ToI’s weekly deep dive: Ritchie Torres on modern blood libel * Matisyahu feels Israel’s love * Sabra rising NCAA star * Podcast: Micah Goodman analyzes 6 months of war

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Monday, April 8, 2024 Interview [The ‘improbable friend’: For true progressives, Israel is an exemplar, says Ritchie Torres]( By David Horovitz A soundbite-packed interview with the visiting Democratic rising star, a Bronx congressional neighbor of AOC who rejects her ‘genocide’ allegation as a blood libel Interview [US-based Gazan peace activist calls on Palestinians to abandon armed resistance narrative]( By Gianluca Pacchiani Analysis David Horovitz [Israel’s major ground war in Gaza is over; the state of war inflicted by Hamas is not]( Sunday’s withdrawal of IDF ground forces from Khan Younis marks the end of so-called high-intensity conflict, though Hamas is still standing, and still holding 129 Oct. 7 hostages [IDF withdraws ground troops from south Gaza, leaving just one brigade in whole enclave]( By Emanuel Fabian [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing April 7: Day 184 – A guided tour of the fronts after six months of war]( By ToI Staff [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing April 8: Day 185 – With Gaza troop drawdown, PM marches to Biden’s drum]( By ToI Staff Analysis Lazar Berman [Israel’s begrudging approach to humanitarian aid could cost it the war in Gaza]( Netanyahu was pressured into announcing new measures for Gazans in wake of deadly strike on WCK aid workers, but again Jerusalem risks doing too little, too late [Op-ed: Day 180 of the war / Yet another ‘How could this have happened?’ tragedy prompts deep strategic concerns]( By David Horovitz Qatar [Intel report: Qatar’s funding, policies led directly to Oct. 7; it shouldn’t be key mediator]( By David Horovitz Report by intelligence veterans on behalf of lawyers for Hamas victims’ families says US has long known the scale of Doha’s malign activities, harm to US and allies’ interests, yet still fails to act [Inside story / Qatar not inclined to assist in post-war Gaza reconstruction due to Israeli treatment]( By Jacob Magid [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( Inside story Jessica Steinberg [Six months after October 7, some hostage families embracing anti-government protests]( No longer willing to keep their anger in check, a group of relatives of those held captive by terrorists in Gaza are speaking out against the prime minister and his cabinet [Reporter's notebook / In Caesarea, protests outside Netanyahu’s home burst bucolic calm of plush beach town]( By Canaan Lidor [ToI Original Video / Jerusalem’s marathon ‘sleep-in’ protest]( Explainer [Everybody dies. But what if that person happens to be a sitting prime minister?]( By Sam Sokol After a couple of sudden surgeries, health concerns over Israel’s 74-year-old leader have risen. Unlike the US’s smooth succession, Israel’s process can have unintended consequences [Interview / UTJ’s Roth: ‘No actual benefit’ to Haredim in toppling government over yeshiva funds]( By Sam Sokol [Explainer / The High Court’s yeshiva funding ruling goes into effect today. What does it entail?]( By Sam Sokol Top Ops Jonathan Lipow [The PA in Gaza: What could possibly go wrong]( Want to know how bad it can get when genuine representative government is not fostered at the community level? Look at Kabul Ilana Cowland [Kornreich vs. Dunner: A Haredi woman’s opinion]( To claim ’all Haredim’ feel one way lacks nuance, which may be the real problem to begin with Eric R. Terzuolo [When everything is an ‘outrage’ is anything truly outrageous?]( Why did Pres. Biden use language usually reserved for adversaries in reaction to Israel’s mistaken killing of food aid workers? Judy Halper [What to expect when you’re expecting an Iranian invasion]( As we teeter on the brink, with so much to fear, I don’t think bottled water or a home generator is the answer ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Micah Goodman: This is a war of independence for Israelis and Gazans]( By Amanda Borschel-Dan After six months, the Jewish state is faced with only bad choices, but leaving Hamas in power in the Gaza Strip would be suicidal for both Israelis and Gazans, says the author [With an ambitious civic agenda, Brothers and Sisters in Arms says it’s here to stay]( By Sue Surkes Inside story Jeremy Sharon [Victim of settler shooting left with life-altering wounds, ongoing pain 6 months on]( Zakaria al-Adra was shot in the abdomen at point-blank range by an armed Israeli in an incident caught on camera; the State Attorney’s Office says it’s reviewing the case now [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Stories of civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel]( [Read Here]( [Back in Israel for two shows, rapper Matisyahu says it’s nice ‘to feel the love’]( By Jessica Steinberg Following recent antisemitic experiences in the US, singer will perform in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with special guests including his son Laivy and singers Omri Glikman and Jimbo J [Matisyahu thrills in Jerusalem, where both rapper and crowd hanker for good ol’ days]( By Jessica Steinberg Interview [Author Lihi Lapid asks what happens when a mourning mother can’t remember her son]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [6 months on, 70% of evacuees from the south are home, but thousands remain in hotels]( By Canaan Lidor [Reporter's notebook / Through pain of loss, IDF orphans celebrate bar and bat mitzvahs at Western Wall]( By Maya Zanger-Nadis [Reporter's notebook / As they mark six months of war, Kfar Aza residents tentatively plan their return home]( By Maya Zanger-Nadis Reporter's notebook [In Israel on a solidarity tour, Yale academic premieres October 7 art song cycle]( By Gavriel Fiske Psychiatrist Dr. David Sasso’s ‘Zakhor: A Requiem for October 7,’ has a world debut performance in Tel Aviv as the final event in a Yale faculty trip in support of Israeli academics [Brooklyn 8th-graders find connection on ‘super powerful’ solidarity trip to Israel]( By Gavriel Fiske [Jewish museum Anu marks Oct. 7 with art, diaries, music and gripping photos]( By Jessica Steinberg [CRM]( Reporter's notebook [European aliyah expo for health workers seeks to remedy Israel’s doctor shortage]( By Romain Chauvet Sports [Full court press: Rising NCAA basketball star Yarden Garzon proudly reps Israel]( By Ed Klajman The 20-year-old Indiana Hoosiers guard from Ra’anana uses platform to dispel ‘fake news’ about her home country as anti-Zionist rhetoric soars amid ongoing war in Gaza [New national park centered on prehistoric site officially opens to public]( By Gavriel Fiske ‘Ubeidiya National Park, near the Sea of Galilee, showcases a 1.6 million-year-old cache of early humans’ stone tools and bones of the animals they hunted, many now extinct From the blogs [Six months in hell: Notes from Hostage Square]( By Nili Bresler I tell heartbreaking stories every day but I don’t cry. Suddenly I hear soothing flute music out in the Square and my eyes tear up [Weekly Deep Dive]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2024 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved