ToI’s weekly deep dive: Behind the scenes of the 1st TikTok musical * Kahane lives on — in the Knesset * Vaccinated! Now what? * PODCAST: All about radiocarbon dating

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, February 7, 2021 Interview [‘Dear Evan Hansen’ star stirs TikTok fans to donate $2m in ‘Ratatouille’ musical]( By [Jordan Hoffman]( [Andrew Barth Feldman plays the lead role in a crowdsourced version of the Disney classic performed virtually during the pandemic to benefit struggling actors]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [When funerals are fatal]( [Ultra-Orthodox crowds at 2 rabbis’ funerals were ‘helpless’ in the face of the ‘divine decree,’ an MK suggested. But helplessness is not an option when the consequences are deadly]( Israel at ICC [ICC has jurisdiction to probe Israel, Hamas for war crimes, pretrial judges rule]( By [Jacob Magid]( [In 2-1 decision, judges determine Palestine is a state, and The Hague can thus investigate there; probe likely to cover 2014 Gaza war, settlement policy, IDF actions on Gaza border]( [US opposes ICC ruling it has jurisdiction to probe Israel, Hamas for war crimes]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Alan Baker]( [This flawed decision turns the ICC itself into just one more Israel-basher]( United states [Biden admin ’embraces’ IHRA anti-Semitism definition shunned by progressives]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Heeding call of major Jewish groups, State Department official urges others to adopt classification, which critics say will curb free speech against Israel]( [Democrat lawmaker backtracks on claim Israel ‘burning down Palestinian villages’]( By [Jacob Magid]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [Kahanists, Arabs, Gantz could help Netanyahu, in Israel’s least ideological vote]( [This is no familiar right-vs-left election. It’s Netanyahu versus the rest. But though ‘the rest,’ this time, includes potent challengers from his own camp, the PM is far from done]( [Analysis / Why is Netanyahu trying (again) to push Kahanists into the Knesset?]( By [Haviv Rettig Gur]( [Otzma Yehudit head says Kahane was ‘holy’; backs expulsion of ‘disloyal’ Arabs]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [Times of Israel Podcast / PODCAST: Daily Briefing, Feb. 4 — Kahane lives: Merger may mean extremist MKs]( By [TOI staff]( Analysis [After a year of political betrayals, mistrust puts party mergers on hold]( By [Haviv Rettig Gur]( [Israel’s electoral system facilitates infidelity by letting blocs break up easily; with big parties unable to trust those hitching a ride, smaller factions may be left in the cold]( [Shulamit S. Magnus]( [Congratulations, Gilad Kariv. Now please, don’t sell us out.]( [Analysis / As the Arab Joint List falls apart, the biggest winner is Netanyahu]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Times of Israel Podcast / PODCAST: Daily Briefing, Feb. 3 — Israeli election deadline; Jewish space lasers]( By [TOI staff]( From the Blogs [Navalny sacrificed his freedom to liberate Russia; now he needs our help]( By [Rachel Sharansky Danziger]( COVID-19 [Vaccinated! Now what? An expert offers answers for Israel’s dosed and confused]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Prof. Nadav Davidovitch says new variants have made returning to normal even harder, but he offers advice, and a peek at the possible road ahead, for a nation seeking immunity now]( [New Israeli drug cured 29 of 30 moderate/serious COVID cases in days — hospital]( By [TOI staff]( [14 of 16 severe COVID patients in trial recover with experimental Israeli drug]( By [Luke Tress]( [Paul Gross]( [Anti-vaxxers and Israel’s own conspiracy theorists]( [For 5,000 Israelis killed by COVID, a digital tapestry of stories ended too soon]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [CRM]( StartUp Israel [And the Oscar goes to… Israeli engineers for film technology]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Amimon team was notified a year ago of the nomination, but thought it was a gimmick]( [World’s hottest new math mind-teasers set by Israeli AI formula-finder]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Tesla launches electric car sales in Israel, unveils lower-than-expected prices]( By [TOI staff]( [Intel Israel reports record-setting year with $8 billion in 2020 exports]( By [Luke Tress]( Archaeology [PODCAST: ‘Biblical’ royal purple cloth, and all about radiocarbon dating]( By [TOI staff]( [It’s Archaeology 101 with two of Israel’s leading scholars: Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef on excavations at Timna; and Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto breaks down radiocarbon dating for dummies]( [Rewriting history, evidence of olive consumption 6,600 years ago found off Haifa]( By [TOI staff]( [Scientists: Bone carving found in Israel could be earliest human use of symbols]( By [TOI staff]( Canada [Canadian lawyer sets high bar with his bestselling, very Jewish crime thrillers]( By [Robert Sarner]( [When not captivating judge and jury as a criminal defender, Robert Rotenberg thinks up ways to challenge fictional homicide gumshoe Ari Greene on his home turf in Toronto]( [Interview / Toronto trans girl inspires supportive dad to design non-binary bikini bottoms]( By [Renee Ghert-Zand]( Interview [Loathe jogging? Harvard prof explains how humans evolved to be couch potatoes]( By [Cathryn J. Prince]( [In his book ‘Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding,’ Daniel Lieberman tackles myths and inaccuracies about physical fitness and the need for rest]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved