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The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Friday, December 13, 2024

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An Israeli army f-15 fighter jet flies over central Israel on April 15, 2024. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

IAF continues preparations for potential strikes in Iran

IDF sees chance for strikes on Iran nuke sites after knocking out Syria air defenses

By Emanuel Fabian

Over 85% of Assad regime’s anti-aircraft systems destroyed in strikes, giving Israeli jets, drones total air superiority; IDF assesses weapons from Syria could reach Hezbollah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a video message to the Iranian people, December 12, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

In video appeal to Iranian citizens, Netanyahu says ‘one day Iran will be free’

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a Time magazine Person of the Year event at the New York Stock Exchange, in New York, December 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump weighing options to stop Iran going nuclear, including preemptive strikes – report

Incoming US administration said to be planning ‘maximum pressure 2.0’ campaign against Tehran, may threaten military action or even back Israeli attack — but still seeks to avoid war

The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss the situation in the Middle East on November 20, 2024, at UN headquarters in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

UK, France, Germany say they’re ready to ‘snap back’ Iran sanctions if needed

By Michelle Nichols

The reactor building of Iran's nuclear power plant and electricity poles are seen, at Bushehr, Iran, 750 miles (1,245 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran, February 27, 2005. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Amid rolling blackouts in Iran, some blame power-intensive cryptocurrency mining

By AP

The High Court of Justice convenes to hear a petition asking the court to find Justice Minister Yariv Levin in contempt of court for failing to abide by a court ruling ordering him to appoint a new Supreme Court president, December 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)

Court head slams most blatant interference ever in judiciary

Constitutional crisis flares as Levin given deadline to appoint new Supreme Court chief

By Jeremy Sharon

High Court rules justice minister has not complied with previous ruling, gives him until Jan.16; Levin calls justices ‘dictators’ and appears set to revive his judicial overhaul

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (4th from L) at a meeting of the Judicial Selection Committee in Jerusalem on December 12, 2024. (Michal Dimenshtein/ GPO)

Supreme Court justices walk out of Judicial Selection Committee in protest of Levin

By Jeremy Sharon and ToI Staff

Promoted CampaignLevLeChayalot

The women defending Israel deserve support

LevLeChayalot is dedicated to supporting the courageous women defending Israel by providing emotional support, financial aid, uplifting events, and much more.

Troops of the Israeli Air Force's elite Shaldag unit are seen atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, in a photo published December 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Some Syrian Druze ask Israel, the ‘lesser evil,' to annex

Katz says IDF troops will stay atop Syrian side of Mount Hermon during winter months

By Emanuel Fabian, ToI Staff and Agencies

As Syrians celebrate first Friday since Assad’s downfall, US and Turkey agree to keep ensuring Islamic State won’t ‘rear its head again,’ amid international gestures to rebel leader

IDF soldiers guard the border fence between Syria and Israel on December 9, 2024. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)

Israel rejects French call to withdraw from Syria buffer: ‘Necessary for defense’

By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff

Israeli soldiers stand guard on a security fence gate near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, December 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

ToI podcastDaily Briefing Dec. 13, Day 434: Israel’s Syria problem – and Israel’s Syria solution

By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Lazar Berman

Thousands celebrate in Damascus after first Friday prayers since fall of Assad regime

By Albert Aji and Matthew Lee

Insurgency leader Ahmad al-Shara calls on Syrians to ‘show happiness without shooting bullets and scaring people’; US seeks interim government that’s ‘inclusive and non-sectarian’

Vast crowds of Syrians gather during a celebratory demonstration following the first Friday prayers since Bashar Assad's ouster, in Damascus's central square, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian opposition fighters stand atop a seized Syrian army armoured vehicle in the outskirts of Hama, Syria, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Inside storyDemoralized and abandoned by allies: Why Syria’s army didn’t fight for Assad

By Reuters and ToI Staff

A Syrian rebel fighter holds a bag containing pills of captagon found at Mazzeh Military Airport in the west of Damascus on December 12, 2024. (Aris Messinis/AFP)

Syrian rebels find heaps of illicit stimulant trafficked by Assad regime

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on December 12, 2024. (Abir SULTAN / POOL / AFP)

Netanyahu ‘ready’ to reach hostage deal and sides are ‘close,’ says top Biden aide

By Lazar Berman and Jacob Magid

In Tel Aviv, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says he will now head to Doha, Cairo aiming ‘to close this deal this month,’ backs Israeli military activity in Syria

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (not pictured) at the Ministry headquarters in the Turkish capital Ankara, December 13, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)

In Turkey, Blinken reports ‘encouraging signs’ Gaza hostage-truce deal is possible

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Cover of TIME Magazine announcing US President-elect Donald Trump as the 2024 Person of the Year, obtained on December 12, 2024. (Platon for Time/Time Magazine/Time Person of the Year/AFP)

Trump says Netanyahu knows he wants Gaza war to end; won’t commit to 2-state solution

Inside story

Katharina Kunert

Will newly beefed-up PR budget bolster Israel’s dire standing in court of world opinion?

Foreign Ministry budgets over NIS 500 million to improve country’s image in ongoing, multi-front war, but the national advocacy effort is disjointed, leaderless, and way too slow

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to CNN in an interview aired January 31, 2023. (Screenshot/CNN, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

(L to R) Paraguay's Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Paraguay's President Santiago Pena, Science Minister Gila Gamliel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a ceremony to reopen the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem, December 12, 2024. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

‘We are with you’: Visiting president reopens Paraguay’s embassy in Jerusalem

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

Dec. 13: Echoing US, senior Israeli official says hostage deal possible by end of year

IDF intercepts 2 rockets from Gaza that triggered sirens in Ashkelon; PIJ claims responsibility * In speech at memorial for fallen son, Eisenkot pans gov’t handling of war

9:42 pm

IDF issues evacuation warning for Gaza area from which rockets were launched
9:37 pm

Sullivan: Hamas has refused to provide names of hostages it's holding
8:45 pm

Austin Tice escaped Syrian captivity in 2013 before being recaptured — sources

Shin Bet head reportedly relayed 'strategic warning of war'

Report: Weeks before Oct. 7, Shin Bet and IDF chiefs warned Netanyahu of looming attack

TV probe says Bar and Halevi told PM, who was hospitalized after having pacemaker fitted, that Israel’s foes saw overhaul tensions as chance to strike; PM’s office: ‘Slander and lies’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second from right) attends a security briefing during an IDF operation in Jenin on July 3, 2023. At left, is IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and next to him is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet is at center. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

IDF chief Herzi Halevi (right) speaks at an award ceremony at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, May 8, 2023. Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter (left) attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, on October 22, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces; Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Controversial ex-officer claims Halevi blocked appointment as PM’s military secretary

By Lazar Berman

Palestinians check the damage outside a building targeted by an Israeli air strike early on December 12, 2024 near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

IDF strikes targeting Hamas fighters trying to loot aid reportedly kill 13

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Fighting back: Even in the face of Jew-hatred, we must not hide

It is the moments of unflinching honesty about who we are, what we value, and who we stand with that define us (Vayishlach)

That time an antisemite came after me

The thing is, I’m not Jewish. But as I cased him for a knife or gun, I realized how little that matters

Illustrative: Palestinian flags hung in the quad alongside the anti-Israel encampment at DePaul University in Chicago on May 1, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

Faculty survey reveals fear, self-censorship at US universities, especially about Israel

Newly released study polled 6,269 instructors at 55 major colleges and universities; four times as many report toning down their opinions compared to the McCarthy era

Students hold an anti-Israel protest outside New York University on December 12, 2024. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

Anti-Israel protesters rally outside NYU library on last day of class

A woman holding a rifle borrowed from a Syrian opposition fighter poses for a picture, next to a government forces tank that was left on a street, at the Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, December 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

ToI podcast

What Matters Now to Ksenia Svetlova: Women are the canary in the Mideast coal mine

By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Ksenia Svetlova

As the rebel factions in Syria continue to fight to wrest control, the world looks at their treatment of women. Middle East analyst, a former MK, ranks Israel and its neighbors

The Central Synagogue of Aleppo, which sustained minor damage in apparent shelling in an undated photo provided on February 10, 2016. (The Amaliah Organization)

Assad’s downfall spurs effort to assess fate of Jewish relics in Syria

By Shira Li Bartov

Archaeologist cautions that nature of next regime will ultimately determine whether gems of country’s Jewish history can continue to survive after years of neglect and war

The main entrance of the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, May 5, 2017.
(AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Chemical weapons watchdog warns against strikes on Syria’s stockpiles

By AFP

A Syrian anti-government fighter shoots at a large banner bearing a picture of Syria's deposed President Bashar Assad, hanging on the facade of a municipal building in the west-central city of Hama on December 5, 2024. (Bakr Alkasem/AFP)

Hezbollah said to have helped Assad officials flee to Lebanon, sparking furor in Beirut

Lebanese soldiers inspect the damage in the southern Lebanese village of Al Khiam, near the border with Israel, on December 12, 2024. (AFP)

Lebanon says 1 killed in Israeli strike on border town that IDF left amid ceasefire

By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives to testify at the Tel Aviv District Court for his long-running corruption trial, December 10, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/Pool Photo via AP)

‘The Bibi Files’ can’t be seen in Israel. That hasn’t stopped Israelis

By Jocelyn Noveck

Fortuitously timed documentary being ‘pirated like wildfire’ despite privacy laws against footage from Netanyahu’s corruption interrogations and his best efforts to scrap the film

Sharon Liberman Mintz, Sotheby's Judaica Specialist, Books & Manuscripts, discusses the purported oldest complete tablet of the Ten Commandments, that is displayed at Sotheby's, in New York, December 9, 2024. (AP/Richard Drew)

As ‘oldest’ Ten Commandments go up for auction, some scholars question authenticity

Stone tablet bearing Paleo-Hebrew inscription with Samaritan version of Biblical text — expected to fetch more than $1 million — open to questioning, NYT reports

Hakoah's masters swimmers. (Private Collection via JTA)

'I wear the Star of David proudly as part of our club'

At 115, Vienna’s Jewish Hakoah sports club still thriving, with diverse membership

By Karen Propp and Lisa Rosenblatt

For club president Thomas Loewy its history holds personal significance, while for some non-Jewish members, it’s a welcoming opportunity to compete

More Headlines

Illustrative: Doctors carry out heart bypass surgery after heart failure (KentWeakley via iStock by Getty Images)

North American Jewish doctors consider their futures amid post- Oct. 7 antisemitism

Mourners carry the body of 19-year-old Rahbi Shalabi, who was killed during clashes between Palestinian Authority security forces and local terror groups a day earlier, during his funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin on December 10, 2024. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

PA admits its own forces shot man in West Bank, after falsely blaming ‘lawbreakers’

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court before testifying in his corruption trial, December 11, 2024. (Amit Shabi/Pool via Flash90)

Poll shows PM’s Likud would win most seats in fresh election but lack path to power

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Conference on Women's Health Research from the East Room of the White House in Washington, December 11, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)

Biden grants clemency to 1,500 people, pardons 39: ‘The most ever in a single day’

In this screenshot, Miami Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer is seen via video presiding over the first court appearance of Alon Alexander, who is charged with sexual battery along with his twin brother, Oren Alexander, on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Miami. (Miami Dade Circuit Court via AP, POOL)

US-Israeli luxury real estate twins held without bail after sex trafficking charges

By AP and ToI Staff

Stars Niv Sultan, left, and Hugh Laurie are seen in a poster for the third season of 'Tehran' by the Kan public broadcaster and Apple TV, airing December 9, 2024. (Courtesy: Kan)

Spoiler alertMossad agent on the loose as Season 3 of ‘Tehran’ finally arrives

By Jessica Steinberg

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