ToI’s weekly deep dive: Israel’s ’Fox News’ surges * Protesters’ Jerusalem pilgrimage * Jewy ’Oppenheimer’ review * What Matters Now podcast: Dictatorship tipping point

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, July 23, 2023 Inside story [As divisions sharpen, an incendiary right-wing news channel finally finds an audience]( By Amy Spiro Channel 14 now draws as many viewers as legacy networks, giving voice to conservatives tired of mainstream news, despite repeated scandals and charges of pro-Netanyahu propaganda Op-ed David Horovitz [On the eve of Tisha B’Av, Israel risks an unforgivable process of self-destruction]( Addressing Congress, Herzog hailed our ‘beautiful democracy,’ commitment to equality and independent judiciary. Back home, Netanyahu is dragging Israel in the opposite direction Protests [As tensions boil, thousands of protesters march in self-styled pilgrimage to Jerusalem]( By Charlie Summers Activists now on 4th day of their trek from Tel Aviv to the Knesset, an event at once combative and festive, as coalition prepares next week to pass first judicial overhaul bill [Activists on both sides of overhaul debate hold mass Western Wall prayer for unity]( By Canaan Lidor and Charlie Summers [Thousands mass at anti-overhaul rallies, block highway after rail station protests]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn and ToI Staff Analysis Lazar Berman [Herzog flew to the US to heal the Biden-Netanyahu rift. Instead he exposed its depth]( After he failed to forge compromise back home, president’s visit to DC to get ties back on track winds up with American leader highlighting opposition to judicial overhaul [Analysis / As overhaul and settlements advance, Biden agreeing to meet Netanyahu raises eyebrows]( By Jacob Magid [Herzog tells Biden Israel’s democracy ‘resilient,’ as overhaul protests rage at home]( By Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman [In speech to Congress, Herzog lauds strong judiciary, says democracy in Israel’s DNA]( By Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman United States [Despite US pledge of equal treatment, Gazan Americans left out of Visa Waiver Program]( By Jacob Magid Israel says eased travel will apply to US citizens in coastal enclave, but agreement seen by Times of Israel reveals only Palestinians in West Bank eligible for 90-day entry permits [Israel launches pilot for US visa waiver, easing travel for Palestinian-Americans]( By Jacob Magid [Israel tells Morocco it recognizes its sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara]( By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff Top Ops Michael Rainsbury [Rewriting Hatikva: The significance of President Herzog’s speech]( In asserting the hope that we can strive to ’heal our fractured world,’ Herzog put forward a new conception of Zionism Beatrice Weber [No Hasidic child left behind. That’s my dream.]( The immoral, illegal refusal to provide a decent education harmed my family. Now, a NYC report offers hope for change Aryeh Eisenberg [Sorry protesters, this ain’t gonna work]( Does disrupting traffic and causing thousands of citizens to lose time, money, and patience actually solve anything? Nancy Cahners [My day of disruption]( If I had heard such loud voices in the US, I would have taken cover and expected to hear gunshots. Not so in Israel. Religion [Court bans Torah bag searches at Western Wall, in limited win for Women of the Wall]( By Canaan Lidor Ruling nonetheless reaffirms that attendants at holy site may enforce rules preventing women from using scripture in ‘unauthorized ways’ once they enter complex [Anger as abbot told to hide his cross on visit to Western Wall with German minister]( By ToI Staff [Anti-LGBTQ protesters in Ohio target local Jewish community offices]( By Canaan Lidor [Analysis / Swedish Jewish group sees silver lining behind scripture-burning story]( By Canaan Lidor [CRM]( ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Dr. Yonatan Freeman: The dictatorship tipping point]( By Amanda Borschel-Dan International relations & media lecturer at the Hebrew University explains why Israel’s democracy is stronger than ever – despite inflamed rhetoric capturing headlines on all sides Film review [In ‘Oppenheimer,’ Judaism lends a stable nucleus to moral conflict of atomic genius]( By Matt Goldberg Science [Tel Aviv University study argues third of normal-weight Israelis are secretly obese]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Researchers urge doctors to use overall body fat composition, rather than body mass index, to more accurately determine patients’ health risks [Explainer / Netanyahu underwent surgery to have pacemaker fitted. Here’s why, and what it will do]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [Israeli scientists believe experiments reversing aging in fish could benefit humans]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Interview [Disability advocate tours Israel on Segway as part of outdoor-focused Birthright trip]( By Charlie Summers Author and public speaker Brandon Farbstein, who has a rare form of dwarfism, says there is ‘much room for improvement’ in Israel when it comes to accessibility for disabled people [‘Jews in the Garden’ uproots Poland’s homegrown Holocaust perpetrators]( By Matt Lebovic Archaeology [New finds show cave near Beit Shemesh may have been seen as a door to the underworld]( By Melanie Lidman Oil lamps and fragments of human skull lead archaeologists to believe Teomim Cave was used for necromancy, or communication with dead, some 1,700 years ago [Archaeology / Chip off the ol’ block: AI pinpoints source of rocks for 750,000-year-old tools]( By Melanie Lidman [Archaeology / Sword overboard: Crusader blade discovered by diver was likely lost in battle]( By Melanie Lidman [Archaeology / Amateur archaeologists can help conserve the crumbling Tel Gezer, one brick at a time]( By Melanie Lidman From the blogs [Is God our enemy? A midrash for the Three Weeks]( By Raymond Apple How should God react to the suffering of His people? Should He rage? Comfort? Primo Levi says He should spit. Surely He should help [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2023 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved