Cops admit failings at Abu Akleh funeral, withhold report * Israel joke indicated Google AI was ’sentient’ * 1st cultivated fruit trees * Comic Judy Gold crosses the line

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, June 16, 2022 Presented by [Bar Ilan International School]( [Police won’t release findings of internal probe into conduct at Abu Akleh funeral]( By [TOI staff]( [Commissioner admits one can’t ‘remain indifferent’ to scenes of cops striking pallbearers, but faults ‘rioters’ for disturbing procession]( [Two Palestinians indicted for deadly Ariel terrorist attack in April]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Study: World’s first cultivated fruit trees planted 7,000 years ago in Jordan Valley]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Analysis of charcoal from Tel Tsaf dig reveals olive and fig tree wood, indicating first examples of orchards in an advanced, wealthy society]( [Google engineer says AI’s Israel joke helped drive his belief it was sentient]( By [TOI staff and AFP]( [Blake Lemoine says he reached his controversial conclusion, in part, after the system gave a cheeky response to his ‘trick question’ on the Jewish state]( [Is it alive?: Google suspends engineer who claims their AI system seems ‘sentient’]( By [Glenn Chapman and Julie JAMMOT]( from our sponsor [Online English MA in Political Studies: Politics & Religion in the Middle East & Beyond]( [Earn your MA online, in English, from anywhere and advance your career in academia, policymaking, diplomacy, conflict resolution, or the clergy. Learn from world-renowned faculty.]( [US pushing Israel to avoid unilateral steps in lead-up to Biden visit]( By [Jacob Magid]( [Washington particularly concerned about Israeli plan to advance ‘doomsday’ settlement construction in E1 area, with PA threatening to downgrade ties if such steps proceed]( [Israel said planning to show Biden laser defense system, seeking partnership]( By [TOI staff]( [Israel to allow overflights to and from Qatar during soccer World Cup]( By [Michael Bachner]( [Israel to allow 2,000 more Palestinian workers to enter from Gaza]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Defense officials eventually plan to let in a total of 20,000 from blockaded Strip, almost three times the number as of mid-2021; new policy contingent on ‘security stability’]( [Gazan aid worker convicted of embezzling millions for Hamas]( By [Aaron Boxerman]( [Relying heavily on Shin Bet confession and classified evidence, court convicts Mohammad el-Halabi of diverting funds to terror group]( Analysis [Carrie Keller-Lynn]( [Opposition previews plans to remake composition of the Supreme Court]( [Bill would put appointment of justices in top court under government and Knesset control; unlikely to pass this Knesset; seen as an advertisement for return of right-wing coalition]( Live updates [LIVE: UN court sentences 2 Hezbollah members to life over 2005 murder of Rafik Hariri]( By [Michael Bachner]( [In defendants’ absence, appeals chamber hands Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi the heaviest punishment it can issue, over killing of Lebanse PM]( [Daily Briefing June 16: Biden’s coming, Abbas is annoyed and the deficit is down]( [listen to the podcast]( [Yamina rebel Orbach said nearing deal to defect to Likud]( By [TOI staff]( [Report says lawmaker was promised 19th spot on Likud’s electoral slate for next election, plus a ministerial role; coalition fears preliminary Knesset dispersal vote next week]( [Sa’ar taps former military advocate general Afek as deputy AG]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli travel warning for Turkey to remain until Iran terror cell caught – report]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli, Turkish security forces working to nab Iranian agents still thought to be in country; Ankara said to convey ‘blunt’ warning to Tehran not to use its territory for attacks]( [Ex-IRGC commander claims Iran dealing constant confidential ‘blows’ to Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Lapid thanks Turkish FM for help thwarting Iranian attacks on Israelis]( By [Lazar Berman and TOI staff]( [Cost of consumer goods up 4.1% in past year, as housing prices keep climbing]( By [Luke Tress]( [Consumer Price Index shows a 0.6% increase last month, with the cost of fruit surging; home prices up 15.4% in 12 months]( [CRM]( Top Ops [Stacey Aviva Flint]( [Juneteenth and Torah: Liberation through water]( [The federal US holiday offers a chance to try to understand how we got so emotionally stagnant – so dry – as to enslave other human beings]( [Ezra ben-Pesach]( [When the sun bled]( [The war that took Raz Guterman did not deliver its promise of ’Peace to the Galilee’ – still, the death of this staunchly secular kibbutznik was a Holy sacrifice]( [Russia summons Israeli envoy for clarifications on Damascus airport strike]( By [Lazar Berman and Emanuel Fabian]( [Deputy foreign minister says Moscow not satisfied with Jerusalem’s explanations of Friday attack that shut down air traffic]( [2 Hezbollah men to be sentenced in absentia for 2005 killing of Lebanese PM Hariri]( By [AFP]( [Celsius, huge crypto lender with Israel ties, freezes withdrawals as markets plummet]( By [TOI staff and AP]( [Celsius Network, which has dozens of employees in Israel and whose Israeli former CFO is a suspect in a fraud case, tries to stop meltdown amid liquidity plight]( [Fundraising fears overtake hiring as lead concern for Israeli startups, survey finds]( By [Luke Tress]( Interview [Can you laugh at that? Comedian Judy Gold on where to draw the line – then cross it]( By [Cathryn J. Prince]( [The comic, a proud gay Jewish mom, is moderating a June 16 panel on humor in today’s world where working comedians will weigh in on how they navigate hatred and hypersensitivity]( [Israeli researchers develop gene-editing technology to fight HIV virus]( By [Luke Tress]( [Scientists from Tel Aviv University use CRISPR to modify body’s disease-fighting type B white blood cells, in what may become a treatment for the illness]( [Zelensky meets with leaders of France, Germany and Italy; Macron decries ‘massacres’]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Sirens sound as Western European leaders, Romanian president arrive in Kyiv; in beleaguered Irpin, French president denounces ‘barbarism’ of Russian attacks]( [Biden pledges $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine to curb Russian offensive]( By [Mike Corder and Lolita C. Baldor]( [CRM]( More Headlines [In expedited process, Gantz to meet with candidates for IDF chief in coming days]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [A week before deadly Meron crush, officials expressed grave concerns over safety]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli startup on track for ‘recharging roads’ project at Italy’s Bergamo Airport]( By [Sue Surkes]( [With tensions running high, IDF to hold drill near border with Lebanon]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Argentina says Iranians detained on grounded flight are not Quds Force members]( By [AFP and TOI staff]( [Defense Ministry to deliver first new advanced ‘Eitan’ APC to IDF]( By [Emanuel Fabian]( [Labor federation threatens work dispute amid wave of violence against health staff]( By [TOI staff]( [Ben & Jerry’s said to force new employees to watch videos on Israel, Palestinians]( By [TOI staff]( [Israeli antisemitism envoy: Conservatives, like Israel, are mistreated by media]( By [TOI staff]( [Judge orders Yeshiva University to recognize LGBTQ organization]( By [Andrew Silow-Carroll]( [Complex harmony / Israeli musician woos Iranian fans with Persian melodies]( By [Paul Raymond and Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi]( [In historic first, Morocco faces Israel in quiet basketball diplomacy match]( 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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