PM can’t form gov’t; Lapid set to get nod * Analysis: Likud’s lost voters * Op-Ed: Doomed by his protégés * Why not give vaccines to PA? * Found: A grotesque ancient lamp

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, May 5, 2021 Presented by My Jewish Learning [56 MKs back Lapid for PM, including right-wing New Hope, after Netanyahu fails to form gov't]( By [TOI staff]( [Yamina backs Bennett, but rebel Yamina MK says he’ll object to emerging right-center-left government; Joint List backs Lapid; pro-Netanyahu bloc and Ra’am make no recommendation]( [Rivlin starts talks on new mandate to form a government, expected to tap Lapid]( By [TOI staff]( [Poll: 43% back Bennett-Lapid coalition, but only 25% of Yamina voters approve]( By [TOI staff]( Analysis [Haviv Rettig Gur]( [Out of tricks, Netanyahu again denied a government — because of his own voters]( [Unlike previous failures, it was his Likud supporters who denied him the victory]( [Netanyahu tells president he cannot form a government; Rivlin may now task Lapid]( By [TOI staff]( [Likud incumbent formally returns the mandate minutes before midnight deadline; president to discuss next steps with party representatives Wednesday; Netanyahu stays transitional PM]( [In blow to Netanyahu, vote to fast-track bill on direct election for PM delayed]( By [TOI staff]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [Netanyahu blames Bennett, but it’s his own far-right protégés who doomed him]( [PM paved path to Knesset for Religious Zionism MKs, including Kahanists. Ironically if unsurprisingly, they then refused to tolerate Islamist party Ra’am, blocking his majority]( [Explainer / After Netanyahu failed, here’s Lapid and Bennett’s path to potential government]( By [TOI staff]( From our sponsor [Judaic Art Online Class]( [Dive into Judaic art with this unique online series from My Jewish Learning, perfect for fans of Jewish art from all backgrounds. Next class 5/11: Learn the art of the Ketubah!]( Analysis [Lazar Berman]( [Israel may toss millions of vaccines. Why won’t it give them to the PA instead?]( [With unwanted AstraZeneca doses on the way, and the majority of the Palestinians not vaccinated, there would seem to be a win-win solution. Except it’s not that simple]( [Pfizer to seek FDA approval to vaccinate children ages 2-11]( By [TOI staff]( Times of Israel Podcast [Daily Briefing May 5 – Lapid, Bennett… Rivlin: Who will get president’s vote?]( By [TOI staff]( [Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today]( Top Ops [Minna Bromberg]( [Take it from a fat rabbi: Nobody needs your dieting advice]( [I yearn for a world in which our Jewish communities can be places of belonging for bodies of every size – our fatphobic culture makes that difficult]( [Manya Brachear Pashman]( [What’s ‘Jewing down’? What’s a globalist?]( [Not everyone knows antisemitism when they hear it, especially the more banal terms. Luckily, there’s a quiz for that.]( [Mark Mellman]( [Betty McCollum’s bill in Congress sets a trap for Israel]( [A law that would penalize Israel for prosecuting Palestinian children fails to answer the question of what should be done when the terrorists are children]( [Uri Pilichowski]( [A harsh assessment of the catastrophe at Meron]( [When Jewish leaders abandon the ways of the Torah and resemble charlatans, it’s up to other rabbis, even know-nothings like me, to call them out]( Live updates [LIVE: Most of Joint List to recommend Lapid get mandate to form government]( By [TOI staff]( [Yesh Atid leader now has backing of 56 lawmakers to assemble coalition, more than Netanyahu had after the elections but still short of a majority]( [CRM]( [Hamas terror chief threatens Israel over East Jerusalem evictions]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [Rare statement from military wing leader Mohammad Deif warns Israel will pay a ‘heavy price,’ a day after 2 Palestinians arrested, 10 hurt in clashes at eviction protest]( [Palestinian suspect in West Bank shooting attack said to have US citizenship]( By [TOI staff]( [East Jerusalem man indicted for slapping Haredi Jews on light rail, filming it]( By [TOI staff]( [2,000-year-old oil lamp shaped like a grotesque face found in City of David]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Archaeologists say the bronze item, unusual because it is only half of a lamp, was put in foundation of Roman-era building on Jerusalem’s famed Pilgrimage Road for good fortune]( [Israel to lift all crowd limits at ‘Green Pass’ sports, cultural events]( By [TOI staff]( [Coronavirus cabinet approves plan to lift all remaining restrictions on the vaccinated and recovered at stadiums and in public transportation]( [Israel to open its borders to tour groups from 14 countries this month]( By [TOI staff]( [Damascus: Israeli airstrikes hit targets in northern Syria, killing one]( By [TOI staff]( [Large explosions heard and a fire caused in port city of Latakia; targets also hit in Hama; state media says air defenses engaged missiles; 6 reported wounded]( [Amid fear of further unrest, Temple Mount said closed to Jews indefinitely]( By [TOI staff]( [But holy Jerusalem site reportedly to open on Jerusalem Day; move comes after tense weeks in the capital and around its Old City as Muslims celebrate holy month of Ramadan]( [A city celebrates / Capital readies for solid week of Jerusalem Day festivities]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Netanyahu said to curb Temple Mount access in deal with ultra-conservative rabbi]( By [TOI staff]( [Fast-charging battery startup gets NASA nod for research in space]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Israel’s StoreDot plans to test its battery technology on International Space Station, using zero gravity to learn more about the chemical processes that cause silicon to expand]( [Israel unveils chosen space experiments, from battery cells to leukemia cells]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Back onstage, dance troupes work out the anxieties of the last year]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Yosef Kleinman, the youngest survivor to testify at Eichmann trial, dies at 91]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [One of 110 witnesses at seminal 1961 trial, Kleinman’s testimony helped send notorious Nazi official to the gallows]( [The little-known ‘female Nicholas Winton’ who saved 10,000 Jewish children]( By [Francine Wolfisz]( [Germany says antisemitic crimes up 15% in 2020, far-right attacks on the rise]( By [Matthew Barakat]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Wounded IDF veterans block highway to Jerusalem, demand reform of rehab care]( By [TOI staff]( [Green groups ask High Court to halt secret UAE oil deal signed by state company]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Dutch party equates COVID measures to Nazism on national Holocaust memorial day]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Israel and Lebanon wrap up six-hour-long maritime border talks]( By [Lazar Berman]( [Germany bans fundraising group, saying it aids Hamas, other terror organizations]( By [AFP]( [Tree of Life synagogue selects Daniel Libeskind to lead major renovation]( By [Toby Tabachnick]( [Business management software firm HoneyBook raises $155 million, becomes unicorn]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [NY politician Sheldon Silver released from prison on furlough]( By [MICHAEL BALSAMO]( [US neo-Nazi gets 3 years for plan to target Black church, bogus bomb threats]( By [Matthew Barakat]( [Neo-Nazi who shot dead 3 at Kansas Jewish sites dies on death row]( By [Agencies]( [Harel to buy Shirbit Insurance for a reported NIS 100 million]( By [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Marcel Keinan, a jobs ‘guru’ in Israel for his native Brazilians, dies at 68]( By [Marcus M. Gilban]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved