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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Jessica Steinberg.

Horovitz and Rettig Gur discuss Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's conversations about a new right-wing bloc in Israeli politics, including who would be part of it, and why he's starting to talk about that now.

They then take a closer look at Israel's worst-ever score in Transparency International’s ranking of public sector corruption worldwide, and whether that means the country is doing better or worse in terms of awareness and responsibility.

Horovitz also talks about the plea deal and lenient sentence for United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Litzman who admitted to using his former position as deputy health minister to thwart the extradition to Australia of Malka Leifer, the former school principal accused of sexually assaulting minors.

Finally, Steinberg offers some good news about Tel Aviv art galleries that banded together in solidarity and support of freedom of expression to show the artworks of artists who withdrew their pieces from the Ramat Gan contemporary art museum after the work of fellow artist David Reeb was pulled at an opening event.

Discussed articles include:

Bennett said to eye ‘new national camp’ with coalition partners Liberman, Sa’ar

Israel’s deepening slide into corruption

Litzman signs plea deal in Leifer case, avoiding jail time and paying symbolic fine

Galleries to present protesting artists’ works in weekend show of solidarity

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IMAGE: UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman seen in the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, on July 1, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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