 70th Miss Universe pageant being staged in Eilat next month. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Touring Israel, Miss Universe says pageant should not be politicized

By AP and ToI Staff

‘When you are in there you forget about politics, about your religion,’ says reigning winner Andrea Meza of Mexico

ToI podcast

Daily Briefing Nov. 18 – Do Netanyahu’s alleged crimes compare with UK politicians’?

Founding editor David Horovitz discusses Turkey’s release of Egged bus driver couple the Oknins, political sleaze in Israel vs the UK, and the return of touring musicians

A composite image of Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and Yair Lapid during their respective Likud and Yesh Atid faction meetings at the Knesset, on November 8, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

After Likud complains, Lapid’s office says US lawmakers didn’t ask to meet Netanyahu

New Hope MK Sharren Haskel speaks during a vote on a medical marijuana reform bill, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on October 13, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

New Hope MK threatening to buck coalition if ‘cannabis committee’ not formed

By Raoul Wootliff

Ilker Kiliç (left) as Mordo, and Asude Kalebek as Raşel in 'The Club.' (Netflix/via JTA)

'Jews weren’t shown as evil or as a kind of loan shark'

Netflix’s ‘The Club’ offers a rare taboo-shattering portrait of Turkish Jews

By David I. Klein

New series gives a nuanced view of local Jewish life and customs, moving beyond the stereotypical and one-dimensional characters typical of the local industry

Police near the scene of a suspected stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City on November 17, 2021. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

2 border cops stabbed in Jerusalem’s Old City; attacker shot dead

By ToI Staff, Aaron Boxerman and Judah Ari Gross

Police say assailant was a 16-year-old Palestinian; one of the officers moderately hurt, the other lightly injured

In this photo released November 17, 2021, by the B'Tselem human right group, children are lined up by IDF soldiers in Hebron to have their pictures taken. (B'Tselem)

Video shows IDF soldiers waking Palestinian kids to photograph them in dead of night

People protest over the death of Ahuvia Sandak in a car crash during a police chase, near the Police Internal Investigations Department in Jerusalem on January 2, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Knesset votes to investigate death of settler teen in police chase last year

From left, EDGE CEO & Managing Director Faisal Al Bannai, Abu Dhabi Ship Building CEO David Massey, IAI Vice President of Marketing Yehuda Lahav, and IAI President and CEO Boaz Levy stand together at a signing ceremony at the Dubai Air Show on November 18, 2021. (Israel Aerospace Industries)

UAE, Israel sign deal to jointly develop military, commercial autonomous vehicles

By Judah Ari Gross

The Emirates’ EDGE and Israel Aerospace Industries also agree to set up a joint maintenance center, in the latest round of defense contracts between the two countries

Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, attends the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on November 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

UAE crown prince said to visit Israeli pavilion at Dubai weapons show

Illustrative: President Isaac Herzog boards a plane as he sets off for Ukraine to participate in memorial ceremony marking the 80th anniversary since the babi Yar massacre. (Haim Zach / GPO)

Herzog to meet with Boris Johnson, Jewish leaders in UK visit next week

By Lazar Berman

'All handwritten' by 'a maiden who is humble and pleasant'

Rare 18th-century Esther scroll penned by teenage Italian girl unveiled in Jerusalem

‘They shall praise her actions at the city gates’: Auction house says item written by 14-year-old Luna Amron sheds light on role of women in era’s Italian Jewish community

A stolen Torah scroll originally from Baghdad that was allegedly found with a Umm al-Fahm resident arrested by police, on November 17, 2021. (Israel Police)

Cops find stolen Torah originally from Baghdad that alleged thief planned to sell

Jews visit the graves of relatives killed in the Holocaust during World War II, in the Romanian city of Lasi, November 28, 2012 (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)

Romania makes Holocaust education mandatory in all high schools

By MARCEL GASCÓN BARBERÁ

Law to come into effect in 2023; nationalist lawmaker says legislation is unnecessary, falsely claiming Romania hasn’t seen a single ‘serious antisemitic case’ in 20 years

Vandals used a sharp object to attack a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in Oviedo, Spain, November 12, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain via JTA)

Vandals deface Holocaust memorial in northern Spain

By Orge Castellano

A bicycle path passes on either side of a monument to Holocaust survivors buried in a mass grave in Šiauliai, Lithuania, pictured on Nov. 10, 2021. (Courtesy of Rabbi Kalev Krelin via JTA)

After outcry, Lithuanian city halts bike path construction near Holocaust mass grave

By Cnaan Liphshiz

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More Headlines

Shmuel Peleg, grandfather of Eitan Biran who survived a cable car crash in Italy that killed his immediate family, arrives at court in Tel Aviv, November 11, 2021. (Ariel Schalit/AP)

Supreme Court orders delay in return of cable car crash survivor boy to Italy

Maharat Rori Picker Neiss (left) takes a selfie with a friend in St. Charles, Missouri, on May 6, 2019. (Maharat Rori Picker Neiss/Courtesy)

Pinched a picTo tout Jewish-Muslim coexistence, Israel steals photo from US

By Judah Ari Gross

A Magen David Adom worker takes a swab sample from a woman at a coronavirus rapid testing station in the central city of Lod, October 17, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Infection rates rise slightly even as number of serious cases drops

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton speaks at a press conference at the Education Ministry in Tel Aviv, in preparation for the opening of the school year nationwide, on August 31, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Education minister withholds Israel Prize from academic accused of backing boycott

Kiryat Malachi municipality building. May 9 2012 (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

Anger as Kiryat Malachi rededicates Rabin Square for British philanthropist

By Stuart Winer

Chaim Walder in 2011. (CC BY-SA Yoninah/Wikimedia Commons)

After sex abuse accusations, Haredi author Chaim Walder steps away from public life

A fire on the Israel-Jordan border south of the Dead Sea, November 18, 2021. (Fire and Rescue Services/screenshot)

Major fire on Israel-Jordan border endangers gas pipeline

Knesset Speaker MK Mickey Levy attends a meeting in parliament, Jerusalem, November 15, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Knesset speaker sets up Ethics Committee, orders opposition MKs to join

By Stuart Winer and ToI Staff

John Oliver discusses the 'Look for the Union Label' jingle on the November 14, 2021 episode of 'Last Week Tonight.' (YouTube screenshot)

Rag timeJohn Oliver celebrates ’70s women’s labor jingle with deep Jewish roots

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

Actor and 'Fauda' co-creator Lior Raz filming the fourth season of the action drama in November 2021 (Courtesy Yes TV)

Chaotic TV‘Fauda,’ Israel’s favorite action drama series, films fourth season

By Jessica Steinberg

Left, Helen Mirren as Golda Meir in HBO's 'Golda.' Right, then prime minister Golda Meir at the Israeli Embassy in Rome, January 15, 1973. (Jasper Wolf; AP Photo/Giuseppe Anastasi)

World premierFirst look at Helen Mirren as Golda Meir in upcoming biopic

In this January 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of then-US president Donald Trump, including Jacob Chansley, right with fur hat, are confronted by US Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Horned, spear-wielding ‘QAnon shaman’ sentenced to 41 months for Jan. 6 riot

By JACQUES BILLEAUD

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