Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.
Political correspondent Tal Schneider, diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.
We begin with a short report from the Turkmenistan-Iran border from Schneider, who is with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen as he is set to open Israel’s first embassy in the Islamic nation today
Berman discusses why the new Turkmenistan embassy is important to Israel's strategic position in the region.
Reports are circulating that young MK May Golan may be up for the important role of New York Consul. Why is she a controversial choice?
Surkes explains how the crazy spring weather could pay off with a late-season wildflower boom. Where should be go to find them?
And finally, Jews all over the world are currently counting the Omer. Before Surkes dives into the agricultural reasons, Berman explains this practice is.
Discussed articles include:
Turkmenistan looking to open embassy in Israel, president tells FM Cohen
Top diplomat Cohen arrives in Turkmenistan to open embassy near Iran border
Netanyahu said looking to appoint far-right firebrand as New York consul
Israel’s total rainfall normal, despite dry start; cold promises late floral show
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ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Voters applaud dancers wearing national costume at a polling station in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Vershinin) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dispatch from Turkmenistan, a stone’s throw away from Iran

Welcome to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing: Your update on what&rsquo;s important in Israel, the Middle East and The Jewish World.

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 203 of the war with Hamas. Yeshiva University president Rabbi Ari Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's special in-depth interview episode.
Berman was in Israel when Hamas invaded Israel's south on October 7, slaughtering 1,200 and taking 253 individuals hostage to Gaza. He told The Times of Israel this week that he felt called to return to New York, where he heads Modern Orthodoxy's flagship institution, and began immediately call on his university head peers to form a broad coalition to condemn the massacre and ensuing suffering.
More than 100 institutions of higher education, including public and private, faith-based, and historically Black colleges and universities, signed onto a a statement saying that they stood "with Israel, the Palestinians who suffer under Hamas' cruel rule in Gaza and all people of moral conscience."
Today, as violent anti-Israel protests are erupting on campuses throughout the United States, Berman shares his insights into the failings of the educators who allowed them to proliferate.
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:

Hundreds arrested across US campuses as police clamp down on anti-Israel protests
US Catholic universities offer campuses as refuge for ‘harassed’ Jewish students
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
IMAGE: Yeshiva University head Rabbi Ari Berman (Yeshiva University) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 203 - Yeshiva U head on anti-Israel campus protests in US

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 202 of the war with Hamas. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
So-called pro-Palestinian rallies have sprouted up on US campuses, from Columbia University in New York -- where in-person classes have been canceled -- to the University of Southern California on Wednesday, just hours after police at a Texas university aggressively detained dozens of protesters. Horovitz describes what he believes are the protesters’ goals.
A senior Israeli defense official said Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces has conducted all necessary preparations to take Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah and can launch an operation the moment it gets government approval. But will the IDF also wait for US approval?
Thirty years after the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina has asked Pakistan and Sri Lanka to arrest Iran’s interior minister Ahmad Vahidi who is a lead suspect in planning the attacks. Why is Argentina again interested in seeking justice for the bombing?
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
The goal of the campus Jew-haters: To render Israel indefensible, in both senses of the word
At heart of protests sweeping US universities is demand they divest from Israel
Dozens arrested at U of Texas, USC as anti-Israel protests spread to more US campuses
As anti-Israel encampment at Columbia endures, Jewish students lament ‘Judenrein’ campus
IDF ready to conquer Gaza’s Rafah, awaiting government okay, says senior official
Argentina asks host countries to arrest visiting Iranian minister over 1994 bombing
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
IMAGE: Students attend a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rally against the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, on April 24, 2024. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 202 - Why US students must be schooled on protesters' goals

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 201 of the war with Hamas. Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces intensified its operations against Hamas terrorists in the central and northern Gaza Strip, as the war reached its 200th day. Fabian explains what is happening on the ground and where the Gazan citizens are meant to be evacuating.
Hamas officials in Gaza claimed on Saturday to discover a mass grave with more than 200 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis that was recently the target of a military raid. How exactly was the IDF involved?
Overnight, IAF fighter jets carried out a wave of strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, following repeated attacks by the terror group on northern Israel. Fabian speaks about the unusual drone attack that came deep into civilian Israel over the holiday.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, chief of the Israel Defense Forces’s Military Intelligence Directorate, announced his resignation on Monday. Why now? 
Police on Monday detained 13 people suspected of attempting to smuggle goats onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to sacrifice the animals in honor of Passover, in line with ancient Jewish tradition. What was different this year? 
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
On war’s 200th day, Israel intensifies Gaza operations; soldier killed in action
IDF rejects ‘baseless’ claim it dug mass graves at Gaza hospital; analysts also doubt charge
‘I will always carry the pain’: IDF intel chief Aharon Haliva resigns over Oct. 7 failure
Police detain 13 trying to smuggle goats onto Temple Mount for sacrifice ritual
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
IMAGE: Troops of the Kfir Brigade's Netzah Yehuda Battalion operate in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, in a handout image published April 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 201 - Gaza heats up as Hezbollah drones reach Israeli beaches

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 200 of the war with Hamas. Host Jessica Steinberg speaks with Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in a pre-recorded interview.
The couple speaks about the painful realities of marking the holiday of Passover, the holiday of freedom, when their only son is still held captive by terror organization Hamas.
Goldberg and Polin discuss their latest trip to the US, which included meetings with members of Congress and the Biden administration, and the hostage deal that was under discussion at the time, and later rejected.
Polin views the most recent proposal as Hamas’s opportunity to accept the ceasefire and end the suffering of the Gazans.
They both speak about the palpable shift in US attitudes, and then the subsequent Iranian attack, when Israel was backed by the global community. Polin discusses that moment as a real opportunity for Israel to say it wouldn't respond until all the hostages come home.
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents contemplate Passover with their son in captivity
Passover celebrants urged to set a seat for a hostage, use a Haggadah of hope
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
IMAGE: Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, parents of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Courtesy) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 200 - Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin want freedom for Hersh

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
It is day 199 of the war with Hamas. Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Following days of unrest and anti-Israel action at Columbia University in New York City, the university’s Orthodox rabbi sent a message to Jewish students urging them to stay away from campus until it is deemed safe again. The situation has spiraled so out of control that President Isaac Herzog and President Joe Biden are publicly denouncing the situation. Berman weighs in.
Two US sources told The Times of Israel yesterday that in addition to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion -- which the Biden administration is reportedly slated to sanction this week -- Washington is reportedly considering sanctions against other Israeli military and police units alleged to have committed human rights violations against Palestinians. Berman explains the 1997 Leahy law that is being enacted and how it was applied in the past on other countries' militaries.
In a pre-Passover video, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “land additional and painful blows” on Hamas over the holiday to increase pressure on the terror group to free the hostages it has held in the Gaza Strip for over six months. Berman explores what is missing today versus in November when the sides successfully freed over 100 hostages. What would it take for Sinwar to unharden his heart and let our people go?
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Biden blasts ‘alarming surge of antisemitism’ amid anti-Israel protests at Columbia
Columbia rabbi urges Jewish students to stay home until campus deemed safe
US mulling sanctions against other IDF units for alleged rights violations – sources
Netanyahu vows imminent ‘painful blows,’ diplomatic pressure on Hamas to free hostages
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. 
IMAGE: File - Yahia al-Sinwar, the Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, greets supporters as he arrives to attend a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed / AFP) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dispatch from Turkmenistan, a stone’s throw away from Iran

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