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.

Today's guests are diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and US reporter Jacob Magid, hosted by Jessica Steinberg.

Berman discusses the possible candidates for Jewish Agency chairpeople, now that Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern’s candidacy has been withdrawn.

He fills us in on the politics of filling the position, and what's needed in this significant job that oversees the cross-section of the global Jewish community and Israel.

Berman also speaks about Swedish foreign minister Ann Linde's visit to Israel, the first by a Swedish official in over a decade, as relations between the two countries have thawed in recent months.

Magid tells the podcast about the recent visit of Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan to the South Side of Chicago, where an Israel trauma model is being used to cope with gun violence. He discusses the motivation of the Israeli embassy to work on a grassroots level in the US, finding a way to connect to communities and minorities.

Discussed articles include:

Jewish Agency postpones vote for chairman after Stern scandal

In decade’s 1st Israel visit by a Swedish FM, Linde vows to combat antisemitism

Enough of MLK and Heschel: Israel outreach in Chicago aims to form new narrative

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: View of the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem, November 29, 2016. (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's guests are ToI editor David Horovitz and Arab Affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

Joining me today are founding editor David H and Arab Affairs Correspondent Aaron Boxerman.

With another Arab man gunned down Monday, Israel marks the 100th Arab homicide in 2021, and Boxerman and Horovitz what that means in terms of the crime wave in Israel and whether the Israel Police should have expanded tools to cut down on crime.

Horovitz looks at the Justice Ministry's decision to wipe out the NIS 65 million ($20 million) debt owed to the state by billionaire Idan Ofer for utilizing the country’s natural saltwater by his company, Dead Sea Works, and the effect that use has had on the diminishing waters of the Dead Sea.

Steinberg follows with a conversation about the Sunday photo shoot at the Dead Sea, when American artist Spencer Tunick photographed 200 volunteers modeling nude, in an effort to raise awareness about the shrinking waters of the Dead Sea.

Finally, Horovitz mentions TV show "Goliath," currently in its fourth season, tackling the thinly veiled subject of a major pharmaceutical family -- akin to the Sacklers -- and the current opiod epidemic.

Discussed articles include:

Man gunned down in Bi’na, marking 100th Arab Israeli homicide in 2021

Government moves to expand warrantless police searches to fight Arab crime

TV: State wipes out NIS 65 million debt owed by billionaire for Dead Sea water

Nude and painted white, 200 volunteer models pose at endangered Dead Sea

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Police at the scene of where Sahar Ismail, the Education minister's aide for Arab society, was found murdered in his home, in the northern Israeli town of Rameh. August 15, 2021. Photo by FLASH 90

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's guests are military correspondent Judah Ari Gross and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, with Raoul Wootliff hosting.

On today's show, we open with the alleged Israeli assassination of Midhat as-Saleh, once jailed in Israel on security-related crimes and since connected to Syrian intelligence, who was reportedly shot dead over the weekend in the Syrian town of Ain Eltinah.

We'll assess the latest settler violence towards both Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

And, we look at the killing of UK politician David Amess and ask what the rest of the world can learn from Israel's experience of politicide.

Discussed articles include:

Israel kills ex-security prisoner, intel agent near Golan border: Syrian media

Syria denounces Israel for allegedly killing ex-security prisoner, intel agent

Settlers light fires, throw rocks towards Palestinian home during clashes

Palestinian olive pickers attacked by large group of settlers, PA says

Terror suspect in murder of British MP David Amess identified

UK police: MP Amess killing was terrorism, potentially tied to Islamic extremism

Terrorist murder of David Amess threatens tradition of UK MPs’ ‘surgeries’

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

PHOTO: 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's guests are founding ToI editor David Horovitz and Startup Israel editor Ricky Ben-David with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

Horovitz discusses the recent ceremony he attended honoring WWII Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, attended by his son Nobuki Sugihara, and their conversation about the father's bravery during his posting in Hungary, when he saved lives and future lives by churning out transit visas.

Ben-David follows with a look at why Israel’s tech sector is breaking capital-funding records in 2021, pointing to the more mature Silicon Wadi, second- and third-time entrepreneurs who have also spent time at tech giants, forging their own connections and contacts and technologies that require larger capital.

Horovitz also talks about the recent ransomware attack on Hillel Yaffe hospital in Hadera, an institution that was following cybersecurity protocol and is now dealing with the ramifications of the attack.

Ben-David discusses her interview with an Israeli expert regarding Facebook and the recent whistleblower testimony that will presumably change the trajectory of the social media company. She also offers a birds'-eye view of a drone-food delivery to reporters on the Tel Aviv beach.

Discussed articles include:

81 years later, Chiune Sugihara’s humanity continues to enable new lives

Israeli tech firms raised staggering $17.8b this year, almost double 2020 total

Israel on heightened alert after hospital hit with ransomware attack

Israeli hospital hit with ransomware attack

Regulation takes time but it’s coming for Facebook, says Israeli law expert

Drones deliver sushi, beer in Tel Aviv as Israel tests commercial UAVs

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: The third out of eight phases of the National Drone Initiative's pilot project to create a national drone network, where amongst others the drones would be able to deliver food and medicine through an application, in Tel Aviv, on October 11, 2021 (Photo by FLASH90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Health and science editor Nathan Jeffay and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join Jessica Steinberg on today's podcast.

Jeffay tells us about the encouraging falling coronavirus infection rates, and what that means for Israelis, and particularly for school-age kids.

Rettig-Gur discusses the Likud party's division into two camps, one supporting Benjamin Netanyahu and the other aiming to be rid of him, with Likud MK Yuli Edelstein vying to lead the latter group.

Finally, Jeffay talks about masking policies in the UK, where he recently visited, vis a vis standards in Israel, and what a lack of masks portends in society.

Discussed articles include:

Virus czar ‘optimistic’ about COVID-19 decline, but says restrictions to remain

Likud MKs pan ‘subversive’ Edelstein for challenging Netanyahu as party leader

Poll shows scant support for Edelstein in Likud leadership battle with Netanyahu

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

PHOTO: Medical clowns wearing safety gear as they visit patients in the coronavirus ward of Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem, on February 3, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's guests are US correspondent Jacob Magid and breaking news editor Emanuel Fabian, with Raoul Wootliff hosting.

On today's show, we start with an update on recent violence at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem and near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar.

We hear from Magid about his recent interview with the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour and how the Palestinians are trying to engage with the US.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid lands today in the US. We look at what's in store on his trip.

And to finish the show, we hear about the tanks of the future being developed in Israel.

Discussed articles include:

Police, Palestinians clash by Damascus Gate for third consecutive night

Extremist settlers injure cop in clash near flashpoint West Bank settlement

Visiting US envoy raises human rights with Israelis, terror payments with PA

Lapid takes off for Washington ahead of likely restart of Iran nuclear talks

Defense Ministry selects IAI to lead development of Israel’s tanks of the future

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

PHOTO: Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Karen Riyad Mansour listens to speakers during a meeting on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's guests are political correspondent Tal Schneider and Arab affairs writer Aaron Boxerman with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

Schneider offers the scoop on Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern of Yesh Atid and his media apologies on Sunday regarding his comment about shredding anonymous complaints while IDF manpower chief.

Boxerman follows with a look at the history and plans for nearly NIS 35 billion ($10.3 billion) in the government budget for the Arab community over the next five years.

He and Schneider discuss the deep, pervasive needs in Arab villages and cities, including the ongoing internal violence stemming from systemic gang violence and a lack of options for many Arab citizens.

Schneider speaks about German chancellor Angela Merkel's visit in Israel, which didn't include any time spent with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a surprise given their long working relationship.

Finally, Boxerman mentions an Arab-Jewish group he attended in Jerusalem Sunday night, a surprisingly friendly group of conversationalists.

Discussed articles include:

Ex-soldier says Elazar Stern threatened her for claiming sex assault by officer

As unprecedented billions planned for under-served Arabs, devil’s in the details

Merkel on farewell trip: Israel’s security will always be a priority for Germany

Laying a wreath at Yad Vashem, Merkel says museum is a ‘reminder’ and ‘warning’

Bennett said to tell Merkel Israel wants to advance controversial submarine deal

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: View of the main road in the Arab-Israeli village of Majd al-Krum, near the northern Israeli city of Karmiel, on November 8, 2017 (Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's podcast guests are Times of Israel editor David Horovitz and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman, hosted by Jessica Steinberg.

Berman fills us in on the recent visit by a Bahraini mission in Israel, including their unusual and unexpected visit to the Western Wall and reactions to the visitors on the street.

Horovitz discusses the recent blackout in Lebanon, the ongoing efforts to find new information on the whereabouts of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad and the alleged attack in Cyprus, and the increasing journalistic difficulty of disseminating what is true and what is not in these ongoing news stories.

Berman fills us in on the Chiune Sugihara saga, and his story about a bureaucratic snafu that was keeping the son of this World War Two Japanese envoy who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis from traveling to Israel this week for a ceremony in his father's memory.

Finally, Horovitz talks about Israel's late game defeat in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier in Glasgow, shattering its hopes of qualifying for next year’s tournament in Qatar.

Discussed articles include:

From Western Wall to Old City alleys, curious Israelis embrace Bahraini visitors

Lebanon left without power for days after state-run grid collapses

Report: Israel seized jogging Iran general in Damascus, freed him in S. Africa

Interior Minister Shaked: Sugihara a hero to Jews; I intervened after ToI story

Scotland defeats Israel 3-2 in crucial World Cup qualifier

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Haredi students pose wih Bahraini education official Mohammed Saleh in the Old City of Jerusalem, October 6, 2021 (Lazar Berman, Times of Israel)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's podcast guests are Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and Ops and Blogs Editor Miriam Herschlag, hosted by Jessica Steinberg.

Horovitz discusses the decline in the latest coronavirus wave, along with comments made by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the UN regarding COVID-19 policies in Israel.

Herschlag speaks about one of the site’s top op-eds, with a strong take on what Israel’s position should be regarding the US strategy on Iran.

She also points out two other blogs leading the site, one by a Jerusalem mohel and another by a rabbi educator writing about loving one's children who leave religion.

Horovitz also speaks about the ceremony in Kyiv commemorating the victims of the Babi Yar massacre.

Finally, Steinberg, Horovitz and Herschlag discuss the Ophir Awards, and the kerfuffle regarding politics and the winning film, Eran Kolirin's "Let It Be Morning."

Discussed articles include:

Top health official says fourth COVID wave on the wane, could end soon

Israel must actively oppose US return to the JCPOA

At Babi Yar massacre site, Herzog decries years of silence, ongoing denial

The New Yorker’s botched circumcision article

Thou shalt love your child who leaves religion

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Eran Kolirin, director of the 2021 Ophir Award-winning film (Courtesy Tomer Neuberg/ Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today's podcast guests are Startup Israel editor Ricky Ben-David and Arab Affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman, hosted by Jessica Steinberg.

Ben-David discusses her investigative report about the astronomical housing prices in Israel, which have nearly doubled in the last decade, delving into declining housing affordability, a weakened middle class, investors and a weakened middle class.

Boxerman offers a deep-dive into the Arab-Israeli community as mayors and leaders spoke to him at length about the government decision to step up Shin Bet involvement in fighting rising organized crime in Arab communities.

Discussed articles include:

Israeli housing prices have nearly doubled in a decade, with no signs of slowing

Government move to enlist Shin Bet to fight rising crime splits Arab Israelis

IDF, Shin Bet will aid illegal weapons crackdown in Arab towns, ministers decide

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: View of the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, on August 4, 2021 (Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.