EU to Israel: Scrap 3,000 settlement homes plan * Tree of Life rabbi to ToI: Evil won’t go away on its own * Intel launches its Israel-sired chip * Greece nixes shechitah

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, October 28, 2021 Presented by [Israel Tech Challenge]( [13 European states call on Israel to halt plans for 3,000 settlement homes]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [A day after US rebuke, UK, France and Germany are among countries saying Israel should ‘immediately’ scrap project]( [Coalition discord as some 3,000 settler homes okayed amid left-wing, US ire]( By [TOI staff]( [In call with Gantz, Blinken said to protest ‘unacceptable’ settlement building]( By [TOI staff and Jacob Magid]( Interview [Tree of Life rabbi: ‘We can’t let evil win, and it won’t go away on its own’]( By [Danielle Ziri]( [3 years after the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that claimed 11 lives, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers speaks about grieving, life after the tragedy and serving as an example to the world]( [US AG says Nazi salute protected under First Amendment]( By [MICHAEL BALSAMO]( [Merrick Garland reaffirms right while defending memo aimed at combating growing threats against school officials; Republicans criticize directive, call for it to be rescinded]( [Biden vows to combat antisemitism in honor of synagogue shooting victims]( By [Jacob Magid]( Analysis [Nathan Jeffay]( [With tourists set to return November 1, are Israel’s COVID gains at risk?]( [One virus expert is worried about importing new cases and new mutations; another says extra infection will be minimal — and that variants will enter with or without tourists]( [COVID positivity rate hits 4-month low as Israel prepares to allow in tourists]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Virus czar says kids’ tests may stop being free, as inoculation set to begin]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( from our sponsor [Join an elite tech training boot camp to work in the high tech industry]( [Israel Tech Challenge is opening additional courses to students of all ages in English as a gateway into the startup world. Learn more here]( [‘Enemy’s goal’ thwarted, Iran general tweets in Hebrew 2 days after cyberattack]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Ali Shamkhani tweets in English and Arabic that the outage failed to provoke rioting; Tehran has blamed a foreign country for attack that crippled gas stations]( [US reacts warily after Iran says nuclear talks will restart next month]( By [AP]( [At regional meeting, Iran urges Taliban to adopt ‘friendly’ approach]( By [AFP]( Top Ops [Shayna Abramson]( [Is ‘Never Again’ simply an empty mantra?]( [Israel’s abstention from a UN statement condemning the Chinese government for its genocide of the Uighurs fills me with shame]( [Shai Franklin]( [Are you racist, or just anti-anti-racist?]( [Jews who have jumped on the anti-Critical-Race-Theory bandwagon are not only paving the way for racism – they are also opening the door to Holocaust denial]( [Jonathan Weinkle]( [After 3 years: Lessons the Tree of Life shooting taught me]( [I now know that everything breaks down – body, mind, soul, society – and have stopped screaming, ’Why can’t things just work?’ Instead, I marvel when they do]( [Francesca Reznik]( [When you’re a Mexican Jew, Halloween and Day of the Dead are complicated]( [The true magic of inheriting two cultures in the 21st century is that I get to pick and choose, without being bound by the ideological shackles of my ancestors]( ToI podcast [TOI staff]( [Daily Briefing Oct. 28 – On being Jewish in Israel]( [Ops and blogs editor Miriam Herschlag and reporter Amy Spiro discuss the new head of the Reform movement in Israel and the ongoing issue of non-Orthodox marriages]( [US State Dept. official acknowledges Israel must approve consulate reopening]( By [Amy Spiro and Jacob Magid]( [Deputy secretary of state tells senators ‘we need the consent of the host government to open any diplomatic facility,’ including a Jerusalem office to serve Palestinians]( [In milestone for nonbinary Americans, US issues 1st passport with ‘X’ gender]( By [COLLEEN SLEVIN]( Interview [The new head of Israel’s Reform movement is cautiously optimistic]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Anna Kislanski, who took the helm of the organization after Rabbi Gilad Kariv was elected to the Knesset, believes the new government could revive the Western Wall compromise deal]( Live updates [LIVE: Arab politicians, mayors block major highways in protest of community crime]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Convoy heading to Jerusalem stops traffic on main roads in central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, to highlight alleged inaction against violence in Arab locales]( [CRM]( [World failing to make crucial climate change advances, report finds]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [As countries submit new data, UN warns that Earth is on ‘catastrophic’ course for global warming by 2100]( [Thousands expected at Tel Aviv climate protest Friday]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Sex offender rabbi Berland begins fraud sentence as followers mass outside jail]( By [TOI staff]( [Shuvu Bonim leader goes to prison for selling fake cures to desperate members of community; supporters hold all-night prayer session; lawyers hope term will be shortened]( [Knesset panel advances budget, with opposition allocated millions]( By [TOI staff]( [Finance Committee approves package to fund government for 2021-2022 for a 2nd, 3rd reading in the plenum after 6-hour session that sees opposition withdraw thousands of challenges]( [Ra’am chief: Netanyahu read me the wonderful speech he’d give on our partnership]( By [TOI staff]( [In leaked recording, Shaked calls Lapid ‘shallow,’ doesn’t commit to PM rotation]( By [TOI staff]( [Top health official’s husband chides police for inaction on death threats]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Meir Preis, husband of Health Ministry COVID expert Sharon Alroy-Preis, tweets: ‘Act now, before it’s too late!’; Bennett pans ‘anti-vaxxers’ behind intimidation]( [Cheap anti-depressant may reduce severe COVID-19, research finds]( By [TOI staff]( [Government set to lift cap on outdoor gatherings as COVID ebbs]( By [TOI staff]( [Intel officially launches ‘most significant’ chip lineup sired in Israel]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Semiconductor giant’s new offerings include ‘world’s best gaming processor’; over 1,000 Israeli engineers worked on ‘largest-ever’ chip hardware development project]( [Israeli biotech startup Immunai raises $215m for drug discovery platform]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Israel Innovation Authority earmarks $69m for food, medical tech projects]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [CRM]( [Greece’s top court nixes ritual slaughter permit, calls for alternative solution]( By [JTA and TOI staff]( [Jewish watchdogs had warned of ‘downstream consequences’ following EU decision last year upholding Belgian bans]( [Hamas sentences six Gazans to death for ‘spying for Israel’]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Military court run by Palestinian terror group says other ‘informants’ have been given life in prison or hard labor; 130 people have been sentenced to death in Strip since 2007]( [Israeli electrical company to cut power to West Bank Palestinians over debts]( By [TOI staff]( More Headlines [Bill to memorialize Kafr Qasim massacre toppled as Arab MKs trade accusations]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Death toll in Sudan rises to 7 as anti-coup protests enter fourth day]( By [AFP]( [Saudi Arabia puts Hezbollah financial arm on terror blacklist]( By [Emanuel Fabian and Agencies]( [Health minister has ‘excellent meeting’ with prospective German chancellor]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Psychiatrist indicted for sexual abuse of patient in Beersheba]( By [TOI staff]( [Visiting Israel, Congolese leader faces billboards accusing him of antisemitism]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Top US general: Chinese weapon test ‘very concerning,’ close to a Sputnik moment]( By [Robert Burns]( [Japan’s Softbank buys $25m stake in Israeli investment firm OurCrowd]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Woman drowns in Dead Sea]( By [TOI staff]( [India’s top court orders probe into use of spyware by Israel’s NSO]( By [AFP]( [‘A party of idiots’: MK angrily leaves Yamina’s WhatsApp group, then returns]( By [TOI staff]( [Red herring / Israeli noshery Sherry Herring opens in NYC — with ‘no Sherry and no herring’]( By [Rachel Ringler]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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