Join our Community

Support ToI and remove all ads

Learn more

English
Français
עברית

Get The Daily Edition
Account
Sign In
- Sign in
- Join our Community

Open Search form

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners

Input search

English
Français
עברית

Latest Articles
Latest Alerts
Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
Podcasts
Video
Newsletters
Partners
Community
- Join our community
- Sign in
- About The Times of Israel
- Advertise on The Times of Israel
- Contact us
- Download our App
  - For IOS users
  - For Android users
- Get the Daily Edition
- Follow us
- © 2026 The Times of Israel , All Rights Reserved
  
  Terms and conditions Privacy policy

Input search

The Daily Edition

What Matters Most On Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Facebook
Twitter

View previous edition

View next edition

Gunman Naveed Akram in the course of a deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025. (Screengrab used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Bondi Beach Hanukkah killer charged with 59 offenses including terror, 15 counts of murder

By Agencies and ToI Staff

As Australian authorities probe perpetrators’ suspected ties to Islamic State and November trip to Philippines, Manila dismisses claim country was used for terrorist training

Australian police search for evidence on December 16, 2025, around the area where the terror attack targeting the Jewish community took place at Sydney's Bondi Beach two days earlier. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Only 2 cops were on duty at Sydney Hanukkah event attacked by terrorists, official says

By ToI Staff, Zev Stub, Nava Freiberg and Agencies

Ahmed al Ahmed, the bystander who tackled a gunman during the Sydney Hanukkah massacre, seen while being treated for his wounds on December 14, 2025. (Screenshot used in accordance with clause 27a of the coypright law)

Relatives of Muslim man who disarmed Sydney terrorist say Syria is ‘proud of him’

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Mourners gather at a synagogue for the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a victim in the Bondi Beach mass terror shooting, in Bondi on December 17, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, Pool)

First funerals held for victims of Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre: ‘Our own Oct. 7′

By Agencies and ToI Staff

Father-in-law of Rabbi Eli Schlanger vows ‘to show the world’ by lighting candles at site of attack on Sunday; Rabbi Yaakov Levitan remembered as unassuming, ‘an amazing father’

Police cordon off an area at Bondi Beach after a deadly terror shooting targeting a Jewish event in Sydney, December 14, 2025. (AP/Mark Baker)

Analysis

In Australia, alarm over neglected gun control laws after Bondi Hanukkah terror attack

System put in place after deadly 1996 mass shooting is filled with shortcomings amid lax background checks, removal of 28-day cooling-off period for owners to buy more weapons

Mourning my Australian identity

The country of my childhood, where the biggest worry was the cricket score, is now a place where you have to check your Zionism at the door

I’m done hoping for Haredi enlistment

After years of fruitless discussions, I believed October 7 would move ultra-Orthodox leaders to see Israel’s need. It didn’t, and now the state must act decisively

A poster of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is seen at a rally calling for Hamas to return his remains from Gaza, in the southern Israeli community of Meitar, December 13, 2025. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

Live updates (closed)

Dec. 17: Hamas search for Ran Gvili slows amid Israeli strikes in Gaza — Arab diplomats

Knesset advances bill protecting Orthodox religious practices in public spaces * Breakthrough after nearly two years as police arrest suspect linked to Haymanut Kasau case

8:30 pm

Einav Zangauker hints at possible political run, demands state inquiry
8:17 pm

UK police arrest two people for alleged 'intifada' chants
8:06 pm

In interview, Sa'ar says Israel seeks security deal with Syria, has no territorial ambitions

Residents of Kiryat Shmona and local business owners block the entrance to the city during a protest demanding financial assistance from the state, in Kiryat Shmona, December 16, 2025. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Reporter's notebook'They brought us back to nothing'

Half-empty and scarred by war, Kiryat Shmona sees protests – and grassroots rejuvenation

By Diana Bletter

With only 60% of residents and 50% of businesses back following conflict with Hezbollah, locals decry government abandonment while pledging to revitalize northern border city

Op-ed: Day 803 of the war

Waiting for Ran Gvili

Why ToI is not yet removing its ‘Israel at War’ tag. Plus, a quote from Rob Reiner. And the Australian leadership’s despicable conduct

Police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, confirmed on January 31, 2024, to have been killed by invading Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, with his body abducted to Gaza. (Israel Police)

US imposes travel ban on Palestinian Authority passport holders, citing war, terror

By Agencies and Jacob Magid

Nationals of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria also banned, plus 12 countries already on list; US was already reportedly rejecting Palestinians’ visa requests

A Palestinian man at the Rafah border crossing holds his Palestinian Authority-issued passport on June 12, 2015. (Aaed Tayeh/Flash90)

Illustrative: Armed police officers patrol the St. Pancras International train station, in London, England, November 3, 2025. (Kin Cheung/AP)

UK police charge two with being Hezbollah members, attending terrorism training

By Reuters and ToI Staff

US Vice President JD Vance comes on stage to applause during a visit to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, November 26, 2025. (John Amis/AP)

JD Vance: Lowering immigration is best way to curb antisemitism in US

By PHILISSA CRAMER

In social media thread, US vice president says multiculturalism brought people with ‘ethnic grievances’ to US; also stresses difference between ‘not liking Israel’ and antisemitism

Conservative US political activist Jack Posobiec and New York Young Republican Club President Stefano Loudaros Forte hold up rosaries at the New York Young Republican Club's 113th Annual Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on December 13, 2025, in New York City. (Adam Gray / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Antisemitism tensions rise as NYC Young Republicans host white supremacists, Germany’s AfD

By Joseph Strauss

An Orthodox Jewish man is assaulted on a New York City subway train, on December 15, 2025. (Screenshot via X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

‘I’ll kill you’: NYPD investigating attack on Hasidic Jews on subway

Mossad chief David Barnea speaks at an award ceremony for agents in Jerusalem, December 17, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Mossad chief: Israel has duty to ensure Iran cannot restart nuclear program

By AFP and ToI Staff

At spy agency award ceremony, David Barnea says Islamic Republic will break out to bomb ‘as soon as it is allowed,’ says there must not be another ‘bad deal’

Illustration: Protestors stand under hanging figures depicting the US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a rally outside the former US embassy in Tehran as Iranians mark the 46th anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis, on November 4, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran says dual national held on spy charges since June war with Israel is Swedish

By AFP and ToI Staff

This photo taken in 2021 shows Narges Mohammadi in Tehran, Iran. (Reihane Taravati via AP)

Iran refusing independent medical examination of beaten Nobel winner, says her family

Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, center, Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, left, and Pakistan Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar attend a guard of honor ceremony at the joint military command headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, December 8, 2025. (Inter Services Public Relations via AP)

Analysis

Reuters and ToI Staff

US presses Pakistan to join Gaza force, testing powerful military chief’s authority at home

Field Marshal Munir is expected to discuss stabilization force with Trump in coming weeks, with Pakistani participation likely to trigger domestic backlash among Islamists

An officer with the elite Yahalom unit is seen inside a tunnel in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip, where the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin was held, December 8, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

ToI podcastDaily Briefing Dec. 17: Day 803 – Inside the most complex Hamas tunnel network in Gaza

By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Emanuel Fabian

Israel Prisons Service officers prepare inmates for release as part of a hostage deal at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, on February 26, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prisons ‘on the brink’ as Palestinians not freed in hostage deals despair, top warden warns

By Charlie Summers

Israeli firefighters at a blaze in the West Bank settlement of Mevo Horon in November 2025 (Israel Fire and Rescue)

InterviewIn 2024, 20 fires in Israel were caused by Hanukkah candles

As Israeli families kindle Hanukkah lights, fire safety awareness is a burning issue

Strict building codes and construction practices put fire-related deaths in Israel among the lowest in the world, but negligence is a leading cause of home blazes, especially during the holidays

Tribute

In a cynical industry, Rob Reiner’s films taught us the power of sincerity

From romcoms to mockumentaries, the slain director’s films were earnest and humane, exploring what people mean to each other and making viewers laugh along the way

Rob Reiner, director/producer of "LBJ," poses at the premiere of the film at the ArcLight Hollywood on October 24, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Nick Reiner arrives at the premiere of 'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues' on September 9, 2025, at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Nick Reiner charged with two counts of first-degree murder in killing of his parents

By ANDREW DALTON and Christopher Weber

Rob Reiner on the set of his biopic 'LBJ.' (Electric Entertainment/JTA)

Jewish celebritiesRob Reiner on Judaism, his new movie ‘LBJ’ and his experience ‘home shuling’

By Curt Schleier

Footage appears to show Palestinians gathered around the body of 16-year-old Muheeb Ahmed Jibril, in the town of Teqoa in the West Bank, on December 16, 2025. (Screen capture via X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Palestinian teen reportedly shot dead in West Bank in unclear circumstances

By Noam Lehmann

Palestinian media and town’s mayor say settler killed 16-year-old Muheeb Ahmed Jibril; footage purports to show him running away from unidentified vehicle; IDF has yet to comment

A car allegedly torched by settlers in the West Bank village of Ein Yabrud, December 17, 2025. (X screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Settlers said to torch vehicle, spray graffiti in attack on West Bank village

By Emanuel Fabian and Charlie Summers

View of the road leading to the Allenby Crossing after it was closed by Israeli authorities following last week’s stabbing and shooting attack, September 24, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

Israel blocks Canadian MPs at West Bank crossing: Delegation sponsored by ‘terror entity’

Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom, in an undated photo. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF drops charges against reserve officer over deadly Lebanon incident last year

By Emanuel Fabian

Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom had faced indictment of reckless homicide for deaths of Sgt. Gur Kehati and civilian researcher Ze’ev Erlich; Kehati’s family outraged at reversal

Lebanese soldiers secure the site of an Israeli drone strike that targeted a truck in the village of Sibline, south of Beirut, on December 16, 2025. (Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)

US, French, Saudi officials to meet in Paris about preventing renewed war in Lebanon

By Lazar Berman and Emanuel Fabian

Wide lens

As Germany rearms, Holocaust-begotten ties with Israel take on increasing importance

Delivery of Jerusalem’s Arrow 3 missile defense system to Berlin marks historic reversal, reflecting growing relationship forged by guilt and anchored today in strategic necessity

The flags of Israel and Germany fly in front of the Arrow 3 missile defense system and a radar dome during an event of the German Air Force at the Holzdorf Air Base, eastern Germany, on December 3, 2025. (RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP)

Reporter's Notebook

Declaring himself a ‘Maccabee,’ NYC’s Adams bids farewell to Jewish allies on Hanukkah

Holiday party hosted by pro-Israel mayor marks his final public Jewish event in office, as incoming Mamdani administration portends seismic shift for City Hall’s relationship with Jews

New York City Mayor Eric Adams hosts a Hanukkah Celebration and menorah lighting at the New York County Surrogate’s Courthouse in Manhattan, December 15, 2025. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Some Chabad chapters shared the photo of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the Lubavitcher Rebbe's gravesite, known as the Ohel. (Screenshot from Chabad Virginia Beach via Instagram via JTA)

Mamdani visits Chabad rebbe’s grave, increasingly a pilgrimage site for politicians

By Joseph Strauss

ToI podcast

The Reel Schmooze: Art or propaganda? ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’

By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Jordan Hoffman

Movie maven Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan on slain director Rob Reiner’s legacy, plus reviews of ‘An Officer and a Spy’ on the Dreyfus Affair and a Tunisian’s re-enactment of a Gaza tragedy

A British colonial officer is depicted with a local Jew and a local Arab, in a still image from the trailer for the 2025 film 'Palestine 36.' (Screenshot via YouTube)

Oscars international shortlist features 4 films on Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Illustrative: The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. (Courtesy)

Buoyant stock market lifts Israel to 3rd in Economist ranking of 2025’s best economies

By Sharon Wrobel

More Headlines

An audience member waves the Israeli flag while watching Israeli singer Yuval Raphael perform the song 'New Day Will Rise' during the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel on May 15, 2025. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Eurovision host won’t ban Palestinian flags; won’t drown out boos as Israel performs

By Reuters and ToI Staff

Illustrative: An IDF soldier walks among Haredi men during a protest in Jerusalem against a potential new draft law that they fear could end their exemptions from military service, October 31, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Lawmakers urge new definition of who is Haredi to close draft bill loophole

Norman Podhoretz, a neoconservative author and former editor of Commentary magazine, is shown in 1971. (AP Photo)

ObituaryNorman Podhoretz, influential and contentious Jewish neoconservative, dies at 95

By Hillel Italie

People in Jerusalem wear face masks on January 21, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Amid rise in flu cases, Health Ministry recommends vulnerable wear face masks

By Diana Bletter

View of an Austrian Airline flight on the airstrip at Ben Gurion Airport on August 3, 2013. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

Young man stows away on flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna after eluding airport security

A fire lit to burn waste in the West Bank, as seen from the northern Israeli town of Harish, October 2025. (Dolev Hilell)

‘Stay indoors’: Health Ministry tells central town to shelter due to toxic waste fires

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Nuno Loureiro, in an undated photo. (MIT / Jake Belcher / AP)

MIT professor of physics and fusion shot dead at his home near Boston

By AP

Protesters hold a banner reading 'Free Shahin' during a protest in support of the jailed imam Mohamed Shahin, who has been ordered deported for defending Hamas's onslaught of October 7, 2023, in Turin, Italy on November 28, 2025. (MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP)

Italian PM Meloni fumes after court frees imam arrested for defending October 7

Haymanut Kasau, 9, who went missing on February 25, 2024, from a Jewish Agency absorption center in Safed, northern Israel. (Courtesy)

Major crimes unit takes over investigation in case of missing girl Haymanut Kasau

Three Jewish suspects, accused of assaulting a pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa several days earlier, arrive for a hearing on the extension of their detention at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on December 16, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Court extends detention of 3 suspects in attack on pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa

By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff

Illustrative: Iraqi Army soldiers celebrate as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured during a military operation to regain control of a village outside Mosul, Iraq, November 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, file)

Prosecutors to indict 20-year-old Israeli for ISIS membership, contact with foreign agent

By Charlie Summers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and his wife Sara Netanyahu disembark from Wing of Zion on arrival in Washington DC on April 6, 2025 (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Journalists union demands Netanyahu allow press on his upcoming flight to Washington

By Nava Freiberg

View Edition by Date

November	December 2025					January
Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa	Su
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

The Times of Israel

Daily Edition

Free to Your Inbox

The email is either missing or invalid.

By signing up, you agree to our terms You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Israel & the Region
Jewish Times
Israel Inside
Tech Israel
Real Estate Israel
The Blogs
podcasts
video

terms and conditions
privacy policy
about us
advertise with us
Jobs at The Times of Israel
contact us

Community

Join our community
Sign in

Get the Daily Edition

Enter your email address

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Whatsapp Follow us on X Follow us on Youtube Follow us on Telegram Follow us on Threads Follow us on Bluesky

© 2026 The Times of Israel, all rights reserved

Concept, design & development by

Developed by

Powered by

Never miss breaking news on Israel

Get notifications to stay updated

You're subscribed

Register for free
and continue reading

Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.

Email address

Please use the following structure: example@domain.com

Or Continue with

By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.

Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition

Register to continue

Email address

Or Continue with

Log in to continue

Email address

Something went wrong.
Please try again in a few minutes..

Sign in or Register

Email address * Password *

Incorrect password. Please try again or choose an option below.

I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link

Or Continue with

check your email

Check your email

We sent an email to you at .

It has a link that will sign you in.

Click the link in that email to complete your registration.