The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
Former hostage throws out first pitch at Fenway as Red Sox host Jewish Heritage Night
Former hostage Omer Shem Tov threw out the first pitch as the Boston Red Sox marked Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway Park this evening.
Shem Tov wore a Red Sox jersey with his name on the back and a yellow hostage ribbon on the front along with sneakers inscribed with the phase “Bring them home.”
Omer Shem Tov, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and survived 505 days in captivity, throws out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Jewish Heritage Night????️ pic.twitter.com/Dlam3pJzSr
— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) May 19, 2025
PM said to order Israeli hostage negotiators remain in Doha despite impasse
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s negotiation team to remain in Doha for at least another day, despite the impasse in hostage talks, Hebrew media reports.
“We’re staying in order not to offend the United States. It won’t look good if Israel leaves Doha before Hamas,” an Israeli official tells the Kan public broadcaster.
Channel 13 cites an unnamed official who says Netanyahu made the decision in order to try and demonstrate that Israel is not the obstacle in the talks.
Report: Social Equality Ministry ordered municipalities to remove its logo from LGBTQ programming
The Social Equality Ministry headed by far-right Likud MK May Golan sent a directive to local municipalities ordering them to remove the office’s logo from any LGBTQ programming, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
Kan publishes screenshots of the directive sent by a representative from Golan’s office in a WhatsApp group with municipal officials.
Responding to the report, Golan claims the directive was sent by a junior employee acting on his own volition in order to stir controversy.
But Kan says that the directive was sent out by multiple officials from Golan’s ministry who told municipal representatives that they were following orders from above.
Golan is also currently holding up funding for the LGBTQ community in what could cost dozens of municipal officials tasked with assisting the community their jobs.
Boehler defends past talks with Hamas, says US could deal with terror group again
US hostage envoy Adam Boehler defends his past talks with Hamas, denies any tensions between the Trump administration and Israel, and says the odds of a hostage deal have increased.
Speaking at the annual Jerusalem Post Conference in Manhattan, Boehler says that, as a hostage envoy, his job entails “engaging with people who are in general not good people.”
“Engagement is not weakness. It does not mean you accept something or you let people off the hook,” Boehler says. “There was some interest there and we thought we would see if we can speed things up. In that particular case, it didn’t work. We walked away.”
He indicates the US could hold further talks with the terror group.
“It’s getting closer and closer to being the right time to make a deal,” he says. “If Hamas wants to come forward and make a very legitimate offer that they’re willing to stand by and release hostages, we’re always willing to listen to that.”
Boehler says he cannot comment on the current status of negotiations, but says that, in general, “We’re closer than we ever were, and part of that is because of movement that the IDF and Israel did on the ground.”
Boehler stresses that “the main force holding back a deal is Hamas,” and that the terms for the deal have become “tighter and tighter because they need to understand the longer they wait, there’s a cost.”
Asked if he is optimistic about a deal, Boehler says, “I think that as time goes on, we have increased in strength… I think the odds go up.”
He says that President Donald Trump did not intend to snub Israel by not visiting during his recent Middle East tour, and denies there are tensions between Washington and Jerusalem.
“Every foreign visit obviously is not a referendum on a particular country,” he says, noting that Trump hosted Netanyahu twice in Washington. “I don’t think the support’s ever wavered.”
Asked about the UK, France and Canada’s statement threatening “concrete actions” against Israel over its conduct in Gaza, Boehler responds, “If I were a European country, I would be particularly sensitive to how I criticize Israel.”
‘Joe is a fighter’: Netanyahu tweets support for Biden amid cancer diagnosis
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets his support for former US president Joe Biden who revealed yesterday that he has an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
Sara and my hearts and hopes are with Joe and Jill Biden. I have known Joe for 45 years. One thing is for sure, Joe is a fighter and a survivor.
The people of Israel and I wish @JoeBiden a full and speedy recovery.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 19, 2025