Knesset disbands, sets Nov. 1 elections * Bennett hands over to Lapid, won’t run next time * Op-ed: Lapid’s understated tactics * Vaccines halved kids COVID infections

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, June 30, 2022 Presented by [Atlantis Kosher Resorts]( [Lapid at PM handover ceremony with Bennett: ‘The job is bigger than all of us’]( By [Carrie Keller-Lynn and TOI staff]( [Israel’s 14th premier visits Yad Vashem, vows Israel will always defend itself, hours after Knesset disbands and votes to hold Nov. 1 elections; President Herzog congratulates him]( [Explainer / Yair Lapid’s unlikely rise from TV star to Israel’s incoming prime minister]( By [Agencies and TOI staff]( [Knesset disbands, sets elections for November 1; Lapid to become PM at midnight]( By [Carrie Keller-Lynn]( [Parliament formally disperses a year after inauguration of diverse coalition, sending Israel to its 5th national vote in less than 4 years]( [‘This isn’t how you run a session!’: Knesset sees rowdy, venomous final meeting]( By [Stuart Winer and TOI staff]( [Panel okays 12.5% increase in funds for party election campaigns]( By [TOI staff]( Op-ed [David Horovitz]( [Is the understated Lapid betting a scathing, divisive Netanyahu will defeat himself?]( [The new interim PM managed, briefly, to assemble a coalition that ousted the Likud leader from power. Without Bennett, but with the premiership, how does he aim to repeat the feat?]( [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing June 30: 11th-hour drama as the Knesset officially disbands, finally]( By [TOI staff]( from our sponsor [Kosher in the Bahamas]( [Inspired by Israeli cooking techniques, Atlantis’ Kosher dining service offers contemporary fare with an array of classic and novel dishes. For events and group functions.]( [Bennett announces he won’t run in next elections, hands Yamina leadership to Shaked]( By [Jeremy Sharon]( [In emotional speech, outgoing prime minister lauds his government’s achievements, calls for national unity, says he will ‘remain a loyal soldier of this country’]( [Poll shows Shaked’s Yamina winning 5 seats, capable of giving Netanyahu a majority]( By [TOI staff]( [Likud vows to stymie US visa bill since it eases barriers on Palestinian travelers]( By [Carrie Keller-Lynn and TOI staff]( Live updates [LIVE: In legislative blitz, MKs approve Omicron grants, protection for sex abuse victims]( By [Michael Bachner and TOI staff]( [After Knesset votes to disband and call elections, lawmakers pass last-minute laws agreed on by coalition and opposition, including aid to businesses harmed by previous COVID wave]( [Daily Briefing June 30: 11th-hour drama as the Knesset officially disbands, finally]( [listen to the podcast]( [Ben & Jerry’s Israel, parent company Unilever reach deal to end settlement boycott]( By [Luke Tress]( [Israeli firm acquires right to produce, sell its ice cream in Israel and the West Bank under Hebrew and Arabic names; Israel and supporters hail ‘victory’ against BDS movement]( [Iran reportedly arrests an IRGC general on charges of spying for Israel]( By [TOI staff]( [Citing Iranian and Israeli defense officials, New York Times says Brig.-Gen. Ali Nasiri, who served in the IRGC’s Protection of Information Unit, was detained earlier this month]( [Iran says nuclear deal still possible despite apparent setback at Qatar talks]( By [AFP]( [‘No progress made’: US blames Iran for failure of indirect nuclear talks]( By [Anne Levasseur and Raphaelle PELTIER]( Top Ops [Bracha Goldstein]( [The last day of school: A mother’s lament]( [When the system wasn’t built for your child, when showing up for your child is hard and lonely… still, you (and I) are here. We’ve made it through the year]( [Ethan Tucker]( [R. Prof. David Weiss Halivni – An intellectual and religious tribute]( [He was a magnetic figure, and yet humble, in his perpetual search for greater understanding, probing modern questions without abandoning the past]( [Russians will compete in this year’s Maccabiah Games, but Russia won’t]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Organizers claim Russia and Belarus withdrew four months ago, a day after UK’s Jewish News highlighted website entry showing Russia to play Ukraine in women’s beach volleyball]( [3 Israelis, including IDF commander, lightly hurt in armed clashes at Joseph’s Tomb]( By [TOI staff and Emanuel Fabian]( [Military says Palestinians directed ‘massive gunfire’ at worshipers who came to pray at Jewish shrine in northern West Bank; Col. Roy Zweig taken to hospital with shrapnel wound]( [UNRWA places 6 staffers on leave for incitement in social media posts]( By [TOI staff]( Analysis [Michael Brenner]( [Russia’s antisemitism aimed at Zelensky is a variant of a very old European virus]( [In times of conflict, a Jewish leader’s background can be used as part of a political strategy of defamation; a series of Jewish leaders were assassinated in Europe in the past]( [As NATO expands with Sweden and Finland, Putin slams ‘imperial’ alliance]( By [Max Delany and Dmytro Gorshkov]( [Russian forces leave strategic Snake Island; Ukraine claims they were driven off]( By [FRANCESCA EBEL]( [CRM]( [Pfizer boss Bourla receives $1M. Genesis Prize, pledges funds for Holocaust museum]( By [Sue Surkes]( [Protesting anti-vaxxers greet hundreds of guests at star-studded Jerusalem event; Bourla, son of Greek survivors, to give cash to planned Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki]( [Pharma giant Bayer to set up cybersecurity center in Israel]( By [Ricky Ben-David]( [Court finds 19 men guilty of terrorism-related charges in 2015 Paris attacks trial]( By [NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY and Barbara Surk]( [Salah Abdeslam, the chief suspect in the case, faces up to life in prison without parole, the toughest sentence possible under France’s justice system]( [Jewish lawmaker becomes first female speaker of French National Assembly]( By [Lazar Berman]( [COVID vaccines halved infection in kids during winter, Israeli study finds]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Biggest study of its kind checked medical records of almost 100k children at height of winter wave; found 51% effectiveness against infection and 48% against symptomatic infection]( [Israeli tech works to avert hospitalizations by flagging problems with clashing meds]( By [Nathan Jeffay]( [Billionaire’s daughter pays ‘influencers’ to tout Jewish menstruation laws]( By [Judah Ari Gross]( [Lev Leviev’s daughter Ruthy paid some NIS 150,000 to get secular female social media stars to promote Jewish purity rules, celebrity news journalist Guy Pines reports]( Film review [Is ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ the first good bar/bat mitzvah movie?]( By [Andrew Lapin]( [Despite its theme, the film doesn’t have a particularly Jewish bent – which works to its advantage as it deals with the aspects of the coming-of-age ritual everyone can relate to]( [CRM]( [In Hong Kong, dreams for a new Jewish deli devolve into a war between owners]( By [Jordyn Haime]( More Headlines [Police back down from plans to reroute Mitzpe Ramon pride parade to avoid yeshiva]( By [TOI staff]( [Minor earthquake shakes northern Israel, latest in a series]( By [TOI staff]( [4-month-old boy dies in Elad after being left by father in car for three hours]( By [TOI staff]( [Egypt’s government sponsoring ‘campaign against journalism’ — media watchdog]( By [AFP]( [Former All-star baseman Ian Kinsler to coach Team Israel in 2023 world championship]( By [jacob gurvis]( [No injuries as huge fire ravages building at Maryland Jewish boys camp]( By [AP]( [Israeli cops said to tell Greece that arrested man’s ID number doesn’t match warrant]( By [TOI staff]( [Support for urban renewal moves out to Israel’s periphery]( By [Danielle Nagler]( [Giuliani associate Lev Parnas receives 20-month sentence for campaign finance crimes]( By [Larry Neumeister]( [Chest beating / Putin says G-7 leaders would look ‘disgusting’ topless]( By [AP]( [The cats are back / International artists return to Jerusalem Jazz Festival]( By [Jessica Steinberg]( [Woody Allen tells Alex {NAME} next movie may be last: ‘A lot of the thrill is gone’]( 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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