PM’s rival Sa’ar scores high in Likud vote * Gantz positive on Gaza pullout * US says it sees no need to balance pro-Israel slant * More Israeli s marry outside rabbinate

[Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates]( The Daily Edition Wednesday, February 6, 2019 [Declaring triumph, Sa’ar thanks Likud voters for ignoring PM’s accusations]( By [TOI staff]( [Ahead of primary, Netanyahu warned party members the popular former interior minister is plotting to unseat him after April 9 election]( [Edelstein, Katz, Sa’ar, Erdan take top slots in Likud primary]( By [Raoul Wootliff and TOI staff]( [Israel media review / Likud’s win is Netanyahu’s loss: 9 things to know for February 6]( By [Joshua Davidovich]( Reporter's notebook [Raoul Wootliff]( [Likud voters see no need to choose between Netanyahu, Sa’ar]( [Members of ruling party believe PM’s accusations of a leftist conspiracy against him, but don’t think former minister targeted by the premier is part of it]( [Polls close in fateful Likud primaries after jump in turnout]( By [TOI staff]( [Gantz positive on Gaza disengagement in first interview, drawing right’s ire]( By [TOI staff]( [Lashed as a ‘leftist,’ former chief of staff mocks Netanyahu for backing 2005 pullout, vows no uprooting of settlements]( [Merger between Gantz and Lapid said to face considerable headwinds]( By [TOI staff]( [After Trump shares Netanyahu billboard pic, US insists it’s not backing anyone]( By [Raphael Ahren and TOI staff]( [As it readies peace plan, US says it sees no need to balance pro-Israel slant]( By [Raphael Ahren]( [White House is proudly supportive of Israel, senior official says, dismissing need for equivalency as a ‘vestige of talking points from decades ago’]( [US Senate passes anti-BDS bills, sending them to House]( By [Eric Cortellessa]( [Abbas asks Europeans to recognize Palestinian state]( By [Adam Rasgon]( [West Bank settlers report surge in population growth]( By [Josef Federman]( State of the Union 2019 [Vowing to confront Iran, Trump scolds ‘the vile poison of anti-Semitism’]( By [Eric Cortellessa]( [In key address to joint session of Congress, president brings Pittsburgh survivor as guest, says Jerusalem embassy move fueled by ‘pragmatic realism’]( [Iran pushes back after Trump accuses it of anti-Semitism]( By [AP and TOI staff]( [Iran airs animation showing its submarine sinking a US aircraft carrier]( By [TOI staff]( [In State of the Union, Trump warns ‘ridiculous partisan’ probes derail progress]( By [Julie Pace and Catherine Lucey]( [‘If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,’ US president says, facing divided Congress for first time]( [State of the Union 2019 / Jewish organizations react to Trump speech, ask for rewrite of asylum policy]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Profile / With diverse experience, new US anti-Semitism monitor ‘great fit’ for the job]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Analysis / Is there a need for another big Washington pro-Israel group?]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Up to a third of Israeli nuptials held outside state religious bodies — report]( By [TOI staff]( [New Family advocacy group finds as many as 29,000 couples may have registered civil marriages abroad or held ceremonies not recognized by authorities in the Jewish state]( [Police yet to identify suspects in vandalism of Reform synagogue in Netanya]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Traditional, egalitarian Yeshivat Hadar plans to ordain rabbis]( By [JTA]( Live updates [Abbas pledges to continue security cooperation with Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [PA leader tells Israeli activists in Ramallah his West Bank government has a ‘joint agreement to fight terror’ with Israel and ‘will not violate it’]( [Images show S-300 air defense batteries in Syria likely turning operational]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Israel’s ImageSat International says 3 of 4 launchers from powerful Russian anti-aircraft system appear to be raised, possibly signifying heightened alert level]( [Netanyahu to meet Putin for first formal talks since Syria downed Russian plane]( By [Alexander Fulbright]( [Iran: Israeli strikes in Syria to be discussed at summit with Russia, Turkey]( By [TOI staff]( [Top US general says Trump didn’t consult him on Syria pullout]( By [AFP]( [The Shalva band chooses Shabbat over representing Israel at Eurovision]( By [Marcy Oster]( [Musicians with disabilities drop out of the running for song contest, after being told they’d have to rehearse on the Sabbath]( [European Broadcast Union fumes at Netanyahu over Eurovision security costs]( By [Stuart Winer]( Top Ops [Bill Slott]( [Napoleon and the muezzin]( [That morning the call to prayer turned a church and a mosque into a shooting gallery]( [Francis Nataf]( [A religious party worthy of the name]( [Rafi Peretz is a man of integrity and the true role model for the community that I do not see in Naftali Bennett or Baruch Marzel]( All the world's a cage [Running from Nazis, Norwegian Jewish girl masquerades as teenage boy in new film]( By [Rich Tenorio]( [Dial 119 for… hacker alert]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [The Times of Israel tries out a newly launched hotline for those who think they’re undergoing cyberattacks, and is handled quickly and courteously by a responder]( [French-Israeli hacker faces trial for phone hoax that ended in death]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Israel maintains warm ties with Myanmar, downplaying a human rights controversy]( By [Charles Dunst]( More Headlines [Dutch soccer fans chant ‘Jews burn best’ on Holocaust Remembrance Day]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Dutch former anti-Islam MP says he’s become a Muslim]( By [Jan Hennop]( [Coroner determines foul ball killed Jewish woman at Dodgers game]( By [Marcy Oster]( [Meat market / Supermarket delivery van caught transporting dead body]( By [TOI staff]( [Former Israel Police chief takes job pushing medical cannabis worldwide]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Final curtain / ‘The Band’s Visit’ to end Broadway run]( By [JTA]( [Tomb of Karl Marx vandalized in London]( By [AFP]( [Nuns ‘sex slaves’ scandal deals fresh blow to Catholic church]( By [Ella Ide]( [IDF servicewoman dies after being run over in Jordan Valley accident]( By [TOI staff]( [British historian Simon Schama awarded a knighthood by Prince William]( By [JTA]( [Mother of Kulanu MK killed by cement mixer after leaving party HQ]( By [TOI staff]( [Joe Lieberman: Don’t ‘rush to judgment’ on Virginia governor accused of racism]( By [JTA]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2019 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved