Liberal US Jews say Trump is weaponizing Israel to defend his racist tweets By Eric Cortellessa President accused of not helping Jews or Israel by injecting Jewish state into conversation after telling liberal Democrats of color to go back where they came from

Jewish groups condemn Trump’s tweet targeting some Democratic congresswomen By Josefin Dolsten   ‘Xenophobic, bigoted remarks’: Democratic congresswomen hit back By Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin and Jonathan Lemire

Trump: Democrat congresswomen ‘love’ al-Qaeda, use ‘anti-Semitic’ language By TOI staff and AP US president says ‘many people agree with me’ that lawmakers Tlaib, Omar, Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley should ‘leave the country’ if they hate it

Israel media review / You shouldn’t have, really: 9 things to know for July 16 By Joshua Davidovich   Republicans largely silent in face of Trump’s attacks on progressive lawmakers By LISA MASCARO and Alan Fram   Trump demands ‘Radical Left Congresswomen’ apologize to Israelis By Agencies and TOI staff

A ‘game changer’: Vast 9,000-year-old settlement found near Jerusalem By Amanda Borschel-Dan Remains of Neolithic site near Motza, the largest ever discovered in Israel, show mix of agriculture, hunting, animal husbandry — a society at its peak, say archaeologists

Live updates Peretz walks back conversion therapy comment, calls practice ‘invalid and wrong’ By TOI staff Education minister panned for saying he had recommended the dangerous treatment now tells school principals it is ‘invasive,’ ‘harmful,’ and can drive patients to suicide

Analysis Jacob Magid Preaching to the converted: Peretz’s LGBTQ comments are bad politics The education minister’s views are pretty much mainstream among religious Zionists, but expressing them this close to the elections may not have been a good idea

Luxembourg PM boycotts Israeli event over minister’s conversion therapy remarks By TOI staff   Gay Israelis come forward to describe predatory, harmful conversion therapy By TOI staff

Spooks with earlocks: Haredim to help Israeli spy agencies think outside the box By Shoshanna Solomon

Analysis Raphael Ahren Defunded and sidelined, Israel’s diplomats threaten to harm the state No cash for coffee: Foreign Ministry workers, blaming Netanyahu for budget crisis and more, start sanctions

PM said eyeing free trade deal with South Korea, sans West Bank and Golan By Stuart Winer   Which Democratic 2020 contenders would move embassy back to Tel Aviv? By JTA

Jury selection to begin in landmark US trial of Israeli binary options operative By AP, David Horovitz and Simona Weinglass Federal trial opens Tuesday for Lee Elbaz, former CEO of Yukon Communications, accused of fraudulently bilking investors out of tens of millions of dollars

Beitar Jerusalem owner sued over hugely hyped, now defunct photo-sharing startup By Simona Weinglass   Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans face scrutiny from US lawmakers By Marcy Gordon

Top Ops

Irene Rabinowitz My gay left hand I cried when I read of Peretz’s support for conversion therapy: Whether gay or left-handed, this is simply how we were born   Deborah Fripp ‘Never Again’ means ‘Not Now!’ The concentration camp debate distracts us from the real question: Does our treatment of detainees at the border reflect our values?’

Netanyahu: Some in Europe won’t wake up until Iran nukes land on them By TOI staff and Agencies EU says Iran’s latest violations of nuclear deal not sufficient to reimpose sanctions

In first, Iranian FM says talks on ballistic missiles possible By Jon Gambrell   UN expresses concern after US clamps down on Iran foreign minister By AFP   United Arab Emirates oil tanker vanishes after drifting into Iranian waters By Jon Gambrell

Kabul, with Jewish population of 1, still suffers from widespread anti-Semitism By Ezzatullah Mehrdad

Barak says he visited Epstein at home, but didn’t attend sex parties By TOI staff Former prime minister defends relationship with accused US financier, says he never saw any women or girls during his time at Epstein’s New York mansions and Caribbean island

Card-carrying Democrat / Barak scolds Netanyahu with credit card, revealing numbers to all By TOI staff   Barak: Lapid is the reason Blue and White didn’t win April elections By TOI staff

French judge rules Jewish woman’s killer not responsible because he smoked weed By Cnaan Liphshiz Jewish group calls ruling in Sarah Halimi case ‘unsurprising but hardly justifiable,’ says will appeal to bring the accused to trial

Palestinian security prisoner found dead in his cell By Adam Rasgon PA health and foreign ministries call for investigation into Nassar Taqataqa’s death; family says he did not suffer from illnesses

Hamas official walks back call to Palestinian Diaspora to kill ‘Jews everywhere’ By Adam Rasgon   Israeli spy drone crashes in Gaza, reportedly after it was shot down By Judah Ari Gross   IDF: Soldiers shoot Arab Israeli driver they thought was going to ram them By Judah Ari Gross

More Headlines

Labour staffers tell Corbyn to take a hike if unwilling to tackle anti-Semitism By TOI staff   Jewish Labour member says he wasn’t aware of Jordanian MP’s anti-Semitic remarks By TOI staff   PA envoy berates UK’s May for not recognizing Palestinian statehood By TOI staff and Agencies   Palestinians denounce Trump tweets against hometown hero Tlaib By Mohammed Daraghmeh   Betsy DeVos: Efforts to boycott Israel are a ‘pernicious threat’ in colleges By AP   Number of new HIV cases up for second year in a row By TOI staff   White supremacist gets 2nd life term plus 419 years for Charlottesville ramming By Denise Lavoie   New Zealand lawmaker says Jesus’ mother was ‘Palestinian refugee’ By JTA and TOI staff   Government restrictions on religion increasing worldwide, survey shows By David Crary   As Bauhaus marks 100 years, Tel Aviv’s iconic ‘White City’ stands tall By Alexandra Vardi   Ethiopian-Israelis protest in Jerusalem as cop who killed teen is freed on bail By TOI staff   Bank Hapoalim taps banking veteran Dov Kotler as CEO By Shoshanna Solomon