ToI update: For Community members and Daily Edition readers — Editor’s Note: Constitutional crisis * Special ‘Why, Why, Why’ podcast preview * Ask your COVID-19 questions

[The Times of Israel]( Dear Times of Israel Community members, and all Times of Israel Daily Edition readers, For a second week, in these extraordinary times, we’re sending this ToI Community update to our entire Daily Edition mailing list. As I write these lines, Israel is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. Yuli Edelstein, a Likud MK and for seven years the speaker of the Knesset, shuttered parliament March 18, citing various dubious justifications including concern about coronavirus spreading among MKs. In so doing, he pushed off a vote in which a 61-strong group of MKs, led by Blue and White’s Benny Gantz, would have elected a new speaker, Blue and White MK Meir Cohen. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. (Hadas Parush/Flash90) Blue and White petitioned the High Court of Justice against Edelstein, who promised to reopen the Knesset on Monday, and did so. But he still refused to schedule the vote that would have seen him lose his job, and thereby prevented the Blue and White-led Knesset majority from wresting control of the parliamentary agenda from Likud and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The court on Monday indicated that he should do so by today, and when Edelstein wrote back to say the judges’ intervention was misguided and that he wouldn’t, the court then ruled that he had to — explaining that he was defying the will of the elected majority: “The Knesset is sovereign,” Supreme Court President Esther Hayut wrote, and not a “cheerleader” for the government. In his long years as speaker, Edelstein, a former Soviet Prisoner of Zion, had earned a reputation as a man of democratic principle, and was widely regarded as a frontrunner for the presidency. But he has alienated Netanyahu in recent months with some of his decisions, and his conduct this week will have lost him the support of the other side of the House. Nothing he had done to date, however, is quite as radical as what he has just announced in the Knesset: Accusing Israel’s justices of undermining democracy by seeking to intervene in the affairs of parliament, and of a whole lot [more]( besides, Edelstein declared that he was resigning, a move that he said would only take legal effect in 48 hours. And with that, he promptly shuttered the Knesset again, postponing any vote on a new speaker until next Monday, when the House is next set to convene. He was thus not only defying a binding ruling from the highest court in the land, but also seeking to ensure that nobody else could honor it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right), Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Chief Justice of Supreme Court Esther Hayut at the memorial ceremony for the late President Shimon Peres, at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, on September 19, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) In the hour or so since this happened, a petition has already been filed with the High Court, seeking to hold Edelstein in contempt, and to require him to honor the court’s ruling, reopen parliament and schedule the vote. All this is taking place as Israel, like the rest of humanity, tries to fight the spread of the pandemic. The death toll here is up to five, with hundreds of new cases diagnosed daily — but it’s not definitively clear to anyone whether Israel is winning or losing the overall battle. The Finance Ministry appears to believe the former, and is reportedly resisting efforts to impose a more hermetic national lockdown, to avoid still further damage to the economy. The Health Ministry, evidently more pessimistic, wants everybody confined to their homes except in the most exceptional circumstances. Throughout Monday and Tuesday, officials argued about what to do, reports of imminent new restrictions proliferated, but no formal announcement was made. At the center of these two crises, of course, is Netanyahu, the man who didn’t quite win March 2’s elections, but didn’t quite lose them either; the man who appears to be presiding with great wisdom over the coronavirus battle, but now seems caught in two minds on how to continue the fight. Thanks for listening (!). And thanks for being part of a ToI Community that helps facilitate our efforts to keep track of all this, and to keep a vast and growing readership as accurately informed as we can. — The Times of Israel newsroom (ToI) If the fair, free, 24/7 journalism of ToI is meaningful for you at a time like this, please consider [joining our Times of Israel Community.]( In addition to supporting our work financially, that will remove ads, and you’ll gain access to a Community-only content (such as these weekly updates and [this video interview on the crisis]( with an Israeli doctor) that we plan to expand in coming months. — Community podcast preview: Quarantine stories from ‘WhyWhyWhy!’ Sit back and be the first to enjoy a special installment of WhyWhyWhy!, a podcast that, until now, featured stories told to a live audience in a Tel Aviv pub. Well, circumstances have changed. This episode, hosted by our Opinion and Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag together with Noah Efron, manages to make a deep human connection through story, even as the corona lockdown keeps us all apart. The wedding of Judah Ari Gross and Anna. (Courtesy) Tune into the podcast to learn why The Times of Israel’s military reporter Judah Ari Gross (above, left) can’t help being happy at the moment; hear ToI blogger Sari Friedman’s musings entitled “[My Neighbor’s cough](”; and take a journey with Jerusalem’s acclaimed philosopher-comedian Yisrael Campbell to visit rabbis’ graves in Ukraine moments before travel was shut down. [Click here]( or on the image above to hear the show. If you’d like to contribute a story for a future show, contact Miriam Herschlag at [blogs@timesofisrael.com.](mailto:blogs@timesofisrael.com) — Community Q&A with top Israeli medical expert We know many of you have questions and concerns about COVID19, and Dr. Michael Halberthal, Director General of Rambam Health Care Campus, will be available to answer them. Please email community@timesofisrael.com with the subject line “RAMBAM” by Thursday, March 26. Please let us know if you wish to submit your question anonymously. We know these are tough times but as Dr. Maurit Beeri [told us in this live video](, doing little things like calling a friend or relative, exercising when you can, and just being kind to yourself can help you feel a little better and boost the immune system. — The best medicine: Jewish humor podcast, part II — Coronavirus jokes are better with a side of chutzpa About to lose her mind as the six kids are climbing the walls with their enforced coronavirus home-schooling, The Times of Israel Podcast host Amanda Borschel-Dan turns to two prominent Israeli comedians to find more humor in the situation. She first speaks with Asaf Beiser, a creator of ‘Hayehudim Ba’im’ (The Jews Are Coming), a series which parodies Jewish and Israeli history, about what is the essence of Israeli humor. Next, in a very adult conversation, she speaks with raunchy comedian Jonathan Barak, who spreads his grandfather’s wisdom and quotes from Eddie Murphy. Comedian Jonathan Barak (courtesy) [Click here]( to hear the conversations, or on the image of Israeli standup comedian Jonathan Barak above. — March perks for ToI Community members: - A 15% discount at [Judaica Webstore:]( Coupon code: TOI_15 - A $100 voucher for a Hebrew course from[ eTeacher.]( Warmly, [David Horovitz] David Horovitz You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to The Times of Israel's Daily Edition. If you would like to stop receiving editorial announcements, please click below to unsubscribe. [Unsubscribe](