Meretz MK who quit says Netanyahu gov’t would be worse * 1st Israel monkeypox case * Aussie PM Morrison out * 57 Dems urge US to probe Abu Akleh death * Wine in the Negev

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Saturday, May 21, 2022 [Meretz MK who quit coalition says ‘alternative to existing government much worse’]( By [TOI staff]( [Rinawie Zoabi insists she’s not walking back resignation, but acknowledges that she doesn’t want to see Netanyahu return to power and may cooperate with coalition from opposition]( [Bennett: Government faces ‘a machine of poison and lies’]( By [TOI staff]( [Joint List MK to submit bill to begin process of dissolving Knesset next Wednesday]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel reports first suspected case of monkeypox in man who returned from Europe]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [Man in his 30s is being isolated and monitored at Ichilov hospital; said to be in good condition; outbreak has now spread to at least 11 countries]( [African scientists baffled by unusual spread of monkeypox cases in Europe, US]( By [Maria Cheng]( [Australian PM concedes defeat, ending party’s 9-year rule; was firm backer of Israel]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Scott Morrison, who recognized west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, congratulates opposition leader Anthony Albanese, whose Labor party supports recognizing Palestine as a state]( [Syria says 3 soldiers killed in Israeli missile strikes near Damascus]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Unconfirmed report claims raid targets Damascus International Airport; state media says air defenses intercept most of the missiles, but damage still caused]( [Lebanese Christian leader calls for Hezbollah’s grip on country to end]( By [Layal Abou Rahal]( [12-year-old boy seriously burned in suspected arson attack in south]( By [TOI staff]( [Police say suspects set phone store alight in Hura; child taken to hospital with second- and third-degree burns all over his body]( [Two children die after becoming locked in car in southern Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [57 House Dems call for US probe into killing of Al Jazeera journalist]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Lawmakers cast doubt on Israeli account that reporter was caught between IDF, Palestinian fire; Israeli envoy fumes that letter ignores fact IDF operated in Jenin amid terror wave]( [Palestinian teen shot dead in clash with IDF during operation in Jenin]( By [TOI staff]( [Army filmed protecting settlers taking down Palestinian flag in West Bank town]( By [TOI staff]( [Zelensky: Only diplomacy can end conflict with Russia]( By [Charlotte Plantive, Dmitry Zaks and Patrick Fort]( [Ukrainian president warns continued fighting ‘will be bloody’; Moscow cuts gas supplies to Finland following NATO application]( [In rare victory, Russia claims to take full control of Mariupol]( By [Elena Becatoros, OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI and CIARAN McQUILLAN]( [Russia halts gas supplies to Finland amid rift over NATO bid, sanctions payments]( By [AFP]( [In the Negev, a new breed of vintners are making the desert bloom]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [With the arid terroir producing a wine that’s ‘fruity but not jammy,’ the vineyards of the Negev are banding together in hopes of being recognized as a formal appellation]( Analysis [Carrie Keller-Lynn]( [Bribery charge against Netanyahu may be weakened but case not over, say experts]( [Credibility of state’s key witness Shlomo Filber is on the rocks after the defense punches holes in prosecution theories]( ToI@10 event [Tickets here! J’lem, May 24: Matti Friedman on Leonard Cohen’s Yom Kippur War tour]( By [TOI staff]( [Join us for the first evening in our ToI@10 series: Author Matti Friedman in conversation with ToI’s David Horovitz at Jerusalem’s First Station — plus a Leonard Cohen cover band!]( Top Ops [David Sedley]( [The blessing of stability: Parshat Bechukotai]( [Just as pirates who lived life on the edge took comfort in the rules of their code, the Torah offers similar security in its equal-opportunity blessings and curses]( [Shoshana Ruerup]( [The parsha’s recipe for personal happiness]( [Walking in God’s ways means observing the Torah’s laws with mindfulness, and thereby coming to achieve enlightenment and closeness with the Divine]( [Moroccan Jews return to their roots with pilgrimage to Meknes]( By [Kaouthar Oudrhiri]( [Visit this week was first of its kind since the 1960s, after the Muslim kingdom restored the city’s Jewish cemetery]( Interview [Broadway’s latest ‘Evan Hansen’ on his new role and being ‘Jasian,’ or Jewish-Asian]( By [EVELYN FRICK]( [Zachary Noah Piser is the most recent Member of the Tribe to take on the iconic character whose coming of age struggle brings audiences together from across the diversity spectrum]( [In new Hopkins, Hathaway film, Jewish family navigates injustice in 1980s New York]( By [Deborah Cole]( [‘Armageddon Time’ premieres to glowing reviews at Cannes; director says he wanted to look at the moment when America lost its way]( [90-year-old Jewish man allegedly pushed to his death in Lyon, France]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Police rule out antisemitism as motive in killing of René Hadjaj, sparking outcry in community who note similarities to two other incidents of French Jews killed in recent years]( [Anti-Israel commencement speaker sparks fresh antisemitism debate at CUNY]( By [Jacob Henry]( [Some CUNY students and faculty have said they’ve felt ‘unsafe’ after Nerdeen Kiswani gave speech at CUNY School of Law graduation ceremony]( [Explainer / White ‘replacement theory,’ the racist, antisemitic belief fueling deadly attacks]( By [David Bauder]( [Minnesota GOP apologizes for video showing Soros as puppetmaster over Jewish Dems]( By [Ron Kampeas]( [7 years after Netanyahu played host, unique travel show back with another top guide]( By [David Bauder]( [In each episode, a different country’s leader serves as tour guide to US journalist Peter Greenberg; following pause for pandemic, latest show visits Tanzania]( [CRM]( More Headlines [Israel ends COVID tests for international arrivals as pandemic continues to recede]( By [TOI staff]( [Under sanctions, Roman Abramovich has seen wealth halved to $7.5 billion]( By [TOI staff]( [Israelis asked to avoid national parks amid fear of fires, falling branches]( By [TOI staff]( [US removes radical Jewish group Kach, 4 others from list of terror organizations]( By [Matthew Lee]( [UK government questions student union head’s election over alleged antisemitism]( By [Michael Horovitz and TOI staff]( [Israel joins 6 other countries in Cyprus to drill evacuations from conflict zones]( By [AP]( [3 more arrested for attacking Jerusalem hospital staff after overdose patient died]( By [TOI staff]( [US, Saudi officials reportedly discussing Biden meeting with crown prince]( By [TOI staff]( [Dubai developer buys site of Florida’s Surfside building collapse for $120 million]( By [AP]( [UK’s Johnson vows to resolve Northern Ireland’s Brexit-related kosher food shortage]( By [Cnaan Liphshiz]( [Looking good / Israeli drama ‘Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ makes Netflix debut]( By [CALEB GUEDES-REED and Gabe Friedman]( [Elon Musk accused of sexual misconduct by private jet flight attendant]( By [AP]( [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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