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 and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Yesterday we heard the news that the Central Elections Committee disqualified former lawmaker and Yamina rebel Amichai Chikli from running on the Likud’s candidate slate in the upcoming election. At the same time, fellow former Yamina MK Idit Silman is able to retain her spot. What’s going on here?

There are also petitions to disqualify two Arab parties from the upcoming elections: Islamist Ra’am and nationalist Balad. What are the chances they will be barred?

New research suggesting that the extensive use of Arava desert vegetation to fuel the famous King Solomon’s copper mines at Timna caused both the industry, and the local environment, to eventually collapse. Surkes fills us in.

According to Israeli research, planting forests in drylands all over the world is unlikely to help in the fight against global warming and climate change. How does this affect Israeli reforestation?

Just four months after arriving in Israel, former Greenpeace Russia media director Violetta Ryabko has penned a brochure for Israelis on ways to reduce plastic waste over the High Holidays. We hear some of her tips.

Discussed articles include:

Rebel ex-MK Chikli barred from running with Likud, which vows High Court appeal

Wood cut to fuel King Solomon’s ancient mines caused environmental collapse – study

Planting trees in drylands unlikely to curb global warming, Israeli study shows

How to do the holidays with zero waste, with an online guide

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IMAGE: Excavations of ancient copper mines as part of Tel Aviv University’s Central Timna Valley Project. (E. Ben-Yosef and the Central Timna Valley Project)

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