1,300 said trapped in Mariupol theater * 12,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel * PM to US: Don’t delist IRGC * Israel, 9th happiest * Slain Broadway vocal coach mourned

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Friday, March 18, 2022 [130 rescued from Mariupol theater but 1,300 remain trapped, says Ukrainian official]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Ukraine’s human rights commissioner says rescue work is ongoing after building destroyed in Russian airstrike; Moscow claims troops are fighting on streets in city center]( [Russian missiles hit plane repair plant near Lviv airport; no casualties reported]( By [Carrie Keller-Lynn and Agencies]( [Smell of death, bodies in the streets: Fleeing Ukrainians recount ‘hell’ in Mariupol]( By [Liz Cookman]( [LIVE: 1 dead in Kyiv from missile debris; concerns fighting is spreading to west Ukraine]( By [TOI staff]( [Downed rocket shrapnel hits residential building in capital; cruise missiles hit Lviv airfield; armed forces say 2 projectiles intercepted; Biden calls Putin ‘murderous dictator’]( [To avoid attack, Israel said to coordinate on its Ukraine field hospital with Russia]( By [TOI staff]( [Jerusalem reportedly notifies Moscow of plans, giving exact coordinates in effort to ensure medical base is not hit; UN says Russia has carried out 43 attacks on hospitals]( [17 tons of equipment for Israeli field hospital en route to Ukraine]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel Police sending delegation to Poland to assist refugees fleeing Ukraine]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Dozens of Jewish families manage to flee besieged city of Mariupol]( By [Sue Surkes]( [‘Mariupol looks like Chernobyl,’ says Vika Korotkova, who spent 2 weeks in shelters with husband, daughter; Viktoria Smyrnova makes contact after two weeks without internet]( [‘Jewish soup’ is keeping soldiers and refugees warm at the Romanian-Ukrainian border]( By [MARCEL GASCÓN BARBERÁ]( [Moscow accused of war crimes as its deliberate attacks on Ukraine’s civilians mount]( By [Danny Kemp and Dmytro Gorshkov]( From the blogs [Evan Gottesman]( [Iron Dome may not be Ukraine’s silver bullet, but Israel can still help Kyiv]( [While the US and parts of Europe have started providing lethal aid, Jerusalem is framing even the transfer of Israeli tech to Ukraine via a third party as too risky]( [US adds $800m in military aid to Ukraine, including drones, anti-tank weapons]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Batch includes 800 Stingers, 2,000 Javelin missiles, 100 tactical drones, 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and 25,000 helmets]( [Analysis / Calling opponents ‘gnats,’ Putin signals repression using Stalin show trial language]( By [AP]( [‘We didn’t see any Nazis’: Russian POWs speak on fighting a war they claim to oppose]( By [TOI staff]( [Over 12,000 Ukrainians have fled to Israel, 8,000 of them ineligible for citizenship]( By [TOI staff]( [According to Shaked, 3,650 are eligible to immigrate under Law of Return; 1,000 have left by choice or been refused entry since start of Russian invasion]( [Horowitz slams Shaked for refusing medical insurance for Ukraine refugees]( By [TOI staff]( [13 Holocaust survivors, wounded Ukrainians rescued and airlifted to Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [PM, Lapid urge US not to delist IRGC as terror group: ‘Don’t abandon closest allies’]( By [TOI staff and Agencies]( [Bennett, foreign minister say they ‘have a hard time believing’ the Biden administration will follow through with reported move amid nuclear deal, saying it’s ‘insult to victims’]( [Warning against Iran deal, Israel marks 30 years since attack on Argentina embassy]( By [TOI staff]( [At least 280 people executed in Iran in 2021, including 3 children, UN expert says]( By [AFP]( ToI investigates [Israel has opened its arms to Ukrainian immigrants. But will they have equal rights?]( By [Amy Spiro]( [Many new immigrants expected to join the ranks of those with ‘no religion,’ leaving them unable to be married in Israel; rabbinate suspicion of Jewish status will only grow sharper]( [Israel jumps to 9th in World Happiness index, its highest-ever ranking]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Finland again tops the UN-sponsored list, with the US in 16th, Britain 17th, France 20th; research was completed before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine]( [Preparations underway for Zelensky Knesset speech, amid fears of low MK turnout]( By [TOI staff]( [Tech personnel are working to ensure a secure connection and allow lawmakers to connect remotely; speech will also be broadcast live in central Tel Aviv square]( [Ukraine embassy: While Russia commits genocide, Israel nitpicking over each refugee]( By [TOI staff]( [Report: Bennett’s political partners warned him Ukraine mediation could backfire]( By [TOI staff]( Times Will Tell [TOI staff]( [Podcast: Grandma’s gefilte fish — or chraime — comes to forefront at Foodish]( [A chat with Merav Oren, CEO at the culinary arm of Anu — Museum of the Jewish People, which aims to map the food of the Jewish people]( Obituary [Slain Broadway vocal coach and ‘honorary Jew’ is mourned by the cantors she nurtured]( By [Jacob Henry]( [Barbara Maier Gustern, 87, died March 16 after an unprovoked attack. Her students recall her knowledge of Jewish music, which she picked up working for years in a synagogue]( Top Ops [Joanne Greenaway]( [What we miss when we ignore the music]( [Parshat Tzav is at risk of seeming humdrum, given its list of sacrifices, but the cantillation reveals one of the most dramatic moments in Moses’ leadership]( [Sarah Tuttle-Singer]( [On Purim, we reach the sea]( [We met near the shuk and we took a walk, drunk, stumbling over our own four feet, and she kissed me and no one noticed, because everyone was dancing and everyone was drunk]( [4 East Jerusalem residents charged with Hamas ties, planning attacks during Ramadan]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Prosecutors accuse Sur Baher man of contact with terror group officials, conducting weapons training in Turkey; orphan charity allegedly funneled money for terror purposes]( [Can Hamas use Turkey’s rapprochement with Israel to its advantage?]( By [Agencies]( [Two Palestinians arrested for shooting at IDF troops in West Bank]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( Inside Story [Ron Kampeas]( [AIPAC hates the Iran deal, but it’s backing 27 Dems who supported the 2015 accord]( [Endorsements raise eyebrows among Jewish Republicans, but sources say pro-Israel lobby wishes to maintain a bipartisan reputation by not alienating the Democratic party]( [Nuclear talks, Ukraine war helped secure release of British-Iranians — analysts]( By [Charles ONIANS]( [Israel moves forward on laser-based rocket defense, will begin initial procurement]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [While PM Bennett previously said system would be deployed in trial on Gaza border within the year, officials say such a step is at least a few years off]( [CRM]( [Amid centuries of squabbles, Christians unify to restore holiest Jerusalem church]( By [Areej Hazboun and Joseph Krauss]( [Ties improve among the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches as they take on large-scale project at the Holy Sepulchre]( More Headlines [12-year-old Bedouin boy seriously hurt after grenade explodes in backyard]( By [TOI staff]( [British regulator revokes UK license of Russian state-funded broadcaster RT]( By [AP]( [Four more Saudi Arabia executions brings total to 100 since start of year]( By [AFP]( [Failure to launch: Russian-European Mars mission suspended over Ukraine invasion]( By [AFP]( [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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