ToI’s weekly deep dive: Yossi Klein Halevi essay * Reasonableness law explained * Thailand’s ’Israeli’ island * Avi Loeb’s alien tech * What Matters Now to Micah Goodman

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, July 30, 2023 Essay [The wounded Jewish psyche and the divided Israeli soul]( By Yossi Klein Halevi Understanding Israel’s moment of truth – from the war on Start-up Nation, to the moral crisis in Orthodox Jewry, to the author’s personal failure of empathy for political opponents Op-ed David Horovitz [How do we safeguard Israel, when the government is at war with much of the people?]( The coalition’s brutal bid to neuter the courts and legislate Israel away from a democratic, liberal Jewish ethos may yet prove its downfall. Meantime, nonviolent protests are key [Op-ed / Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul victory spells a tragic, disastrous defeat for Israel]( By David Horovitz [Op-ed / Netanyahu’s hospital sedation may be over, but Levin remains the real prime minister]( By Shalom Yerushalmi [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing July 30: Some Likud MKs murmur dissent; Lapid: Compromise was imminent]( By ToI Staff ToI podcast [What Matters Now to thinker Micah Goodman: An incipient internal ‘intifada’]( By Amanda Borschel-Dan Analysis Carrie Keller-Lynn [What the ‘reasonableness’ law does — and doesn’t — mean for judicial overhaul]( Reasonableness is the ‘first step’ in the coalition’s campaign to constrain judicial power, and perhaps its mildest; markets, international allies express discomfort [Analysis / A time for reason: Will the High Court strike down government’s reasonableness law?]( By Jeremy Sharon [Explainer / Reasonable guardians? How repealing ‘reasonableness’ may affect top custodians of law]( By Jeremy Sharon Analysis Haviv Rettig Gur [As judiciary fight reaches a climax, both sides set to lose]( Without the support of a skeptical political center, no result in the vote on a law curbing the courts will offer any side the sustained victory it seeks Protests [Government ignores stark warnings, as IDF faces unprecedented threat to readiness]( By Emanuel Fabian Overhaul law went through despite IDF appeals; CoS is pleading with protesting reservists to show up; in prospect, more reliance on less-experienced pilots for sensitive missions [Doctors, scientists and tech leaders take stock after passage of ‘reasonableness’ law]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [Tired of Israel’s ‘pressure cooker,’ 100s of families lay new roots in Thailand]( By Ruth Mason The relaxed atmosphere, friendly locals and affordable prices make Ko Pha Ngan a top destination for sabras seeking to escape their daily grind for a piece of paradise Top Ops Ariel Beery [First we mourn]( After thousands of years of practice, we could not prevent the same passions that felled the Second Temple from undermining our Third Ilan Bloch [I don’t want Jewish unity]( Israel doesn’t need me to shake hands with those whose views I abhor (though I do it). Israel needs moral governance that leads by example Joshua Berman [Healing means hearing the other side’s pain]( Consider how fast the coalition revoked the ’reasonableness’ clause and see a history of discrimination and humiliation writ large Andrew Keene [Donating stem cells: A master class in peoplehood]( A microscopic piece of blood-matter is the ultimate reminder that we are connected at a cellular level. The rest is just noise Economy [Credit rating agency S&P warns lack of overhaul consensus imperils Israeli economy]( By Sharon Wrobel Report says ‘domestic political polarization’ to remain high amid uncertainty over the advancement of other parts of the government’s ‘controversial’ package diaspora [‘First step to destroying democracy’: Diaspora groups alarmed as overhaul law passes]( By Canaan Lidor Major community organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere express their concern following the vote on the reasonableness law [ADL sets up a 7-country international task force on antisemitism]( By ToI Staff religion [At a Haifa church, Jewish pilgrims test coexistence strained by painful history]( By Canaan Lidor Haredi visitors outside Stella Maris say they want to pray near the presumed burial site of Prophet Elisha; churchgoers say it’s just another attempt to intimidate Christians [Jewish pilgrims clash with Christian worshipers outside iconic Haifa church]( By Canaan Lidor [CRM]( Space [Avi Loeb’s claims of finding possible alien technology are polarizing scientists]( By Rich Tenorio Funded by a crypto mogul, the Israel-born Harvard professor says a meteor that exploded off the coast of Papua New Guinea may be the first interstellar object found by humanity [Israeli-built satellite blasts into space for Singaporean customers]( By ToI Staff [Israeli experts warn that extreme climate events suggest dawn of ‘uncharted waters’]( By Sue Surkes Film review [What happened to Prisoner X? New film seeks to shed light on disgraced Mossad agent]( By Amy Spiro Holocaust [With ‘Endphase,’ local filmmaker brings to light 1945 massacre in quiet Austrian town]( By Rich Tenorio Hans Hochstöger grew up in idyllic Hofamt Priel never knowing that the SS gunned down over 200 Hungarian Jews there. Now he seeks to raise awareness of the village’s tragic history [Dark comedy ‘Anne Frank Gift Shop’ repackages Holocaust icon for Gen Z]( By Matt Lebovic [Interview / With ‘The Golden Doves,’ bestselling author honors a Holocaust survivor and friend]( By Lisa Klug [Obituary / David Leitner, who made eating falafel a symbol of Holocaust resilience, dies at 94]( By Canaan Lidor Curtains down [Doors may close on German Colony’s 95-year cinema Lev Smadar]( By Jessica Steinberg Jerusalem neighborhood movie theater that opened in the 1920s has battled rental contracts, neighbors and renovations Interview [A pair of crisis managers show how cancel culture targets all – without fear or favor]( By Cathryn J. Prince Archaeology [Half-shekel coin from revolt against Romans 2 millennia ago uncovered in desert cave]( By Melanie Lidman Hebrew coin minted by rebels as part of underground Jewish economy and used to pay tax at Temple in Jerusalem is discovered during six-year survey mapping area of Dead Sea Scrolls From the Blogs [The place where we are right: Lessons from a talmudic story]( By Yael Shahar One school of Jewish law favored tradition, another innovation, but it was only when they tried to fix one over the other that things really went wrong [Unsubscribe from this List]( Email not displaying correctly? [View in browser]( © 2023 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved