[Times of Israel](
[The daily edition]( Wednesday, December 29, 2021 Presented by [JNF-USA](
[Gantz hosts Abbas at his home, in PA leader’s first meeting in Israel in a decade](
By [Aaron Boxerman](
[Talks are their second in recent months; Gantz says they spoke of fighting terror, while Abbas adviser says they discussed creating a ‘horizon’ for peace](
[Gantz’s right-wing coalition partners assail him for hosting PA chief Abbas](
By [Michael Bachner](
[Gantz announces series of gestures to Palestinians after meeting Abbas](
By [Aaron Boxerman and Jacob Magid]( [Israeli civilian injured by gunfire from Gaza; IDF shells Hamas posts in response](
By [TOI staff](
[Military says man was working on maintenance of recently completed border barrier; 3 Palestinians said wounded in retaliatory strike](
[Rare Israeli permits enable 500 Gazans to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem](
By [AFP and TOI staff](
[As COVID outbreak intensifies, Israel said mulling ‘herd immunity’ policy](
By [TOI staff](
[Almost 3,000 new cases seen for 2nd straight day, but serious cases stay same; milder, fast-spreading Omicron reportedly prompts Health Ministry to weigh aiming for mass infections](
[Vaccine effect fades faster for cancer patients; boosters restore it – Israeli study](
By [Nathan Jeffay](
[In Israel’s first suspected Omicron death, vaccinated woman succumbs to virus](
By [TOI staff and Tal Schneider]( FROM OUR SPONSOR
[Make your tax-deductible gift for the land and people of Israel now](
[With your support, JNF-USA makes the impossible possible in so many ways. Help write the next chapter in the Jewish peopleâs 4,000-year-old story with a gift before Dec. 31.](
[Israel drops dozens of countries from Omicron no-fly list, but US, UK, Canada remain](
By [TOI staff and Tal Schneider](
[Israelis no longer need special permission to fly to much of Africa, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Germany, and the Scandinavian nations; 600 new Omicron cases confirmed](
Top Ops
[Dan Perry](
[Everyday images of an extraordinary year](
[PHOTO ESSAY: COVID and a broken ankle kept me in Tel Aviv, with my trusty iPhone to tell a story in pictures. What a strange time itâs been](
[Steven Windmueller](
[America has bigger problems than Donald Trump](
[He exploited the discontent, anger, and worries of millions, but he didnât create it, and we must reckon with it to heal the profound social disconnect in the US](
[Sarah Bernstein](
[All eyes on Bethlehem](
[Church leaders in Israel are experiencing harassment from Jewish youth conditioned to be fearful of a community that long ago stopped posing a threat](
[Jonathan Muskat](
[Is ice skating a proper Sabbath activity?](
[Iâm a rabbi and I keep Shabbat differently than Olympic contender Hailey Kops does, but I appreciate her passion, commitment, and the complexity of her approach]( [Chief rabbi freezes all conversions to Judaism in protest of planned reforms](
By [Stuart Winer and TOI staff](
[David Lau tells PM framework being proposed by religious affairs minister will split the Jewish people](
Live updates
[Close to 2,000 hospitalized with flu in Israel, says Health Ministry](
By [Amy Spiro](
[More than 600 children among those with serious cases of flu so far, says ministry, urging general public to get flu shot](
ToI podcast
[TOI staff](
[Daily Briefing Dec. 29 – Gantz invites Abbas over; ‘lunacy’ is Hebrew word of 2021](
[Palestinian Affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman examines the unexpected summit, while Hebrew sister site Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren sounds off on ‘tirlul’](
Beijing 2022
[Orthodox New Jersey teen is Israelâs newest Olympic skating hope](
By [Amy Spiro](
[Hailey Kops will team up with veteran Israeli Olympian Evgeni Krasnopolski on the ice at the 2022 Winter Games]( [CRM]( Netanyahu trial
[Key state witness ends testimony, says was ‘very difficult’ to go against Netanyahu](
By [Michael Bachner and TOI staff](
[Nir Hefetz, a former aide to ex-premier, wraps up 5 weeks of hearings in high-profile corruption trial, telling reporters: ‘I only went with the truth’](
[Netanyahu trial / Ex-aide: Netanyahu pushed Adelson to set up Israel Hayom ‘to take down’ Yedioth](
By [TOI staff]( Interview
[Ricky Ben-David](
[Proposed online censorship bill more intrusive than in any other democracy — expert](
[So-called âFacebook Bill,â meant to block harmful content on social media, is far too broad, opens door to harm freedom of speech, says IDIâs Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler](
[Sa’ar reopens candidates list for Supreme Court justices amid gridlock](
By [TOI staff]( [‘A true friend of Israel’: Bennett, Lapid eulogize ex-Senate majority leader Reid](
By [Jacob Magid](
[Premier calls Nevada Democrat a ‘true American patriot,’ says his commitment to Jewish state will never be forgotten; FM lauds significant contribution made to bilateral ties](
[Obituary / Democrat Harry Reid, former US Senate majority leader, dies at 82](
By [AP and TOI staff]( [Harry Reid, the two-fisted majority leader with deep Jewish ties](
By [Ron Kampeas]( [US presidents, lawmakers mourn former Senate ‘giant’ Harry Reid](
By [AP](
Film review
[The tragedy of Joel Coenâs âMacbethâ is the breakup of a great Jewish filmmaking duo](
By [Amelia Merrill](
[But it serves no critical or artistic purpose to judge the film – in theaters since Dec. 25 and debuting on AppleTV Jan. 14 – by what it may have been with Ethan Coen onboard]( [After reported Syria strike, Israel says wonât let Iran bring âgame-changingâ arms](
By [Judah Ari Gross and AP](
[Latakia fires doused hours after alleged Israeli attack; in visit to air force base, Gantz urges countries in region to stop letting Tehran stream weapons through their territory](
[US sees possible ‘modest’ progress in Iran nuclear talks](
By [Julia ZAPPEI and Shaun Tandon]( [CRM]( [Despite pandemic, poverty rate dropped in 2020 due to government aid — report](
By [TOI staff](
[National Insurance Institute says rate of poor Israelis fell 0.6% to 21%; estimates quality of life rose by 2.4%, whereas without state payouts it would have dropped by 10%](
More Headlines
[Fast-tracked plan to double Golan population is a minefield — nature advocacy group](
By [Sue Surkes](
[Justice minister backs legalizing illegal outpost where terror victim studied](
By [TOI staff](
[Court orders $13m paid to Jewish National Fund over 21-year-old botched lease deal](
By [Sue Surkes](
[Former SodaStream CEO and associate indicted for insider trading](
By [TOI staff](
[Intel appoints 10 Israeli executives to senior global positions](
By [Ricky Ben-David](
[Man found dead in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon River](
By [TOI staff](
[Polish opposition chief says hacking scandal tied to NSO Group a crisis of democracy](
By [AP](
[Alibaba may stop shipping to PA, which won’t deliver packages with ‘Israel’ on them](
By [TOI staff](
[Man shot dead in northern town, becoming 124th Arab victim this year](
By [TOI staff](
[White supremacist gets second life sentence for deadly Poway synagogue shooting](
By [Elliot Spagat](
[Gender equality debate leads to brawl in Jordan parliament](
By [AFP](
[The flip side / Robo-chef cooks up customized veggie burgers at Israeli restaurant](
By [AFP]( [The daily edition]()
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