Elections start, everywhere but Israel * Israelis unhappy at Gaza response * Does PM plan to annex settlement blocs? * Ilhan Omar slams PM *Hero French Entebbe pilot dies

[Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates]( The Daily Edition Wednesday, March 27, 2019 [Israeli elections begin Wednesday — everywhere but Israel]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Some 5,000 Israeli diplomats in nearly 100 missions across the globe get a head start on voting, ahead of the April 9 national ballot]( [Cybersecurity researchers find security flaws in Likud, Labor party Android apps]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Likud campaign tries to portray Gantz as mentally unstable]( By [TOI staff]( [Facebook removes 30 fake profiles, most of them backing Netanyahu]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Tense calm returns to Israel’s south after night of strikes, rockets at Ashkelon]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Schools in Gaza-adjacent communities and cities open, reportedly amid ‘calm for calm’ agreement, after days of conflict sparked by projectile that destroyed central Israel house]( [Protesters in south call for stepped-up response to Gaza violence]( By [TOI staff]( [Pictures show Hamas leader’s office leveled as Gazans take stock of damage]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Israeli air raids resume, Gaza rockets fired at Ashkelon as calm disintegrates]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Over half of Israelis unhappy with response to Gaza rocket fire, polls say]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Surveys by two broadcasters find despite disappointment over handling of attacks, more voters want Netanyahu to lead the country than Gantz]( [Analysis / Gaza escalation holds both promise and perils for Netanyahu]( By [Sam Sokol]( [Israel media review / Test or toast: 7 things to know for March 27]( By [Joshua Davidovich]( Reporter's notebook [David Horovitz]( [Netanyahu’s post-election gambit? Protect me and I’ll annex the settlement blocs]( [Pompeo has rushed to declare that Trump’s Golan recognition is no precedent. The PM has indicated he sees things differently. Does he have a settlements-for-immunity idea in mind?]( [US says Golan recognition doesn’t apply to other cases]( By [TOI staff]( [US envoy says Trump understands why Israel needs to hold West Bank]( By [Eric Cortellessa and TOI staff]( [Israel says US Golan recognition helps pave way for keeping other captured lands]( By [Stuart Winer and Raphael Ahren]( [French pilot who stayed with hijacked Israelis, Jews at Entebbe dies aged 95]( By [TOI staff]( [Tributes pour in for Michel Bacos, who refused the terrorists’ offer of release and, with his crew, remained captive with the plane’s Jewish hostages]( Live updates [EU states unanimously reject Trump Golan recognition]( By [TOI staff]( [Europe says decision by US president to recognize Israeli sovereignty over strategic border plateau not ‘in line’ with international law, UN resolutions]( [At UN, European states reject Israeli sovereignty over Golan]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Belgium, UK, France, Germany and Poland say no change in stance on strategic plateau after Trump recognition, warn move could have negative consequences]( [After US recognition, Syria requests UN Security Council meeting on Golan]( By [AFP]( [Slamming Golan recognition, Hezbollah chief predicts West Bank is next]( By [TOI staff]( [Ilhan Omar knocks Netanyahu, AIPAC speakers for obsessing over her]( By [TOI staff and Raphael Ahren]( [Under fire for use of anti-Semitic tropes, freshman Dem. says PM devoted more time to her than Pittsburgh massacre, far-right violence, and is ‘in an alliance’ with ‘KKK of Israel’]( [At AIPAC, Netanyahu joins chorus against Omar: It’s not about the Benjamins]( By [Raphael Ahren]( [At AIPAC, Republicans and Democrats spar on what defines anti-Semitism]( By [Ron Kampeas]( Reporter's Notebook [At swanky philanthropy conference, politics is the elephant in the room]( By [Simona Weinglass]( [Large Hasmonean-era agricultural village found under Jerusalem Arab neighborhood]( By [Amanda Borschel-Dan]( [Impressive, multi-generation burial chamber and large dovecote point to well-heeled settlement in rural area, near today’s Biblical Zoo]( [Yad Vashem to break ground on new artifacts center on Holocaust Remembrance Day]( By [Amanda Borschel-Dan]( Top Ops [David Sedley]( [Shakespeare’s birds]( [There’s no telling how much havoc people can wreak by calling very different animals by the same name]( [Holly Rosen Fink]( [’The Yiddish is everything’]( [An interview with Yenta on why this production is so much more than just another ’Fiddler’]( [David Friedman]( [The embassy, the Iran deal, and the good in Jerusalem]( [Can we leave the peace process to those who may penalize Israel for no more than having the audacity to survive in a dangerous neighborhood?]( [Sheila Katz]( [Michael Steinhardt sexually harassed me]( [Jewish organizations must be willing to turn down money from donors who abuse their power at the expense of employees’ dignity]( Interview [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Immigrants are key to economic growth, Goldman guru says]( [US economy is stronger than Europe’s and Japan’s because of its faster-growing population – largely thanks to immigration, according to Wall Street strategist Abby Joseph Cohen]( profile [Robin MILLARD]( [Meet UK lawmaker Oliver Letwin, policy guru behind Brexit breakthrough bid]( [Conservative backbencher, who is Jewish, submitted controversial amendment allowing MPs, rather than the government, to drive the exit process from European Union]( [This new town will be the first fully disability-inclusive community in Israel]( By [Ben Sales]( More Headlines [Iran looks to remote port to beat US sanctions]( By [AFP]( [Jordanian lawmakers urge canceling $10 billion natural gas deal with Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Alabama congressman quotes Hitler, compares Democrats to Nazis]( By [JTA]( [Central Elections Committee: No anonymous electioneering via SMS messages]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Jussie Smollett’s attorneys say all criminal charges dropped]( By [AMANDA SEITZ and Michael Tarm]( [After synagogue attack, Pittsburgh tries again to curb guns]( By [Michael Rubinkam]( [FBI to return Nazi-stolen art to Jewish collector’s heirs]( By [AFP]( [Palestinian said killed in overnight clashes with IDF troops in West Bank]( By [Adam Rasgon and TOI staff]( [Democrats, Muslim lawmaker decry Christian prayer in Penn. House as divisive]( By [MARK SCOLFORO]( [Sites and sounds / For 18th time, Jerusalem opens its doors to Arts Festival]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Defense Ministry rebukes Israeli spy tech company for unlawful exports]( By [TOI staff]( [Soviet-born mobster accused of trying to launder cash through Trump projects]( By [Michael R. Sisak]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( © 2019 THE TIMES OF ISRAEL, All Rights Reserved