Ex-pilot minister bids to reroute state’s role in religion * ’Lebanese Muslim posed as ultra-Orthodox, married Brooklyn woman’ * Brain-tweaking research * LA embryo mixup

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Tuesday, November 9, 2021 Presented by [The Boris Mints Institute]( Interview [Tal Schneider and David Horovitz]( [The Orthodox revolutionary: How Matan Kahana aims to revive Israel’s Jewish identity]( [The minister of religious services has overhauled kashrut supervision, and is now turning to conversion, as he seeks to remake the state’s role in religion. Haredi MKs are outraged]( [In wry retort to opposition, PM says no plans to form terror state inside Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Lapid pans ‘hateful’ discourse; Netanyahu suggests MK fabricated assault story]( By [Michael Bachner]( ToI podcast [Daily Briefing Nov. 9 – Can a Modern Orthodox politician change the status quo?]( By [TOI staff]( [Political reporter Tal Schneider and analyst Haviv Rettig Gur discuss ToI’s interview with Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana and his planned reforms for kashrut, conversion]( [Coalition chiefs vow to advance religion and state reforms, enraging opposition]( By [TOI staff]( [Likud MK indicted for graft in plea deal, will avoid jail time]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel said lobbying US to reverse blacklisting of NSO spy firm]( By [TOI staff]( [Report says government was alarmed by Washington’s move, and saw it as an implicit accusation that it is harming American interests]( [Mexico arrests businessman over alleged use of Israeli Pegasus spyware]( By [AP]( [Lebanese Muslim posed as ultra-Orthodox Jew, married Brooklyn woman — reports]( By [TOI staff]( [Rabbi’s wife reportedly tried to question groom’s religious background ahead of wedding but was ignored; FBI, Homeland Security said probing matter after 3 passports found]( Promoted Content [Virtual conference to highlight urgency of ‘transforming’ global institutions]( [Larry Luxner]( [Two former European heads of state, two Nobel Prize laureates and a former Israeli ambassador to the United States are among the 20 speakers discussing global challenges on Nov. 9-10]( Live updates [LIVE: Ministers agree to accelerate immigration of 5,000 Ethiopians amid worsening war]( By [TOI staff]( [Pnina Tamano-Shata, Ayelet Shaked reach agreement to allow people with first-degree relatives in Israel to immigrate, and who were eligible to move to Jewish state under 2015 deal]( Switched before birth [Israel-born doctor, LA clinic accused of mixing up couples’ embryos]( By [AP and TOI staff]( [Both sets of parents sue reproductive health center and its owner Eliran Mor after finding out they gave birth to babies belonging to each other and raised them for months]( Top Ops [Khalil El-Halabi]( [To Professor Gerald M. Steinberg: My son is not a terrorist]( [An open letter: Mohammed el-Halabi could have cut a deal and gone free 5 years ago. Instead, he chose to uphold the truth: He did not channel funds to Hamas]( [Henry Greenspan]( [Kristallnacht: Silence was not the problem]( [Condemnation, especially moralistic condemnation, easily fosters the illusion of ’doing something,’ after which, one can return to not doing anything]( [Hate heaped on top health official during presentation on kids’ vaccines]( By [TOI staff]( [Social media users target Sharon Alroy-Preis during Health Ministry online event aimed at explaining COVID-19 inoculation campaign]( [Interior Minister Shaked roasted for tweet about ‘fake coronavirus disaster’]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Key meeting of panel deciding on vaccines for kids 5-11 will be closed to public]( By [TOI staff]( Archaeology [How Lachish fell: Study reconstructs Assyrian onslaught almost 3,000 years ago]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Israeli, US researchers suggest powerful army quarried and transported 3 million stones in just weeks to build a ramp for battering rams to breach the hilltop stronghold in 701 BCE]( [IDF chief: Army ‘accelerating’ plans targeting Iran’s nuclear program]( By [TOI staff]( [Ahead of resumption of nuclear talks with world powers, Defense Minister Gantz says that if war erupts, Israel will carry out operations that ‘haven’t been seen in the past’]( [Syria says Israel struck near Homs, Tartus in 3rd alleged attack in 2 weeks]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Iran claims to scare off US drones near its war games in Gulf]( By [TOI staff]( [CRM]( Reporter's notebook [With 40,000 delegates, COP26 radiates energy. But will it bring real change?]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Despite high-profile pledges, new ideas and much hard, novel work, the world is still not close to meeting its climate goals, and some are skeptical that Glasgow is the solution]( [Manufacturers say businesses aiming for zero emissions need less bureaucracy]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Police net biggest illegal arms haul in country’s history]( By [TOI staff]( [Dozens of dealers arrested; 40 rifles, 13 pistols and two machine guns seized during year-long undercover operation to stem tide of weapons in Arab communities]( Analysis [Ricky Ben-David]( [Government housing plan seen as just a ‘drop in the bucket’]( [Municipal resistance to more homes, lack of infrastructure, and unaffordable prices must all be addressed to make a dent in the market, analysts say]( [Israeli scientists tweak brains to cause illness, gaining psychosomatic insights]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [After making mice sick using their neurons alone, researchers at the Technion believe they may have laid foundations for brain-based cures to inflammation in humans]( [Hamas hands death sentence to two alleged collaborators with Israel]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Terror group has sentenced 8 alleged Israeli spies in the Gaza Strip to death over the past month]( [Jewish extremist vandalism reported in Palestinian town]( By [TOI staff]( [Lapid meets with congressional Democrats, ending Israel’s long snub of J Street]( By [TOI staff]( [Meeting seemingly first-ever between lawmakers on trip sponsored by dovish lobby and a senior minister, after years of Netanyahu governments boycotting group]( [Moroccan Muslim scholars of Jewish law co-host conference in Israel]( By [Lazar Berman]( [In gesture to Congo’s leader, Israeli group to bring in children for surgery]( By [Lazar Berman]( [1 rabbi to serve them all: Illinois-Iowa Quad City Jews share synagogue, cleric]( By [Dave Schechter]( [As the Jewish population declines in this Midwestern metro area, congregations Beth Israel and Temple Emanuel preserve distinct traditions under a single roof]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Shekel hits yet another 25-year high against the dollar]( By [TOI staff]( [Ethiopian PM said to complain 4 war criminals among those airlifted to Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Labor leader warns party will oppose minister’s plan to build in Jordan Valley]( By [TOI staff]( [Ford taps Israeli water-from-air firm Watergen for in-vehicle drinking water]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Avoiding jail time, man who fatally shot car thief gets community service]( By [TOI staff]( [EU finds antisemitism increased during pandemic, urges better data collection]( By [AFP]( [Palestinian economy starting to rebound, but challenges loom — World Bank]( By [AFP]( [Lemonade buys US data science firm to boost car insurance offering]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Commune-ion / Kanye West calls for a ‘Christian kibbutz’]( By [Shira Hanau]( [Teenager arrested after waving large machete in front of French Jewish school]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Health Ministry office in Nazareth hit by grenade; no injuries]( By [TOI staff]( [Nasty business / Adrien Brody plays target of antisemitism on HBO’s ‘Succession’]( By [PHILISSA CRAMER]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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