Big tar spill; several ill in clean-up * Russian vaccines for Syria as part of prisoner deal? * COVID ebbs; Israel reopens * Uranium finds at Iran site * US boots ex-Nazi

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Saturday, February 20, 2021 [Several taken ill as thousands volunteer to clean beaches after huge tar spill]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Israel Nature and Parks Authority now urging public without protective gear to stay away with mystery spill affecting 100 miles of coast, leading to widespread death of wildlife]( [Tar spill that may have killed whale is a major hazard — environment minister]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [In exchange for captive, Israel said to buy $1m of Russian COVID doses for Syria]( By [TOI staff]( [Asharq Al-Awsat report says ‘secret clause’ has Israel funding purchase of Sputnik V doses for Assad regime as part of deal to return woman who crossed border]( [Russia registers third COVID-19 vaccine]( By [AFP]( [Woman brought back from Syria undergoing Shin Bet debriefing]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel reopens stores, malls, gyms Sunday in major easing of COVID restrictions]( By [TOI staff]( [‘Green Pass’ will allow vaccinated and recovered access to sport and culture events; health minister said to warn he will shut economy down again if Israelis flout new system]( [Study: Israeli-made anti-COVID nasal spray reduced infection at mass gathering]( By [TOI staff]( [Over 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered globally]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Inspectors found suspicious uranium particles at Iranian nuclear sites — report]( By [TOI staff]( [IAEA visited the 2 locations last summer after Iran tried for months to block it, Reuters reports; finding could complicate US return to negotiations with Tehran]( [In major speech, Biden indicates US ready to reengage with Iran on nuke deal]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Iran to host UN nuclear watchdog chief ahead of sanctions deadline]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( Top Ops [Uriel Vigler]( [Take the mask off!]( [For Purim this year, I’d like to dress up as myself in the ’before:’ before masks and distancing and limited Jewish community events. Before COVID-19.]( [Daniel Sterman]( [The strangest thing ever about the Israeli government]( [Never mind the new election – if no new coalition is formed, Gantz will replace Netanyahu as premier on November 17, 2021]( [Arguing in favor of Iran deal, 2 ex-officers refuse to fall in behind Netanyahu]( By [Tal Schneider]( [Breaking ranks with most MKs, Omer Barlev and Yair Golan, two of the top security experts in politics, say the JCPOA was good for Israel, even if everyone else refuses to say so]( [Netanyahu: US return to ‘old deal’ will pave Iran’s path to nuclear arsenal]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Israel reportedly expands Dimona nuclear complex]( By [TOI staff]( Holocaust history [Black Lives Matter spurs youth to learn about 3-day Dutch strike against Nazis]( By [Matt Lebovic]( [CRM]( [US deports 95-year-old ex-Nazi concentration camp guard to Germany]( By [Agencies]( [Friedrich Karl Berger, who was living in Tennessee, served as an armed guard at Neuengamme Concentration Camp in 1945; Germany unlikely to try him, citing insufficient evidence]( [Hate mail to French-Jewish lawmaker tells her to ‘prepare for the camps’]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Italian Holocaust survivor’s plug for vaccine sparks online anti-Semitic abuse]( By [AP]( [PA says Jerusalem to vaccinate 100k Palestinian workers; Israel: No decision yet]( By [TOI staff and Aaron Boxerman]( [Clashing claims come after Israeli officials travel covertly to Ramallah, meet Palestinian counterparts to discuss cooperation on pandemic]( [Hamas begins secret leadership election as Mashaal said eyeing comeback]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Poll shows large swaths of Israeli youth hate Arabs, back revoking citizenship]( By [TOI staff]( [Gantz: If I lose my Knesset seat, Netanyahu will turn Israel into a monarchy]( By [TOI staff]( [Blue and White leader warns PM will immediately fire the AG and all his party’s ministers if it fails to make it back into parliament next month]( Israel travels [Tour ‘King David’s onetime home,’ the 10th century BCE biblical city of Ziklag]( By [Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am]( [Winning silver in Tel Aviv, Iranian judoka ‘will never forget Israeli kindness’]( By [TOI staff]( [After fleeing his country, Saeid Mollaei, who now competes for Mongolia, makes historic achievement for an Iranian in Israel; Israeli Tohar Butbul wins bronze]( Analysis [Barbara Ortutay and TALI ARBEL]( [Facebook makes a power play in Australia – and may regret it]( [Governments increasingly worried by global control of Zuckerberg’s social media platform, and his willingness to use it; its move to block news in Australia may spark regulation]( [Australia and Facebook hold high-stakes talks over social media giant’s news ban]( By [AFP]( [Outrage in North Carolina over lieutenant governor’s past remarks about Jews]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Republican lawmaker Mark Robinson says he will not apologize for comments disparaging Jewish people made before he was elected]( [Hedge funder who tried to short GameStop says he received anti-Semitic messages]( By [Gabe Friedman]( [FBI arrests Capitol rioter who said Jews and Israel control other governments]( By [Ben Sales]( [Torah returned to Dutch Jewish community 80 years after it was hidden from Nazis]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Family in city of Dordrecht kept scroll for years without knowing its origin; local historian heard of it by chance and informed Jewish organization]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Festive hope / Howie Mandel, Bob Saget, other celebrities to read Purim story for charity]( By [Gabe Friedman]( [NASA’s Perseverance rover beams back spectacular new images from Mars descent]( By [Agencies]( [Dubai’s royal family insists princess ‘at home’ after UN demands proof of life]( By [Robin MILLARD]( [Attacker who beat up Jewish man in front of German synagogue will not go to jail]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Bulgarian courts failed to punish Holocaust denier, European tribunal rules]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [US authorities charge 6 more people linked to Oath Keepers over Capitol attack]( By [ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved