ToI’s weekly deep dive: Israel’s volunteer army * Hamas atrocities documented on flesh * Biden & Sunak visits * Arab Israelis show solidarity * Podcast: Mother of hostage

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, October 22, 2023 Inside story [In stunning response, 15,000 volunteers fill leadership vacuum to help victims of Hamas]( By Sue Surkes Movements set up to oppose government’s judicial overhaul bid metamorphose overnight to coordinate unprecedented civilian rescue and relief effort Warning: Graphic images [Foreign media given unprecedented access to forensic institute to witness atrocities]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Op-ed David Horovitz [Day 14 of the war: As the IDF prepares to enter Hamastan, Israel holds its breath]( We all know that the mission must succeed. Because we have to be able to live in security in our small patch of land, and, as of October 7, we’re not sure that we can do that [Op-ed / Haters won’t be swayed, but Hamas lies about Gaza hospital blast are being exposed]( By David Horovitz [Op-ed / Hamas is more dangerous, utterly inhumane: Israel must not underestimate it again]( By David Horovitz Analysis Lazar Berman [Netanyahu and Israel must win. But for Biden, too, almost everything hinges on this war]( US president is anxious over Israel’s conduct as it responds to the Hamas massacre: his reelection, regional vision, and belief in winning within the ‘law of wars’ are on the line Analysis [UK’s Sunak flies in to show support, but at home anti-Israel sentiment is rampant]( By Robert Philpot While polls suggest many Brits quietly side with the Jewish state, public support is muted amid a surge in antisemitic incidents and rowdy pro-Palestinian demonstrations [In Israel, UK leader Sunak backs Gaza offensive ‘in line with international law’]( By Lazar Berman [In Kfar Aza, French MPs say gruesome scenes recall 2015 Paris massacre]( By Lazar Berman [‘We’re in this together.’ To Hamas, all citizens are targets, say Arab Israelis]( By Gianluca Pacchiani Reporter's notebook [Citizens, including an MK, helped repel Hamas attack in Ofakim]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn Residents, some in flipflops, joined police to repel the terrorists’ onslaught against Ofakim; mayor: As many people killed on October 7 as in past 70 years [Reporter's notebook / As exodus turns Sderot into a ghost town, some stay as a reminder of what’s at stake]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn [Reporter's notebook / In Netivot, poverty compounds the problems of a battered border city]( By Canaan Lidor [US firefighters in Israel worried about fate of Be’eri families who hosted them]( By Lazar Berman Explainer Lazar Berman [As Israel prepares massive ground campaign, the end game remains opaque]( After October 7 horror, Netanyahu’s cabinet is determined to bring Hamas down, but confounding questions will have to be answered Reporter's Notebook [At Haifa port, evacuating Israeli-Americans feel torn between family and country]( By Canaan Lidor Personal circumstances, safety concerns and family obligations are among a mix of factors pushing dual citizens to board a ship to Cyprus Agriculture [For Israeli farmers near Gaza, damage may be temporary but long-term crisis looms]( By Canaan Lidor The border area’s agricultural sector could undergo a rapid rehabilitation, but much depends on whether the war scares away foreign workers, experts say [Inside Story / Thai laborers, the ‘working hands’ of Israeli farming, pay with blood]( By Sue Surkes [Shoshan Haran, presumed captive, has dedicated her life to helping African farmers]( By Bernard Dichek Northern front [Bomb shelters in north ‘do not provide required protection,’ says state comptroller]( By Jeremy Sharon During tour of northern border communities, Matanyahu Englman also cites severe strains on civilian security teams as central problem [Explainer / Stay safe: The best places to go in the event of a rocket attack]( By Jeremy Sharon Top Ops Yossi Klein Halevi [What this war is about]( On October 7, Israel became the most dangerous country in the world for Jews. The atrocity Hamas inflicted was literally unbearable Rachel Sharansky Danziger [In the midst of horror, we’re holding onto love]( At a funeral, I see the many fresh graves and find the loss simply unbearable. But we hug each other tight and carry the pain together Judy Halper [Who will milk the cows?]( Israeli citizens (and the US administration) are stepping in to fill the breech left by a failed and clueless government Sara Yael Hirschhorn [Something is rotten in the state of academe]( The community of scholars has stood aside as ideological vitriol and even actual hate crimes have proliferated on campuses ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Rachel Goldberg: Her son Hersh, held hostage by Hamas]( By Jessica Steinberg Hersh Goldberg-Polin was captured by terrorists on Oct. 7 at the Supernova rave. In a raw interview, his mother describes him, the media campaign and an ongoing unbearable nightmare [Rachel Goldberg talks about her son, Hersh, and the turning points of the last 13 days]( By Jessica Steinberg Reporter's notebook [New immigrants who fled strife in Ethiopia now face war in Israel]( By Sue Surkes Health [Hadassah Organization heads double down on support for their hospitals during war]( By Renee Ghert-Zand At Hadassah Ein Kerem on her 2nd trip to Israel since Oct. 7, president Rhoda Smolow joins CEO Naomi Adler to comfort the victims of Hamas’s brutality while raising emergency funds [Young dad of 6 absorbed blast to protect family in attack on Kerem Shalom]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [CRM]( Israel at war [As Israel buries its dead, volunteers honor them by digging their graves]( By Shira Silkoff At the largest cemeteries, funerals have been held day and night, requiring teams of volunteers to prepare fresh graves [Taibe bike shop torched after Arab Israeli owner donates bikes to Jews]( By Gavriel Fiske [On gap year between high school and IDF service, students find purpose during wartime]( By Gavriel Fiske Tech Israel [These Israelis are fighting Hamas on the war’s emerging ‘deepfake’ cyberfront]( By Matt Lebovic Generated by artificial intelligence, false footage of the Israel-Gaza war has been inundating media outlets around the world since the October 7 Hamas massacres [Global task force against antisemitism warns of danger ahead due to Israel-Hamas war]( By Stuart Winer [‘Sickened’ by silence on Hamas atrocities, Wexner Foundation cuts ties with Harvard]( By Michael Bachner [Designers sew for combat soldiers, pivoting from fashion to function]( By Jessica Steinberg From The Blogs [The Genesis War]( By Yedidia Stern This war requires a name rooted in Jewishness – and, after victory, one that calls us to correct course and start again from the beginning [Weekly Deep Dive]( [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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