Likud turns on president, claims he’s aiming to oust PM * Super-fast Israeli COVID test gets Europe ok, may help air travel reopen * US calls te rritories ’occupied’ again

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, March 31, 2021 Presented by Leket Israel [Likud MKs turn on Rivlin, claim he’s abusing his powers in bid to oust Netanyahu]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [President dismisses assertion he’s obligated to pick the candidate who gets most recommendations, insists he’ll choose the one best-placed to form a government backed by Knesset]( [Receiving official election results, Rivlin recommends ‘unusual collaborations’]( By [TOI staff]( [Times of Israel Podcast / Daily Briefing Mar. 31 – Enter Rivlin: Can the president solve the deadlock?]( By [TOI staff]( [Super-speedy Israeli COVID test gets European approval; airport rollout planned]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [SpectraLIT eliminates the need for complex lab equipment by giving relatively accurate results after just 20 seconds of analysis, possibly aiding resumption of international travel]( [COVID reinfection hits 1 in a 1,000, variants may fuel it, Israeli study finds]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Worst-ever Passover traffic chaos as reopened Israel enjoys vaccinated vacation]( By [TOI staff]( [Pfizer says COVID vaccine 100% effective on ages 12-15, eyes FDA approval]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Trials carried out on 2,260 US adolescents show robust antibody response; Health Ministry officials quoted saying Israel can quickly start inoculating teens after okay given]( [Netanyahu blames Gantz for potential vaccine shortage in latest political spat]( By [TOI staff]( [WHO chief urges probe of COVID lab leak theory as leaders eye pandemic treaty]( By [AFP]( [In return to pre-Trump norm, State Dep’t report refers to ‘occupied’ territories]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Human rights report names chapter ‘Israel, West Bank and Gaza,’ as in Trump era, but areas themselves labeled ‘occupied’ for first time in years]( [Turning page on Trump, US vows to defend human rights everywhere]( By [Shaun Tandon]( Message from Leket Israel [Help put a meal on their Passover table]( [Over the past year, thousands of Israeli families joined the circle of poverty. You can provide a hot meal for vulnerable Israelis in time for the Passover holiday.]( [Ra’am said leaning toward backing Netanyahu-led government]( By [TOI staff]( [Report says Islamist party open to lending external support to coalition headed by Likud if Ben Gvir not a minister; Sa’ar hints Lapid should let Bennett be PM first]( [Netanyahu slammed Ra’am as a potential partner for Gantz in 2019 post]( By [TOI staff]( [Haredi faction gives tepid support to Netanyahu, appears to keep options open]( By [TOI staff]( Live updates [Over half of US Jews experienced anti-Semitism in past 5 years — ADL survey]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Poll finds that 63% of respondents have either experienced or heard anti-Semitic comments, slurs or threats targeting others — up from 54% in last year’s study]( [Sa’ar tells Lapid to ‘step aside’ to let Bennett be PM, before it’s ‘too late’]( By [TOI staff]( [Yesh Atid head responds that parties must first recommend he form gov’t, so Netanyahu isn’t tasked to do so; after that, ‘everything’s on the table’; Sa’ar: You’ve got it backwards]( [Lapid said ready to be 2nd in rotation with Bennett but won’t let him form gov’t]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [As 13 Yemeni Jews leave pro-Iran region for Cairo, community of 50,000 down to 6]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Family confirmed to depart for Egypt in deal with Houthis; country’s remaining half-dozen Jews live in areas controlled by Iranian-backed militias but seem to want to stay]( [UN report points to Houthis as culprits in December attack on Yemen airport]( By [AFP]( Behind the Headlines [Join ToI Community to access our live Israeli elections panel]( By [TOI staff]( [This Thursday: A special Behind the Headlines LIVE panel with veteran ToI journalists a week after Israel’s fourth round of elections — exclusively for ToI Community members]( Top Ops [John L. Rosove]( [Your moral failure is stunning]( [Dr. Deborah Birx and others may have thought they could do good by staying on Trump’s coronavirus task force. They’re wrong. The Talmud is clear on this]( [Pam Gaslow]( [I’m learning Hebrew and it’s not funny]( [Hebrew has masculine and feminine versions of words, which is extra annoying since I have no interest in speaking to any females, ever]( [CRM]( [PBS postpones documentary on evangelicals and Israel for ‘editorial review’]( By [Stephen Silver]( [Broadcaster delays release of ‘Til Kingdom Come’ after accusations from pro-Israel watchdog group that director misleadingly spliced together two parts of Trump speech]( [Christian Passover Seder with cross-shaped challah sparks online rage]( By [Gabe Friedman]( Women's History Month [The new G20 women’s group leader is an Italian Jew who revolutionized statistics]( By [Giovanni Vigna]( [267 in 2020: Iran ‘obsessively’ carrying out executions, rights groups say]( By [AFP]( [Report by activists says Islamic Republic using death penalty less in recent years, but still leads world in per capita executions, usually after torture]( [US said open to crafting road map back to Iran nuclear deal, as progress stalls]( By [TOI staff]( [In first since 2013, EU set to sanction Iranians for rights abuses – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Barghouti to challenge Abbas in parliament, ahead of possible presidential bid]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Fatah heavyweight is serving five life sentences for masterminding terror attacks against Israelis; surveys say a list he backs would beat an Abbas slate of candidates]( [EU accuses Israel of ignoring request to observe Palestinian elections]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [S&P says Israeli political instability not affecting credit rating… yet]( By [TOI staff]( [Ratings agency warns ‘fiscal risks could build’ if continued gridlock in Knesset hampers government’s ability to rein in spending]( [Amazon, Google reportedly oust Microsoft, Oracle in massive Israel cloud tender]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Israel may need tax hike to cut virus-swollen debt, Bank of Israel says]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Israel’s CanBreed gets hemp growing and breeding license in California]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Three held in Italy over fake kidnapping by jihadists that turned real]( By [AFP]( [Leader of extremist ultra-Orthodox sect Lev Tahor arrested in Guatemala]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Israeli woman arrested in Montana for suspected double homicide]( By [TOI staff]( [Cops close ranks around officer who killed mentally ill knifeman in Haifa]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel Prize committee petitions top court over minister’s veto of math winner]( By [TOI staff]( [Lawyer says British PM has ‘case to answer’ over affair with US businesswoman]( By [TOI staff]( [Monument for Holocaust victims defaced with swastikas in Poland]( By [TOI staff]( [Saudis invest $3.2 trillion in effort to revitalize COVID-stricken economy]( By [AFP]( [Nuclear slip-up? / US military account mysteriously tweets ‘;l;;gmlxzssaw’]( By [TOI staff]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved