5 Israeli Jews held for spying for Iran * Negev planting halts; coalition bids to defuse crisis * Swastika-draped coffin at Rome funeral * How green-Med diet helps brain

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, January 12, 2022 [Shin Bet arrests 5 Jewish Israelis suspected of spying for Iran]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Suspects photographed sensitive sites in Israel, attempted to get their kids to join army intelligence units; Bennett tells citizens ‘to be vigilant’ against such online attempts]( [11 arrested in clashes as Negev tree-planting resumes, then pauses in climbdown]( By [TOI staff]( [Working to ease coalition crisis, minister brokers temporary deal to halt forestation program pending negotiations]( [FM Lapid calls to halt Negev tree planting amid violent protests, coalition trouble]( By [TOI staff]( [Jewish group’s tree planting sparks coalition turmoil, violent protests in the Negev]( By [Alexander Fulbright and Aaron Boxerman]( [Swastika-draped casket at neo-fascist funeral in Rome sparks outrage]( By [Agencies]( [Catholic leaders denounce procession at local church, which included mourners making fascist salute, as ‘offensive and unacceptable’]( [Yad Vashem puts records of Holocaust victims online]( By [Andrew Silow-Carroll]( [COVID still climbing, with 43,815 new cases detected, but no rise in serious cases]( By [Stuart Winer and TOI staff]( [Seriously ill patients stable at 254; positive test rate climbs to 12.09%; MK Ofir Sofer catches virus]( [Coronavirus cabinet meets for first time in three weeks, makes no decisions]( By [TOI staff]( [Government to bankroll COVID isolation days for salaried workers, self-employed]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( Live updates [LIVE: Bennett accuses Netanyahu of ‘endangering lives’ with rapid test criticism]( By [TOI staff]( [PM charges his predecessor with ‘knowingly lying… just for political gain,’ as ex-premier doubles down on calling ‘inaccurate’ test kits into question]( [Neo-Nazi gets 7 years in US prison for threats to Jewish activists, reporters]( By [Gene Johnson]( [Sentence is the longest to be handed down to a participant of conspiracy involving Atomwaffen Division hate group]( [Man charged with hate crimes for attack on Jew in Brooklyn last month]( By [Luke Tress]( [Tech firm pledges 6-figure sum to Utah synagogue after founder’s antisemitic screed]( By [Shira Hanau]( Analysis [Tal Schneider]( [No longer prime minister, Netanyahu tries to keep Likud crown from slipping away too]( [The opposition leader is busy battening down the hatches, as former allies lay the groundwork to mount challenges for the party leadership]( [Netanyahu held talks with prosecutors on potential plea deal – report]( By [TOI staff]( ToI podcast [Daily Briefing Jan. 12 – Negev tree crisis puts coalition out on a limb]( By [TOI staff]( [Palestinian affairs reporter Aaron Boxerman spotlights hot-button issues for Arab Israelis; health reporter Nathan Jeffay describes Omicron as a very different coronavirus wave]( [Deadly crime wave grips Arabs in Israel ‘by the throat’]( By [Majeda El Batsh and Ben Simon]( [High Court tells interior minister to stop enforcing expired ‘Citizenship Law’]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( Top Ops [Sandra Cohen]( [20 years and counting: My stroke]( [My life didn’t turn out as I expected, which is painful, but on this ’strokaversary,’ I celebrate the blessings made possible by my miraculous medical team]( [Yitzhak Santis]( [When fathers weep]( [A Bedouin child’s violent death. His family’s extra bitter coffee of mourning. And my effort to share the pain in an embrace that said what I couldn’t in words]( [Green Mediterranean diet can slow brain atrophy, Israeli-led study suggests]( By [TOI staff]( [Ben-Gurion University trial shows consumption of green tea, duckweed and walnuts may significantly reduce age-related brain damage, especially among over-50s]( [Elderly Palestinian said to die of heart attack during arrest by Israeli troops]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Amr As’ad, 80, was allegedly violently detained in Jiljilya, near Ramallah; IDF says Military Police are opening investigation into the case]( [IDF soldier moderately hurt in suspected West Bank ramming attack]( By [TOI staff]( [Religious services minister unveils government plan to reform conversion system]( By [TOI staff]( [Matan Kahana touts ‘historic opportunity’ to address problem of close to half a million Israeli residents of Jewish ancestry who are not considered Jewish by state]( [High Court stalls cut to daycare subsidies for children of yeshiva students]( By [TOI staff]( [CRM]( [1st kids’ Omicron ward opens with classes, clowns, and doctors bracing for ‘war’]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Beds likely to fill up within 2 weeks, says Sheba hospital ward director; pleads with parents not to be flippant about variant; says even if illness is mild, long COVID is concern]( [Report: 1 in 3 Israelis offered COVID treatment pill are refusing it]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel cuts quarantine for asymptomatic COVID patients to 7 days]( By [TOI staff]( [Bennett vows to keep economy open ‘as much as possible’ during Omicron wave]( By [TOI staff]( [Amid record case numbers, PM says lockdowns don’t work: ‘I don’t want to see people losing their jobs, closing their businesses’; state to fund compensation for quarantine days]( [COVID infections more than double globally, but death toll stable – WHO]( By [AP]( [EU regulator skeptical on need for additional COVID booster shot]( By [Ethan Freedman]( [As Syria warms to Gulf states, Israel sees opportunity to curb Iran – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Senior diplomatic figure quoted saying 2022 may see reduction of Iranian threat near northeastern border, but adds IDF strike on Tehran’s nukes would bring Lebanese fire on Israel]( [Iran nuclear talks proceeding too slowly, France says]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Argentina fumes after Iranian AMIA bomb suspect spotted at Nicaragua ceremony]( By [Agencies]( [‘A pioneer’: Aura Herzog, wife of one president, mother of a second, laid to rest]( By [TOI staff]( [In eulogy, Isaac Herzog says his mother’s great loves were her family, Israel and ‘good taste, aesthetics… and understanding the big wide world’]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Brooklyn-based marketing firm nixes potential client over its Israel ties]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [Committee advances plans to expand Ariel Sharon Park, central Israel’s ‘green lung’]( By [TOI staff]( [UK group says employee sentenced to 10 years in Iranian prison has been freed]( By [AP]( [National Library board chief resigns over sexual harassment hush money allegations]( By [TOI staff]( [After years of war, European archaeologists return to Iraq for rare finds]( By [Guillaume Decamme]( [Number of youths seeking mental health hospitalization doubled during COVID – report]( By [Stuart Winer]( [US on the ‘threshold’ of living with coronavirus, Fauci says]( By [Issam Ahmed]( [US Muslim group accuses Jewish charities of funding Islamophobia]( By [Asaf Shalev]( [NYC Council member apologizes for comparing vaccine mandates to Nazism]( By [Ben Sales]( [Sign up / ‘Fauda’ creators sell production company to former Disney executives]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Kindling the crazies? / Fauci heard calling GOP senator ‘a moron’ at testy Senate hearing]( By [Issam Ahmed]( [US Justice Department establishing unit focused on domestic terror]( By [Eric Tucker]( [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? 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