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.

Today we bring you an episode of What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan, speaking with author and scholar Dara Horn.

Horn is the author of novels and non-fiction, including “People Love Dead Jews,” “Eternal Life,” “A Guide for the Perplexed,” and now her first book for young readers, “One Little Goat.”

A graphic novel, "One Little Goat," was dreamed up by a young Horn and written decades later alongside the uniquely grungy illustrations of Theo Ellsworth.

The program's first half delves into the book's trippy storyline and how she arrived at it. As Horn remarks on her website, "'One Little Goat' is a quirky, dryly funny, Passover-themed graphic novel, featuring a lost matzah, a never-ending seder, and a time-traveling talking goat."

In the second half of the program, we hear some about the ideas Horn proposed in her bestselling work, "People Love Dead Jews," and she speaks about her new education initiative, Mosaic Persuasion, which is bent on teaching American schoolchildren about real, living Jews, and Jewish culture.

We hear about how the Hamas massacre of some 1,200 in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has -- and has not -- shifted American discourse. And Horn points out the Jews' driving counter-culture DNA that has been passed down from generation to generation, much like the rituals of the Passover seder.

And so, this week, we ask author Dara Horn, what matters now?

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Dara Horn (Michael Priest)

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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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing, which is followed a full installment of The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, the Friday Focus.

Qatar on Thursday denied funding a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Egypt’s role in negotiations to free Israelis held hostage in Gaza, amid a swirling Israeli investigation around the Gulf state’s links to two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides. Berman weighs in on why he's unconvinced.

Yesterday, the courts extended the remand of Eli Feldstein and Jonatan Urich, the two aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who are key suspects in the ongoing Qatargate probe. The two men are suspected of having taken money from Qatar to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters while in the prime minister’s employ. We hear what further developments we saw yesterday in the investigation.

Berman, who accompanied the prime minister to Budapest, describes the reception the Israeli delegation was met with and then speaks about Hungary's announcement that it was leaving the International Criminal Court.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

Qatar denies paying to spread media narrative undermining Egypt’s role in hostage talks

Detention of key Qatargate suspects extended till Friday, as judge criticizes media leaks

Freed Jerusalem Post editor decries arrest, says he got ‘no benefits’ from Qatar trip

Netanyahu, in Budapest, lauds Orban’s withdrawal from ‘corrupt, rotten’ ICC

Hungary announces withdrawal from ICC as Netanyahu arrives for state visit

IMAGE: An Israeli flag is raised on the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, with the Buda Castle in Budapest in the background on April 2, 2025, as preparations are under way for the visit of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The provincial government in southern Syria’s Daraa says nine civilians were killed and several were injured in Israeli bombardment following an “Israeli incursion.” Soldiers operated on the ground in what is possibly the deepest into Syria that Israeli forces have advanced thus far. Fabian weighs in.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that advancing IDF forces were carving out a new security corridor across southern Gaza as Israel seeks to pile pressure on Hamas to free the hostages. Fabian explains the strategy behind the new “Morag Corridor,” named after an Israeli settlement that stood in the area before it was evacuated during Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, and compares the number of forces on the ground in the Strip with that of troops at the height of the war.

On Wednesday, hundreds of Palestinians rallied in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, chanting “Hamas out” and “Enough death,” in renewed protests against the terror group. Residents were angered by new Israeli military evacuation orders, which the military said followed rocket salvos by terror groups from the area. We hear how the IDF is responding to the increase in rockets -- and who is claiming blame for them.

Fifteen emergency and aid workers from the Red Crescent, the United Nations and the Hamas-linked Palestinian Civil Defense have been recovered from a grave in the sand in the south of the Gaza Strip, UN officials said on Monday. The IDF acknowledged Friday that it had fired on ambulances and fire engines, saying it had identified them as “suspicious vehicles.” Investigations are ongoing, but Fabian lays out what we currently understand from the IDF.

Yesterday, Fabian toured an IDF post in Lebanon, on the edge of Markaba, which overlooks the Israeli border community of Margaliot. It is one of five strategic positions where the IDF has remained after a February deadline to withdraw from Lebanon, as part of an ongoing ceasefire that began in November. We learn what Fabian saw -- and what Defense Minister Israel Katz had to say about how long troops will be stationed there.

This conversation can also be viewed here:

 

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

IDF says several gunmen ‘eliminated’ after firing on troops in southern Syria

IDF strikes hit ‘remaining military capacities’ at Syrian airbases

Netanyahu says IDF carving new corridor across Gaza to cut off Rafah, pressure Hamas

Hamas threatens protesters, as new mass rallies against terror group held in Gaza

UN says 15 Gaza medics killed by IDF found in mass grave; IDF: We targeted terrorists

In Lebanon, Katz says troops to stay ‘without time limit’ to defend border communities

Katz says offensive aimed at seizing ‘extensive territory,’ as IDF pounds south Gaza

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Israeli soldiers on the border between Syria and northern Israel, March 14, 2025. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

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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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Released hostage Amit Soussana is honored by the US State Department as a Woman of Courage and is the only one of eight women honored to speak at the event. Magid notes that she uses the platform to speak about the remaining hostages and the need to return to negotiations, something echoed by former hostage Yarden Bibas and his focus on US President Donald Trump in his CBS interview with "60 Minutes." Magid speaks about the freed hostages who feel comfortable making their opinions clear, and their concerns about the intensification of military pressure and the current impasse in hostage negotiations.

The spontaneous, sporadic protests in Gaza against Hamas are the first in years, according to Magid, as people take a huge risk calling for an end to war in Gaza. A 22-year-old protester was tortured and killed, says Magid, who follows several Palestinian activists on social media who are planning more protests in the coming days. Magid notes that it would be best if Israel did not comment on them, leaving the movement as real, genuine protests against Hamas that could help impact the terror group as it approaches the ongoing hostage talks.

This conversation can also be viewed here:

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

Ex-hostage Amit Soussana receives US’s International Woman of Courage Award

Yarden Bibas to 60 Minutes: Only Trump can convince Netanyahu, Hamas to renew ceasefire-hostage deal

Gazan man murdered by Hamas after joining protests against terror group, family says

Gazan clan executes alleged Hamas operative who killed one of their relatives

IMAGE: Former hostage Amit Soussana, left, holds her hands over her heart while being applauded after speaking during the International Women of Courage awards ceremony, next to Henriette Da, of Burkina Faso, Georgiana Pascu, of Romania, Major Velena Iga, of Papua New Guinea, and first lady Melania Trump, at the award ceremony, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at the State Department in Washington. S (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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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.

Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon and archaeology reporter Rossella Tercatin join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused police of holding two aides “hostage” after they were arrested over their alleged engagement in illicit ties with Qatar while working for the premier, who interrupted his ongoing corruption trial to provide testimony in the controversial Qatargate investigation. Sharon delves into the latest developments.

The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Thursday that Israel has taken a variety of steps to provide for the humanitarian needs of Gaza’s civilian population during the current war with Hamas, and that there was no cause for the court to order the government and the army to take any additional action. We hear why this ruling is important in the context of other accusations against Israel on the international stage.

The IDF issued a statement on Monday night announcing that it had disciplined several officers and troops for vandalizing Palestinian property in Jinba after an investigation it conducted into the incident. Villagers claim that troops had stood by while the settler extremists attacked residents and prevented a Red Crescent ambulance from evacuating the wounded. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir went to Jinba himself to investigate the incident on Sunday, as did Sharon. He reports back.

Almost one in four US adults who were raised Jewish no longer identify as such, a new report by the prominent Pew Research Center released on Wednesday has shown. The report focuses on the phenomenon of “switching religions” around the world, and it is based on data obtained by polling almost 37,000 Americans and over 41,000 individuals in 35 other countries, including Israel. Tercatin gives highlights.

For the first time, a team of Israeli archaeologists has uncovered ancient artifacts at northern Israel’s “Armageddon” site that might offer proof of an epic battle documented in the books of Kings II and Chronicles between a king of Judah and an Egyptian pharaoh. We hear how the old adage "an army marches on its stomach" may give us insight into this historical battle.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

Netanyahu says his two aides ‘being held hostage’ in Qatargate ‘witch hunt’

High Court says petitioners ‘not even close’ to showing Israel starving Gazan civilians

‘There’s no justice’: Palestinian villagers reel after brutal settler, IDF rampage

Pew Research Center survey: A quarter of US adults raised Jewish no longer identify as Jews

Archaeologists find first evidence of epic biblical battle at ‘Armageddon’

IMAGE: People protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As the IDF warns Gazans to leave Rafah in southern Gaza, saying the military is returning to fight to eliminate terrorist capabilities as part of its military pressure to bring about a hostage deal, Horovitz reviews the situation in the Gaza Strip. He discusses the ongoing divide in Israeli society over how to bring the remaining hostages home, whether through military pressure or negotiations.

Horovitz also looks at the CBS "60 Minutes" interview with released hostages, including freed captive Yarden Bibas, who pointedly called for US President Donald Trump to help bring about a return to negotiations.

As Trump threatens Iran with strikes if it doesn't return to nuclear talks, Horovitz talks about the rise in rhetoric between the two nations.

Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the hardest-hit collectives on October 7 is working to remember its dead and find solutions for its future, and Surkes discusses a book written by one of its residents about the challenges facing the kibbutz that had been privatized years before the Hamas terror attack. She also describes a recently installed memorial for those killed on the kibbutz on October 7.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

IDF tells Gazans to flee entire Rafah area in largest evacuation since fighting resumed

Yarden Bibas to 60 Minutes: Only Trump can convince Netanyahu, Hamas to renew ceasefire-hostage deal

Trump threatens ‘there will be bombing’ if Iran fails to make deal on nukes

‘A murder in every corner’: 60-year resident writes book on Kfar Aza challenges post-Oct. 7

Kfar Aza Oct. 7 memorial forms unforeseen stop on trail envisioned by murdered Ofir Libstein

IMAGE: Palestinians attend Eid prayers in Khan Yuni in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

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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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Israeli military said Saturday evening it had expanded its ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip to expand a buffer zone along the borders of the Strip, the IDF said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced this morning that the security cabinet last night voted to increase pressure on Hamas. This comes as mediation efforts are stepping up. Berman explains where negotiations stand now -- and why.

Last week, Gazans took to the streets in protest against the Hamas regime throughout the Gaza Strip. This morning we learned that Hamas operatives kidnapped, tortured and executed a 22-year-old Palestinian man, Oday Nasser Al Rabay, who participated in last week’s wave of protests, according to his family. This comes as we learn of a June 2023 document from the Defense Ministry unit that oversees the Gaza Strip which recommended a potential long-term truce (hudna) with Hamas. Berman delves into what this document says about Israel's "conception" of Hamas capabilities.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators rallied in Istanbul Saturday calling for democracy to be defended after the arrest of mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in over a decade. Berman examines the Israel-Turkey relationship -- or lack thereof -- since October 7, 2023.

Syria’s new transitional government was sworn in Saturday, nearly four months after the Assad family was removed from power and as the new authorities in Damascus work to bring back stability to the war-torn country. While the 23-member Cabinet is religiously and ethnically mixed, Israel sees itself as a defender of Syria's minorities, says Berman.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

For further reading:

Israel confirms it received new Gaza truce proposal from mediators, made counteroffer

IDF expands ground op in southern Gaza, pushing further into Rafah

In disturbing Hamas video, distraught hostage Elkana Bohbot shouts and begs for release

Gazan man murdered by Hamas after joining protests against terror group, family says

Report: A June 2023 Defense Ministry document proposed near-sovereignty for Hamas in Gaza

Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, gather at Istanbul rally to protest against Erdogan

Syria swears in new transitional government four months after ousting Assad

IMAGE: Palestinians buy clothes in a shop next to a destroyed apartment building in preparation for Eid al-Fitr celebrations at Al-Rimal neighborhood in the center of Gaza City, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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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.

Today's we're bringing you an episode of What Matters Now, our weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World. This installment is hosted by arts and culture editor Jessica Steinberg, who is speaking with Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of released hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen.

Dekel-Chen, a dual Israeli-American citizen, was a vocal and visible hostage parent throughout the months of his son’s captivity. Sagui Dekel-Chen was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, while his pregnant wife and two young daughters hid in their safe room.

Dekel-Chen discusses the relief he and the family experienced upon seeing his son released home to Israel, the challenges that Sagui, the family and the Nir Oz community still face, and the sense of rebirth that Sagui feels post-captivity.

For 496 days, Sagui didn’t know the fate of his nuclear family, as well as what happened to extended members of his family and friends.

Dekel-Chen also reflects on the sense of abandonment felt by many hostage families from the Israeli government throughout the months of the war, and particularly now, since the army returned to fighting in Gaza, leaving 59 hostages still in captivity.

He speaks about the tremendous support he and other hostage families received from the US government, both from the Biden and Trump administrations, and his surprise to learn that American Jewish organizations didn’t band together to support the hostage families.

So this week, we ask history professor Jonathan Dekel-Chen, what matters now?

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen with his father Jonathan aboard an IDF helicopter en route to the hospital soon after his release from 498 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025 (IDF)

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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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing, which will be followed by a full episode of ToI's newest podcast series, the Friday Focus with Lazar Berman.

An Egyptian proposal to end renewed fighting in Gaza would see five living hostages released on the first day of the restored ceasefire, with another five living hostages released every 7-10 days, two foreign diplomats with knowledge of the details told The Times of Israel on Wednesday. Magid delves into what else is being reported about this proposal, one of several on the table right now.

One well-connected US analyst of the Middle East told Magid this week that the current Israeli government has all but foreclosed any chance for a normalization deal. We hear what Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI) who regularly speaks to Saudi and other regional officials, has to say -- and what the Saudis are potentially planning in the meantime.

US President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, tried to present a more moderate stance on Israel and the West Bank -- or Judea and Samaria, as he calls the contested land -- and urged lawmakers at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday to judge him based on his ability to represent the new administration. Magid weighs in.

In the Friday Focus, Berman illuminates the ongoing prejudice against Israel's Christians, who make up almost 2% of the country's population.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Egyptian plan would free 5 living hostages on day one, with releases every 7-10 days

Playing down normalization prospects, US analyst says Saudis feel Israel ‘looking backward’

Mike Huckabee downplays pro-settler views at confirmation hearing to be envoy to Israel

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Then-Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., takes questions from the media, prior to laying a brick at a new housing complex in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, August 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

 

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.

Following the early morning passage of the highly controversial law that greatly increases political power and influence over the judicial appointments process in Israel, Horovitz discusses details of the measure, and the fact that it will only come into effect in the next Knesset, meaning after Israel’s next general elections, currently scheduled for October 2026.

Horovitz discusses why this measure is being taken now by the coalition government, and how the opposition parties and Israeli society are reacting to this measure that has been in the making since the right-wing government was elected into office in November 2022.

There have been waves of protests over the last ten days, with rallies calling for the return of the hostages and anti-government demonstrations in Jerusalem, and Horovitz looks at what's being said in those gatherings and if they have any effect on current politics.

He also speaks about the continuing protests in Gaza, reportedly against Hamas, although the terror group claims that the Gazans are protesting Israel's return to IDF strikes.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Knesset passes law greatly boosting political control over appointment of judges

‘Democracy isn’t in danger,’ Netanyahu tells Knesset in tirade against ‘deep state’

Happening now: The smooth, malevolent unraveling of Israel’s vulnerable democracy

Thousands protest outside Knesset ahead of final votes on controversial judicial bill

Hundreds in Gaza join rare protests against Hamas rule, call for an end to the war

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers in the Knesset plenum during a vote on a bill to remake Israel's judicial appointments process, March 27, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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