Facing Omicron, Israel bans tourists * Friends who flew to visit terror victim’s family barred, sent home on Shabbat * Hanukkah rom-coms * Why the shekel’s ’too strong’

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Sunday, November 28, 2021 [Justice minister: New COVID measures unwarranted without ‘very, very strong reasons’]( By [TOI staff]( [Gideon Sa’ar says new restrictions will hurt economy; Health Ministry chief, interior minister insist Omicron variant must be stopped before it spreads]( [Israel barring tourists, renew travel quarantine rules to contain Omicron variant]( By [TOI staff]( [Full text: Israel’s new rules barring foreign tourists, tightening quarantine]( [Visitors to terror victim’s family turned back at airport, forced to violate Shabbat]( By [TOI staff]( [Two friends from South Africa, who flew out before new restrictions were announced Thursday night, say they were ‘treated like criminals’]( [Authorities scramble to locate 800 Israelis feared exposed to Omicron variant]( By [TOI staff]( [Britain tightens COVID rules as world scrambles to contain Omicron variant]( By [Pan Pylas]( From the blogs [James Inverne]( [One day in the house with Steve]( [Encounters with Stephen Sondheim led me to a deeper understanding of a titan of the theater, the most humane of men, who dealt in contradictions rather than absolutes]( Live updates [LIVE: Ministers okay limited Shin Bet tracking program in bid to head off Omicron threat]( By [Joshua Davidovich]( [Amid opposition to controversial cellphone surveillance, government says tool will only be used for carriers of variant; permission will expire Thursday]( [Love, laughter, latkes: Hanukkah rom-coms are having a moment]( By [Amy Spiro]( [With a new Hallmark film and multiple new romance novels out this year, American Jews have a greater chance of seeing the Festival of Lights reflected in popular culture]( ToI podcast [TOI staff]( [Daily Briefing Nov. 28 – The politics of the Omicron variant]( [Health and science reporter Nathan Jeffay and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur discuss the new coronavirus strain and what it means for Israel]( [Bennett urges ‘caution and minimal risks’ amid Omicron variant uncertainty]( By [TOI staff]( [In jab at China, US praises South Africa’s fast detection of new COVID strain]( By [AFP]( [Shin Bet boosts security for religious affairs minister threatened over reforms]( By [TOI staff]( [Death threats made against Matan Kahana as he pushes to make deep changes to Israel’s religious status quo]( [Kenya arrests Iranian suspected of plotting to attack Israelis – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Local paper says Mohammed Saeid Golabi suspected of being an Iranian intelligence officer active in the country]( [2 US defense officials say Israel hacked Iran’s gas system last month — NYT]( By [TOI staff]( Top Ops [David E. Weisberg]( [Menorahs and abortions]( [The overturning of Roe v. Wade would not be a ruling on freedom of religion; it would simply return to the states full authority to regulate abortions]( [Hilary Faverman]( [Preparing for Hanukkah 2021: Our annual sufganiya taste-test comparison]( [In the ’fancy’ category, one doughnut was so good that we had give it a new name, in honor of its magnificent flavor]( [Man shot dead in northern Druze town]( By [TOI staff]( [Hayum Shahada, 53, from Yarka, gunned down at his place of work in front of customers, bringing number of Arab Israelis killed this year in suspected homicides this year to 96]( [Nurses strike at Haifa hospital after violent assault on staff]( By [TOI staff]( [The tours, events and shows that will light up your Hanukkah]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [CRM]( [European nations condemn Iran’s ‘excessively invasive’ searches of inspectors]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [UK, Germany, France say UN atomic agency representatives subject to intimidation: ‘This is unacceptable and unprecedented’]( [Iranian negotiator arrives in Vienna for resumption of nuclear talks]( By [AFP]( Interview [Shoshanna Solomon]( [Booming global markets kept shekel ‘too strong,’ says ex-Bank of Israel deputy head]( [Weakening of Israeli currency as markets react to Omicron variant shows strong link between shekel and global stocks, says Nadine Baudot-Trajtenberg]( [CRM]( Film review [Lauded indie film uses porn to launch a discussion on Jewish persecution in Romania]( By [Andrew Lapin]( [In Radu Jude’s ‘Bad Luck Banging,’ a teacher’s online sex clip gets parents riled up, and they soon let the worst fly in a cartoonish indictment of society]( More Headlines [Ilhan Omar calls for action over Republican Boebert’s ‘Jihad Squad’ comment]( By [James Anderson]( [US Navy rescues Iranian seamen adrift in Gulf for 8 days]( By [AFP]( [‘Agreement of shame’: Thousands of Jordanians protest major energy deal with Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Iran arrests 67 during water protests, deploys riot police]( By [AFP]( [Israeli held in Belarus on suspicion of smuggling in 2.5 grams of medical marijuana]( By [TOI staff]( [UAE says it will enact largest legal reform in its history]( By [TOI staff]( [Cabinet okays Amir Peretz as IAI board chair over objections of vetting panel]( By [TOI staff]( [Perfectionist. Genius. Icon. That was Stephen Sondheim]( By [Mark Kennedy]( [The daily edition]() [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2021 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved