ToI’s weekly deep dive: The true calculus for hitting Iran * An intel chief ignored * Indyk on Kissinger * 12 Brooklyn Jews on vacation in Syria * Bennett family vacation

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, December 5, 2021 Analysis [Judah Ari Gross]( [War: What Israel talks about when it talks about striking Iran’s nuclear program]( [Israeli officials have regularly called for a ‘credible military threat’ against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, but less discussed is the major conflict that’s almost sure to follow]( [Op-ed / Iran — the gamble, the original sin, and the unthinkable current consequence]( By [David Horovitz]( [Mossad head vows no Iran nukes ‘ever,’ as credibility of military option scrutinized]( By [TOI staff]( Interview [Jacob Magid]( [He led IDF intel gathering on Iran, was ignored and fears Israel is now paying price]( [Danny Citrinowicz, ex-head of Military Intelligence research, says politicians’ inability to adopt a nuanced approach led to ‘colossal’ policy failure, sped up Tehran’s nuke effort]( [US official: Iran backtracked on all compromises; we’re preparing for no deal]( By [AFP and Jacob Magid]( [Blinken says nuclear talks halted because Iran ‘doesn’t seem serious’]( By [Jacob Magid]( [‘Overwhelming’: Israeli virus sleuth researchers work flat-out on Omicron puzzle]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Quantity and location of mutations are ‘big surprise,’ says Prof. Adi Stern, as her team works to build a picture of variant’s origins]( [Israel’s coronavirus czar: We need to consider making vaccines mandatory]( By [TOI staff]( [After outcry, government scraps Shin Bet phone tracking of Omicron carriers]( By [TOI staff]( Interview [Martin Indyk says Kissinger’s Machiavellian tactics helped stabilize Israel, Mideast]( By [JP O’ Malley]( [In ‘Master of the Game,’ his new bio on the former US secretary of state, veteran diplomat Indyk looks at how regional powers were leveraged into living with each other]( [Blinken initiated call with PM, amid doubts Israel actually called off Atarot plan]( By [Jacob Magid]( [US dismayed to find East Jerusalem housing project back on docket of planning committee’s agenda for next week, after Israeli officials leaked that plan was shelved, sources say]( [US envoy to Security Council: Settlement building has ‘reached a critical juncture’]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Analysis / Is the Biden-Bennett honeymoon over? 6 US-Israel issues that are raising tensions]( By [Ron Kampeas]( Inside story [How did 12 Jewish New Yorkers end up vacationing in Syria?]( By [Luke Tress]( [Syrian Jews from Brooklyn visit synagogue in Damascus, call trip ‘extremely normal’; expert says Assad welcoming foreigners to boost reconstruction]( [French president: Difficult to reach nuclear deal if Gulf, Israel not involved]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Macron says talks with Iran should have ‘broader dynamic’ and involve regional powers whose security is directly affected by any accord]( [Analysis / Lapid’s Iran approach seems to be paying off with Western allies… for now]( By [Lazar Berman]( Top Ops [Gitit Levy-Paz]( [So how, in fact, do Haredi women behave?Â]( [Ultra-Orthodox feminists aren’t just changing their own communities, they are posing a wider challenge: Can new and different models be tolerated in the Israeli secular space?]( [Ari M. Solomont]( [When my rabbi took me to the mikvah]( [Listen up educators: Back when sexual abuse was more hidden and we all had the luxury of naivete, my rabbi did everything exactly right by setting clear boundaries]( [Ammiel Hirsch]( [For the love of Israel, we need to say: The Reform Movement is Zionist]( [How could future Jewish leaders write an open, public letter in the middle of a war, missiles raining down on our people, without ever mentioning Hamas?]( [Joshua Koonin]( [Why the Bennett vacation story matters]( [The conduct of the Bennett family suggests that politics rather than a truly perceived grave threat of the Omicron variant drove the PM to curtail air travel]( [Gut tweak can make anyone a ‘morning person,’ Israeli poop analysis suggests]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Scientists examine mailed-in samples and find that early risers share gut bacteria pattern, hope to replicate it to help others get up with the larks]( [Israeli lab raises hyperactive mutant mice for developing ADHD medications]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Bennett’s wife, kids go on vacation abroad despite PM urging against flying overseas]( By [TOI staff]( [After facing criticism, premier says he no longer recommends avoiding international travel due to details learned in past few days about Omicron strain]( [‘Not every decision of ours is perfect’: Bennett responds to uproar over family trip]( By [TOI staff]( [Bennett family vacation said to elicit grumblings from allies as well as PM himself]( By [TOI staff]( Day of the Expulsion [Ignored by the UN, Mizrahi Jews survived pogroms and expulsions, too]( By [Matt Lebovic]( [Persecution of Middle Eastern Jewry ‘has been denied for a lengthy period,’ according to historians advocating for ‘more inclusive’ Jewish memory]( Inside story [Carrie Keller-Lynn]( [Israeli children born abroad are automatically citizens, yet some are locked out]( [Children of Israelis overseas who don’t have Israeli passports can’t enter on foreign documents due to COVID curbs; a long-running High Court petition seeks to change that]( [High Court rejects petition by overseas Israeli families to admit their children]( By [Carrie Keller-Lynn]( [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]( [At 95, and with a new book out, Mel Brooks isn’t thinking about his legacy yet]( By [Jake Coyle]( [CRM]( Times Will Tell [Podcast: Musical sisters bring sound and soul to cello and guitar]( By [TOI staff]( [The Djamchid Sisters began writing their dreamy indie tunes on electric guitar and cello in their childhood bedrooms]( [Jerusalem’s Train Theater takes a short ride to a new playhouse]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( Interview [To grasp modern Israeli-Palestinian melting pot, author advises: Tribe, tribe again]( By [Renee Ghert-Zand]( [Ethan Michaeli’s ‘Twelve Tribes: Promise and Peril in the New Israel’ goes beyond the headlines to reveal the everyday lives of the Jews and Arabs who call the Holy Land home]( Interview [Renee Ghert-Zand]( [Irwin Cotler’s ambitious agenda as Canada’s new special antisemitism envoy]( [As hate crimes against Canadian Jews soar, the respected human rights advocate will work closely with government and community groups to stem bigotry, including on social media]( [ADL: Holocaust denial still prevalent on Facebook, despite ban it imposed year ago]( By [TOI staff]( [UK police probe video of men spitting at Hanukkah party bus, accosting passengers]( By [Agencies]( ToI investigates [A quest to recreate Davidic Jerusalem carves a valley of shadow Palestinians]( By [Nurit Malkin]( [Backed by the state, the Ir David Foundation’s activities in the Hinnom Valley are expanding into Arab olive groves to chisel out a view of history driven by ideology, critics say]( 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]( [Ailing tourism sector takes another hit, as Israel bars tourists to curb variant]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Beating forecasts, Israel sees strong economic rebound in 2021, says OECD]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( Interview [Israeli natural bodybuilder pumped to receive silver medal at world championships]( By [Renee Ghert-Zand]( [Years of tough workouts and strict nutritional intake pay off for 25-year-old Lavie Kafra, who aims to show that hard work and discipline — not drugs — are the key to success]( More Headlines [Court lifts gag on Moshe Hogeg sex charges, including underage prostitution offenses]( By [TOI staff]( [NSO spyware said used to hack phones of State Department officials working in Uganda]( By [TOI staff]( [Umm al-Fahm buffeted by gunfire, arson after deadly shooting]( By [TOI staff]( [In first, Sanhedrin-era building found in Yavne, where sages fled Temple’s ruin]( By [Stuart Winer]( [Jewish far-right pundit Zemmour launches French presidential bid]( By [Stuart Williams and Adam PLOWRIGHT]( [Eitan Biran returns to Italy after Supreme Court rejects appeal from mother’s family]( By [TOI staff]( [Coinbase to buy Israeli company, launch local R&D center]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [19 countries drop support for UN resolution omitting Jewish tie to Temple Mount]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Second chance / Miss Universe contestants model ‘pre-loved’ clothing fashion show]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Netanyahu trial / Netanyahu trial witness says interrogators threatened to destroy his family]( By [TOI staff]( [Whateva, I do what I want / After decades of tormenting Jews, South Park’s Cartman converts to Judaism]( By [Andrew Lapin]( [Tel Aviv ranked world’s most expensive city, overtaking Paris]( By [AFP]( [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? 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