When a mystic rabbi searched for tunnels * Netanyahu vs democracy? * Johnson isn’t the only pro-Israel UK PM wannabe

When a mystic rabbi searched for tunnels * Netanyahu vs democracy? * Johnson isn’t the only pro-Israel UK PM wannabe * Haredi mom of 5 is marathon champ * Goliath’s beer?

Visit timesofisrael.com for 24/7 updates

THE WEEKEND EDITIONSunday, May 26, 2019

How the IDF let a rabbinical mystic search for border tunnels, then spurned him BY AVNER HOFSTEIN AND ANABEL ZAMIR Officers who went with him claim Galilee-based Rabbi Yehuda found 6 tunnels on Lebanon border, and 31 on Gaza border, years before IDF exposed them. Today, the army is dismissive

ISRAELI DEMOCRACYDAVID HOROVITZ Ex-justice, AG: If Netanyahu is above the law, Israel is not a civilized country Elyakim Rubinstein warns against anti-court laws, advanced to keep the PM from going on trial, destroying the ‘checks and balances’ that protect minorities and the weak

Bid to stifle court akin to those of pre-Nazi Germany, 98 retired judges say BY JACOB MAGID Former Supreme Court president Barak: I’d quit if they passed the ‘override’ law BY TOI STAFF AND RAOUL WOOTLIFF

ANALYSISRAOUL WOOTLIFF Not just Netanyahu: The other 4 lawmakers who may need immunity from prosecution Gambit to save PM could also help prevent corruption charges against Shas leader Deri, Likud’s Haim Katz and David Bitan; UTJ chief Litzman accused of aiding alleged pedophiles

Op-ed / 7 days in May: Moshe Kahlon’s chance to save Israeli democracy from Netanyahu BY DAVID HOROVITZ Document / Full text: The criminal allegations against Netanyahu, as set out by Israel’s AG BY RAHEL JASKOW (TRANSLATION) FOR THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKAMIR BEN-DAVID At Tel Aviv Museum, a curious opposition alliance is born. Will it hold? Gantz would have been more at ease at IDF headquarters, but he acted wisely in the run-up to Saturday’s large anti-Netanyahu, pro-democracy protest, and promised more to come

Reporter’s notebook / At Tel Aviv rally, Turkey’s Erdogan and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ loom large BY SIMONA WEINGLASS Amid standoff with Liberman, Likud says it’s bracing for snap elections BY MARISSA NEWMAN AND TOI STAFF

AS UK PM RESIGNS Johnson leads race to succeed May, but he’s not the only pro-Israel would-be PM BY ROBERT PHILPOT A dozen Conservative MPs are jostling to replace UK leader, and several would maintain her support for Israel. A key question is who would defeat Corbyn in the next election

Undone by Brexit, May was one of the friendliest PMs in history for British Jews BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

Haredi mother of 5 marathon champion Beatie Deutsch is running for a cause BY MICHAEL BACHNER

HISTORIC BEER REVIEWJUDAH ARI GROSS It’s not what Goliath drank, but ancient yeast brews still bring giant flavor ‘Philistine’ beer made from 3,000-year-old strain found at Gath comes out fruity and tangy while mead, likely closer to its atavistic inspiration, begets a champagne-cider quaffer

What Goliath quaffed? / Israeli scientists brew groundbreaking ‘ancient beer’ from 5,000-year-old yeast BY AMANDA BORSCHEL-DAN