Israel said to drill for ’massive attack on Iran,’ with US officer present * ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg * Found: Oldest evidence of humans in Israel * Gantz in Bahrain

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Wednesday, February 2, 2022 [Israel Air Force drilled ‘massive attack on Iran’ in presence of US officer – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Classified military exercise involved dozens of warplanes over the Mediterranean, TV report says]( [Thousands of Iranian teachers stage strike in protest over pay]( By [AFP]( [Iranian state TV streaming site targeted with anti-government message]( By [AP]( [ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg from ‘The View’ for ‘hurtful’ Holocaust comments]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Network tells co-host to take a two-week break ‘to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments’; move comes despite apologies for saying Nazi genocide ‘not about race’]( [Whoopi Goldberg apologizes after claiming Holocaust was not about race]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing Feb. 2: The big whoop over Amnesty’s ‘apartheid’; Holocaust and race]( By [TOI staff]( Archaeology [Scientists find oldest evidence of humans in Israel — a 1.5 million-year-old bone]( By [Luke Tress]( [An ancient vertebra from an archaic hominin species child gives ‘unambiguous’ evidence of migrations out of Africa, Israeli researchers say]( [Israeli study finds early humans knew to situate hearth in cave’s optimal spot]( By [TOI staff]( [Gantz lands in Bahrain to sign security agreements, in first official visit]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Defense minister to meet top officials, including the king, during his lightning visit to the Gulf country; will also visit US Navy’s 5th Fleet]( [Laser-based defense array to be deployed within year, Bennett says, speeding rollout]( By [Lazar Berman and Judah Ari Gross]( [US to send warship, fighter jets to UAE after missile attacks by Iran-backed Houthis]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [US demands ‘thorough’ criminal probe into troops who left bound Palestinian to die]( By [Jacob Magid]( [State Department says it remains deeply concerned by death of Omar As’ad, 78, at hands of Israeli soldiers, calls for ‘full accountability’ by those responsible]( [‘Absurd’: US rejects Amnesty accusation of Israeli apartheid against Palestinians]( By [TOI staff]( [Gantz laments death of elderly Palestinian man left bound in the cold by soldiers]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Unrepentant Deri vows to return to Knesset, a day after tax offense sentencing]( By [TOI staff]( [Shas party leader claims case went to court only because of his Sephardic heritage, says he’ll run in the next election and ‘there is nothing to prevent it’]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [The damaging final days of an admirable attorney general]( [Mandelblit worked assiduously to protect the essential interests of justice, democracy and the national good… until almost the very end of his term]( Top Ops [Stephen Bush]( [Whoopi Goldberg is almost right, while being so entirely wrong]( [If you take her claim to its logical conclusion, racism against Jews is based on lies and racism against black people based on truth. That’s worrying (and incorrect)]( [Mia Raskin]( [What I learned in my first month as an observant Jew on a Division I basketball team]( [I always thought keeping Shabbat would get in the way of my playing college ball. Then I hosted the whole team for a traditional Friday night dinner]( Live updates [LIVE: Labor and Meretz warn okaying illegal outpost Evyatar will endanger coalition]( By [TOI staff]( [Left-wing parties say retroactively authorizing West Bank settlement would be ‘destructive,’ violate agreements that serve as basis for government]( [Mandelblit said to have okayed illegal West Bank outpost just before retiring as AG]( By [AP and TOI staff]( [Reports say outgoing attorney general approved deal for Evyatar, paving the way for settlers to return to site; Meretz lawmakers pan move as reward to ‘criminals’]( [Cabinet, Knesset slated to vote on appeals to ‘Citizenship Law’ next week]( By [TOI staff]( [NSO offered US security firm ‘bags of cash’ for access to cell networks — report]( By [TOI staff]( [Washington Post: Whistleblower told US Justice Department that Israeli spyware firm tried to gain access to network used by Americans traveling abroad; US lawmaker: ‘Really fishy’]( [FBI confirms purchasing Pegasus spyware, but denies using it]( By [TOI staff]( [Suspected oil spill at sea could be a major regional pollution event, ministry warns]( By [TOI staff]( [Environment Minister Zandberg says emergency plans to be readied as officials scramble to assess threat from ‘suspicious patches’ 20-40 kilometers from shore]( [Environment Ministry says suspected oil spill detected off coast of Netanya]( By [TOI staff]( Analysis [Nathan Jeffay]( [Bold or shortsighted? Praise and outrage for Israel’s abolition of kids’ quarantine]( [Doing away with isolation for kids after exposure to virus at Omicron’s peak is ‘devastating’ error in policy, says expert, but another thinks it’s a logical way to deal with wave]( [COVID cabinet votes to narrow usage of ‘Green Pass’ system]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Pfizer asks FDA to authorize COVID-19 vaccine for US kids under 5]( By [lauren neergard and MATTHEW PERRONE]( [Omicron may infect another 2.5 million Israelis on wave’s downswing, experts predict]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [We’re after the peak, but next 2 weeks likely to be just as bad as last 2, says Hebrew U. team modeling infection patterns; 4th shot credited with reducing hospital load by 30%]( [Omicron subvariant more transmissible, but may not cause worse illness — expert]( By [TOI staff]( [The emperor’s new clothes are digital: Israeli designers shape virtual fashion world]( By [Viva Sarah Press]( [Israelis draw acclaim as they carve out a new niche for the future of fashion with digital clothing designs]( [Budding market: Lucrative cannabis industry looks to leverage ex-politicians’ sway]( By [Ilan Ben Zion]( [Check Point acquires Israeli startup Spectral to offer developer-first security]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [CRM]( [Congregants forced to pay legal fees of ‘antisemitic’ protesters outside synagogue]( By [Andrew Lapin]( [Judge rules that lawsuit against rallies denouncing ‘Jewish power’ outside Michigan synagogue for 18 years was ‘frivolous,’ week after appeal sent to Supreme Court]( [Biden’s antisemitism monitor nominee Deborah Lipstadt to get confirmation hearing]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [New York police arrest man for attacking Jew in suspected hate crime]( By [Luke Tress]( Interview [Disqualified by a Christian adoption agency, a US Jewish couple talks about identity]( By [Asaf Shalev]( [Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram say they were outspoken about their Jewishness, though they suspected it might be an issue – but that didn’t stop the discrimination from hurting]( [Scarred by attacks, Jewish communities in US consider enhancing security measures]( By [Haleluya Hadero]( [Push comes amid heightened fears about the vulnerability of Jewish institutions and antisemitic incidents]( [Ex-lecturer arrested on suspicion of emailing UCLA shooting threat, Jewish slurs]( By [STEFANIE DAZIO and COLLEEN SLEVIN]( [Anti-vaccine protesters bearing hate symbols spur outrage in Canada]( By [Agencies]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Cyprus police to reexamine UK woman’s gang rape claim against Israelis]( By [AFP]( [French police arrest 16 teachers at ultra-Orthodox school for alleged student abuse]( By [Agencies]( [London police unit sent each other racist, sexist jokes, made light of Holocaust]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Osem puts off price hikes as consumers, ministers push against paying more]( By [Tobias Siegal]( [NY Jewish school for kids with learning disabilities to inaugurate new campus]( By [julia GERGELY]( [Boy, 12, killed in Jerusalem apartment fire]( By [TOI staff]( [Commander of Hamas cell convicted in 2019 slaying of soldier-student]( By [TOI staff]( [Former judge Dvora Berliner to head Meron disaster inquiry]( By [Tobias Siegal]( [African Union members set for rare clash as Israel ties split bloc]( By [Robbie COREY-BOULET]( [NY congregation aims to oust worshipers at Rhode Island’s Touro, oldest US synagogue]( By [Steve LeBlanc]( [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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