ToI’s weekly deep dive: US Jews work to reinforce wall between Church & State * Earliest flute in Mideast found, replicated * Podcast: What Matters Now to Jonathan Spyer

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, June 11, 2023 [Jewish activists lead charge against inserting religion back into US public schools]( By Cathryn J. Prince With over 1,600 bills nationwide seeking to instill religious values in state educational institutions, advocacy groups protest the ‘crumbling wall’ between church and state Op-ed David Horovitz [It’s not too late for Netanyahu to do the right thing]( Much of the harm he has done to Israel these past 5 months defies rational explanation even from his point of view. He won’t be easily forgiven, but he must start to undo the damage [Analysis / Wrangling over nominations for judicial selection panel strains overhaul talks]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn Interview [Polish official says don’t compare WWII suffering of Poles, Jews: ‘All were victims’]( By Lazar Berman Poland’s deputy FM Pawel Jablonski, visiting Israel as the two countries look to mend ties, says his compatriots are wrongly painted as perpetrators Analysis Jeremy Sharon [As Arab homicide rate soars, government apathy comes into focus]( A failure to prioritize the fight against organized crime, infighting between Arab criminal gangs, and deep-seated societal problems are all part of the problem, say MKs, experts [Hadash-Ta’al meets with Netanyahu as Arab MKs search for answer to rampant bloodshed]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn United States [Israel to test eased entry for Palestinian-Americans before landing US visa waiver]( By Jacob Magid But Arab activists demand improvements in treatment of all US travelers at all Israeli crossings before Biden administration begins allowing Israelis into US without visas [NYC police report 100 anti-Jewish hate crimes since start of year, down from 2022]( By Luke Tress Top Ops Tami Lehman-Wilzig [Antisemitism: It’s a name changer]( If you think Jews’ hiding their identity doesn’t touch you, you’re not paying attention, but it’s not the only reason to change your name Erik Ross [Jews. Christians. Couscous.]( At an interfaith conference in Geneva, the Spirit of God moved in air redolent of cinnamon, as an outlandishly diverse group ’schmoozed’ into the night Benjamin Porat [Sending all Haredi boys to yeshiva study harms Torah scholarship]( With mediocre students packing the study halls, the gifted few have little chance to delve deeply and leave their mark Shuki Friedman [Do not give up on Judaism: It’s what makes Zionism profound]( The liberal camp must fight for Israel’s Jewishness, or the Haredim and the religious-nationalists will hobble the country with their version of Judaism Diaspora [Scarred and hardened by the Holocaust, survivors relive it in war-torn Ukraine]( By Canaan Lidor Some draw on their childhood experiences to keep their fears in check, wile others are transported back to a sense of helplessness [Kherson Jews among thousands forced to flee rising water after Ukraine dam rupture]( By Canaan Lidor [Lithuanian city vows to preserve ancient Jewish cemetery it had sought to dig up]( By Canaan Lidor [CRM]( ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Jonathan Spyer: Heating up of Iran’s confrontations with enemies]( By Amanda Borschel-Dan New alliances thread through Mideast as Syria is re-embraced by the Arab League and Iran signs accords with Saudi Arabia, UAE. This week, we hear of additional looming hotspots Culture [Budding musicians jam in Jerusalem integrative orchestra]( By Jessica Steinberg Conservatory president Michael Klinghoffer talks about making music meaningful, in community programs for people with special needs, the elderly and musical kids in the periphery [Eye for detail / Artist marks year in Israel with oils of local life and landmarks]( By Jessica Steinberg [Way before icon Barbie got the Hollywood treatment, she was ‘born’ with Jewish roots]( By Cathryn J. Prince People of the Books [Trauma revisited: Historian reconstructs her week aboard a hijacked jet in Jordan]( By Amy Spiro For close to 50 years, Martha Hodes buried memories of being on a plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in 1970 – until she decided to uncover all she could about the ordeal [Interview / Villain or heroine? New book documents the complex, astonishing life of Ruth Blau]( By Amy Spiro Tech Israel [Israel will have ‘huge role’ to play in AI revolution, OpenAI’s Sam Altman says]( By Sharon Wrobel Visiting co-founder of Microsoft-backed OpenAI says firm is examining various investment options in Israel; meets with President Herzog, speaks to high-tech leaders and students [Shekel returns to gains amid cautious market optimism over judicial compromise bid]( By Sharon Wrobel [Drone taxis take first test spin in Israel in bid to ease traffic congestion]( By Sharon Wrobel health [With tobacco use on rise in Israel, kids and teens see their health go up in smoke]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Science [New Israeli study shows link between autism and nitric oxide levels in brain neurons]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Peer-reviewed research at Hebrew University’s Pharmacy School could lead to drug treatments for people with autism and other neurological conditions [Israel sees its first-ever case of rare rapid aging ‘Benjamin Button’ disease]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [Stimulating the brain during sleep, Tel Aviv team says it’s found key to better memory]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [New Israeli technology improves prediction of patient response to immunotherapy]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Archaeology [Archaeologists discover and replicate earliest musical instrument in the Middle East]( By Melanie Lidman Tiny 12,000-year-old bone hunting flute likely used to attract birds of prey for Natufian settlements in Hula Valley [Archaeology / Looted rare coin from last Hasmonean king seized in raid on suspected thief]( By Michael Horovitz From the Blogs [The last days of Tzvi M. Lewis]( By Yehuda Wengrofsky Even after my training in suicide prevention, I failed to see that the ’New York Romantic’ was clearly at risk* [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2023 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved