Despite COVID surge, kids back at school * ’Silent mutations’ help detect cancer, predict survival * Lapid on US pullout: Right move, done wrong * Judo’s full Nelson-Levy

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, September 1, 2021 [With tests and masks, 2.5 million Israeli kids return to school amid COVID surge]( By [TOI staff]( [Officials acknowledge reopening schools could see a further surge in already record virus numbers, but country determined to keep education system open; 250,000 will miss first day]( [As kids head back to class, Bennett says no guarantees schools will stay open]( By [TOI staff]( [Full text: The Education Ministry’s rules for opening schools]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli study proves ‘silent mutations’ can help detect cancer, predict survival]( By [TOI staff]( [Peer-reviewed research at Tel Aviv University shows previously overlooked genome alterations can be used to help identify cancer types and predict patients’ chances of survival]( Live updates [LIVE: Lapid: US pullout from Afghanistan was right decision, done wrongly]( By [TOI staff]( [FM also says Biden administration’s intention to reopen Jerusalem consulate for Palestinians is ‘a bad idea’]( [Biden defends decision to end ‘forever war,’ calls exit ‘extraordinary success’]( By [Sebastian Smith]( [In address to nation as US completes Afghanistan withdrawal, president says he was not prepared for evacuation to become a ‘forever exit’]( [Security, logistics, repair: What next for Kabul’s airport?]( By [AFP]( [US drone strike wiped out Kabul family of 10, brother says]( By [Emal Haidary]( ToI podcast [Daily Briefing Sept. 1 – Back to school for most, with or without rapid testing]( By [TOI staff]( [Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren takes a broad look at the return to the school year, and military correspondent Judah Ari Gross examines Israel’s NIS 500 million loan to the PA]( [Schools to open Wed., with Israel’s per capita COVID rates among world’s worst]( By [TOI staff]( [Minister slams Western Wall COVID limits for not also applying to Temple Mount]( By [TOI staff]( [Decision-making on COVID was ‘defective’ under Netanyahu, ombudsman charges]( By [Raoul Wootliff]( [In scathing report, State Comptroller cites lack of preparation, sidelining of experts, incoherent decision-making, failure to learn from mistakes, vast enforcement discrepancies]( [Israeli study: Pfizer shot safe for highly allergic patients, with supervision]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Israel to issue no further permits for terrestrial oil exploration]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Energy Minister Karine Elharrar pledges a focus on renewable energy to combat climate change; lambasting predecessor, she also vows appointments on merit, not connections]( [Minister threatens to withhold chemical firm’s franchise over royalties probe]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Environment Ministry opens criminal probe into pipeline company’s oil leak]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Larry Silverstein: I decided to rebuild World Trade Center just 2 days post-9/11]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Speaking to Israeli TV, American businessman describes how he bought Twin Towers 7 weeks before the 2001 terror attacks, and how a dermatologist appointment saved his life that day]( Top Ops [Jessica Levine Kupferberg]( [At 12, she knew she wanted to join the IDF]( [I placed my hands on my daughter’s head, blessed her, and sent her off, with thick socks and a chunk of my soul, to serve as a soldier of Israel]( [Yedidia Z. Stern]( [The (non-)draft law for Haredim]( [Lowering the draft age for the ultra-Orthodox to let them leave the army at the usual age sounds like a good idea, but it might just bring down this people’s army]( [Melissa Hoffman]( [The shemitah year calls us to repair a broken food system]( [As developed nations produce more and more food each year, the earth itself is in peril, for true abundance requires rest]( [Philip Reiss]( [Good ideas taken too far: The updated Green Pass]( [I am a strong proponent of the vaccines, but these new regulations will inflate the demand for the booster among those who need it least]( Analysis [Shalom Yerushalmi]( [A government with 2 heads: Bennett and Gantz lead coordinated, opposing policies]( [PM has distanced himself from defense minister’s meeting with PA chief, but they seem okay with each taking a different approach to satisfy coalition’s rightist and leftist bases]( [Headstone for long-forgotten Black cantor unveiled in NJ cemetery]( By [Renee Ghert-Zand]( [With support of friends and interested strangers, researcher Henry Sapoznik dedicates memorial for lauded Yiddish performer Thomas LaRue Jones, who was buried in a potter’s field]( [Bennett picks new chief, ‘Resh,’ for Shin Bet security service]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Until he enters office, the current deputy head of the organization can only be identified by the first Hebrew letter of his name]( [New undercover police unit formed to clamp down on crime in Arab communities]( By [TOI staff]( [After 34-year delay, Pollard handler Aviem Sella promoted to brigadier general]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( Op-Ed [Lazar Berman]( [On DC trip, Bennett’s approach to Iran – and governing – took amorphous shape]( [Premier points at wisdom of his multi-faceted effort against Tehran and spirit of unity in his coalition, but he’ll have to show more boldness going forward]( [First Bahraini ambassador to Israel arrives in country to take up post]( By [TOI staff]( [Both nations hail arrival of Khaled Yousif al-Jalahmah, the Gulf kingdom’s first envoy to Jewish state, as an important step in further developing ties after normalization]( [Interview / Israeli envoy to Dubai says ties won’t be harmed if massive UAE oil deal is axed]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Hurricane Ida levels Jewish family home where Louis Armstrong found inspiration]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Israel extends Gaza fishing zone, lets in more workers despite border riots]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Additional water and goods allowed into the Strip after Palestinians hold violent demonstration along security fence for fourth straight night]( [Palestinians riot along Gaza border for 4th night, after Israel allows goods in]( By [TOI staff and AP]( [Palestinian killed by IDF, allegedly after trying to attack cars in West Bank]( By [TOI staff]( Interview [The Israeli Olympic medalist putting judo competition in a full Nelson-Levy]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Timna Nelson-Levy, born in Jerusalem to American parents, says she felt she also represented the US when she won bronze along with her team at the Tokyo Games]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Member of ‘Beatles’ IS cell set to plead guilty in US court on Syria beheadings]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Israeli boy who died from jellyfish sting in Thailand to be cremated]( By [TOI staff]( [New owners won’t make Politico employees sign pro-Israel mission statement]( By [Gabe Friedman]( [One of last remaining Warsaw Ghetto survivors succumbs to COVID at 96]( By [TOI staff]( [Volvo invests in Israeli developer of testing platform for autonomous vehicles]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Mike Richards now also out as producer of ‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel’]( By [Lynn Elber]( [Rafael wins $80m contract to provide naval warfare systems in Southeast Asia]( By [TOI staff]( [US won’t seek death penalty for California synagogue shooter]( By [AP]( [Jordan orders release of Israeli businessman who contracted COVID while jailed]( By [TOI staff]( [IKEA operator invests in Israeli ‘buy now, pay later’ fintech firm]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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