A Deal Hamas Almost Made
An ex-PA minister says hostage talks were happening three weeks before Oct. 7.
A Jerusalem synagogue got hit for the third time in a month. Someone threw a glass plate through a torn window screen during Yom Kippur at Kol HaNeshama in Baka. Eggs hit worshippers there during Rosh Hashanah week; before that, someone tore down the pride flag. Reform CEO Anna Kislanski said the pattern "cannot be treated as isolated incidents." 1
A Fatah-aligned ex-minister says Israel and Hamas were negotiating a hostage deal three weeks before Oct. 7. Sufian Abu Zaida says he spent over a year relaying messages between Shin Bet officials and Hamas's Ghazi Hamad, trading two civilians and two soldiers' remains for a prisoner release. He also relayed a Sinwar warning about a coming "massive surprise." 2 The backstory →
A prominent Reform rabbi used his Yom Kippur sermon to warn that hostility toward Israel is "corrupting American values." Ammiel Hirsch, of Manhattan's Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, told congregants to back only politicians who support them, regardless of party. "The hatred exists on both the right and the left," he said. 3
Hero: Netanel Shukrun. The father of six from Alei Zahav was shot while driving near a West Bank spring on Sunday. His last act was warning his 16-year-old son, Yoav, that a gunman was closing in; Yoav ran and survived. Shukrun died of his wounds. At Monday's funeral, Yoav told mourners: "Thank you for shouting to me when the terrorist came in. Thank you for saving my life." 4
Villain: Heimir Hallgrimsson. Ireland's national soccer coach said ahead of next week's match against Israel: "We're not playing with genocide, we're playing against genocide. We're not playing with Israel." More than 160 Irish athletes had already signed a boycott letter. The Israel Football Association answered that it hasn't "found a cure for stupidity, ignorance and hypocrisy": "We're not playing with ignorance, hypocrisy and stupidity, we're not playing against the coach." 5
Today is 11 Tishrei, four days before Sukkot. Tradition says to start building the sukkah the moment Yom Kippur ends, before you've even broken the fast, because you don't put off one mitzvah to start another. 67
Reply and tell us we're meshugeneh.