The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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.

Knesset correspondent Tal Schneider and US correspondent Jacob Magid join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Magid discusses his inside story regarding Washington's views of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government right now, and whether US President Joe Biden is looking to change his strategy regarding Israel.

Schneider follows up with yesterday's phone call between Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which they discussed the outbreak of settler violence, and how the government is handling that.

Schneider also speaks about Zman Yisrael's breaking story regarding Netanyahu’s announced trip to China — and what he wants that to mean in terms of his relationship with the US and President Biden.

Magid and Schneider also look at the postponed Negev Summit in Morocco with Israel, the US and several Arab countries, due to escalating West Bank settlement activity and how that demonstrates changes in international treatment of Netanyahu.

Discussed articles include:

‘Not alone in the driver’s seat’: US thinks Netanyahu has lost control of coalition

Cohen speaks to Blinken, says Israel will bring violent settlers to justice

Netanyahu confirms to US lawmakers that he is heading to China

Morocco confirms US-Israel-Arab ministerial forum delayed, cites ‘political context’

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IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the District Court in Jerusalem to as he arrives to listen to the testimony of businessman Arnon Milchan on June 27, 2023 (Photo by Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)

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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.

Settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon and writer Melanie Lidman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, Israel broke a record when authorities advanced plans for some 5,700 additional new settlement homes, bringing the year total to some 13, 000. Where are some of the building starts?

The United States said it would cut support to scientific and technology research in Israeli institutions in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights. Which university specifically does this target?

Yesterday, Sharon was onsite at the illegal outpost of Evyatar that was repopulated last week. Who is there now? He also visited the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, where he met with the family of the man killed in unclear circumstances during last week's vigilante violence following the fatal shooting attack near Eli.

Lidman brings us a study conducted by Hebrew University Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, who claims that he has found evidence of a network of biblical cities — including road infrastructure and communication between the capital and its satellites — that basically shores up the biblical narrative of a Davidic kingdom.

And finally, we hear about how a team of scientists from Ariel University and Tel Aviv University has written a kind of Google translate for millennia-old Akkadian.

Discussed articles include:

Israel advances plans for 5,700 settlement homes, breaking annual record in 6 months

US cuts science, tech cooperation with Israeli institutions in the West Bank

Web of biblical cities depicts King David as major ruler, says Israeli archaeologist

Groundbreaking AI project translates 5,000-year-old cuneiform at push of a button

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IMAGE: People at the newly repopulated illegal Evyatar outpost in the West Bank, June 22, 2023. (Flash90)

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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 editor David Horovitz and Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Three months after it was frozen, the judicial overhaul was officially restarted yesterday with deliberations in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Why do critics call it a “pathway to corruption”?

Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan testified yesterday in the prime minister’s ongoing corruption trial, Case 1000. What did we hear?

Yesterday, Police Commissioner Yaakov (Kobi) Shabtai said he would not seek a fourth year in his position. But Goren explains how this isn’t the only power vacuum we’re set to see in the police force.

Discussed articles include:

PM said ready to ‘go all the way’ with reasonableness bill to limit judicial review

Knesset restarts judicial overhaul with bill to broadly outlaw ‘reasonableness’ test

In testimony, Milchan confirms conveyor belt of cigars, champagne to Netanyahus

Police chief says he won’t seek 4th year in office ‘under these conditions’

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IMAGE: MK Simcha Rotman, Head of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, leads a committee meeting on the planned judicial reform, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on June 25, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan. 

Yesterday, during Shabbat, several dozen settler vigilantes rampaged for the fifth consecutive day following Tuesday’s fatal shooting attack. This time through the Palestinian West Bank village of Umm Safa, setting fire to vehicles and homes. What else do we know about this attack and where was the IDF?

Rettig Gur speaks at length about how Israel is failing to follow through on “managing” or “shrinking” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What are some "boring" bureaucratic ways in which Palestinians are being blocked from basic necessities such as electricity and sewage?

Discussed articles include:

Settlers riot in another Palestinian village; IDF spokesman: ‘Shameful acts of terror’

Suspects in settler reprisals ordered to remain behind bars; fourth person detained

Off-duty soldier among 4 detained in latest settler attack on Palestinian village

IDF, Shin Bet and police heads slam settler attacks as ‘terror,’ vow to fight them

Ministers slam security chiefs for calling settler attacks on Palestinians ‘terror’

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IMAGE: Fields on fire near the Palestinian village of Qusra, in the West Bank, June 22, 2023. (Flash90)

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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.

Settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Starting early Wednesday, hundreds of settlers, including leaders of the movement and members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, have traveled to the illegal West Bank outpost of Evyatar. What’s happening there right now?

Also Wednesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers tore through the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, setting homes, cars, and fields on fire and terrorizing residents shortly after Israeli victims of a Palestinian terror shooting in the West Bank were buried. One Palestinian is now dead under conflicting circumstances. Sharon weighs in.

As a result of Tuesday's shooting, the government announced that the settlement of Eli will build 1,000 new housing units. But there's more to that story.

For a second day yesterday, thousands of Druze residents of the Golan Heights rioted against the construction of a new wind farm near the town of Majdal Shams. What is the overall plan for wind turbines in the Golan and why is the Druze community up in arms.

Lawyer Amit Becher scored a landslide victory with 73% of the vote in the election for Israel Bar Association (IBA) chairman on Tuesday. What are the ripple effects of Becher’s win?

Surkes brought us a first-of-its-kind study this week: a Global Food Donation Policy Atlas. How does Israel rank?

Discussed articles include:

Settlers mass at Evyatar, vow to reestablish outpost in response to deadly attack

Palestinian killed in unclear circumstances as settlers rampage in West Bank town

4 Druze seriously injured, 12 cops hurt in massive riots against Golan wind farm

Renewable energy company starts testing first of 39 wind turbines on Golan Heights

Winning bar contest, Becher spoils coalition hope of controlling judge picks, for now

International review finds Israel can do more to donate surplus food to needy

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IMAGE: Settlement leadership, including Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan (second to right) and Samaria Council Municipal Chief Rabbi Elyakim Levanon (center right), at Evyatar illegal West Bank outpost, June 21, 2023. (Courtesy Nachala Settlement Movement)

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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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and US bureau chief Jacob Magid join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

17-year-old Nachman Mordoff, 17-year-old Elisha Anteman, 21-year-old Harel Masood and 64-year-old Ofer Fayerman were shot dead Tuesday afternoon near the West Bank settlement of Eli. Fabian takes us through what we know about the attack and its perpetrators.

Following the attack, last night we saw a grim repeat of settler vandalization and violence in Palestinian locations near the settlement of Eli. What do we know so far about the damage wrought?

Following the attack, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides issued two condemnations. Magid breaks down how the doubling up occurred.

Magid learned yesterday that Morocco has decided to cancel plans to host the second ministerial gathering of the Negev Forum. What is the country's reasoning?

This week the White House has issued condemnations against announcements of settlement expansions and reminders of the need for consensus for the judicial overhaul. Magid fills us in.

And finally, we hear an update about the potential for direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia.

Discussed articles include:

Two teens, recently discharged soldier among 4 killed in West Bank attack

Netanyahu: ‘All options open’ in responding to deadly West Bank shooting attack

Rampaging settlers torch Palestinian cars, fields near Nablus after deadly shooting

US envoy backpedals after tweet bemoaning West Bank deaths sparks Israeli protest

Morocco cancels next month’s Negev Forum over Israeli settlement announcements

UN chief ‘troubled, alarmed’ by Israeli decisions to beef up settlement building

US says overhaul consensus crucial as Netanyahu coalition unilaterally restarts push

Flights between Israel and Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims won’t be ready for Hajj

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Image: Friends and family attend the funeral of 21-year-old Israeli Harel Masood, who was killed in a terror attack near the Jewish settlement of Eli, in the cemetery in Yesodot, on June 20, 2023. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

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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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and health reporter Renee Ghert-Zand join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Monday morning an Israeli helicopter gunship carried out rare strikes in Jenin after six Palestinians were killed and eight Israeli troops were wounded during heavy clashes. Fabian debriefs.

On Sunday, six Israelis who regained their eyesight thanks to donor corneas had a chance to thank the donors’ families in person. All donors were recent victims of Palestinian terror shootings, including the family of siblings Yagel and Hillel Yaniv, as well as the Dee family, who donated mother Lucy Dee’s corneas. Who were some of the recipients?

After a decade of work, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science say they have managed to create stem cell-derived human embryo models outside the uterus. How do these models differ from "natural" human embryos?

Discussed articles include:

5 Palestinians dead, 8 IDF troops hurt in Jenin battle; Apache carries out airstrikes

Families of terror victims Yaniv brothers, Lucy Dee meet recipients of their corneas

In breakthrough, Israeli scientists say they synthesized human embryos from stem cells

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IMAGE: An Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache attack helicopter releases flares during an Israeli army raid in Jenin in the West Bank on June 19, 2023. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

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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.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz and Knesset correspondent Tal Schneider join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Horovitz discusses extraordinary decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich full authority to expand existing settlements in Judea and Samaria.

He also examines Netanyahu's disapproval of talks between Washington and Tehran and what that means for the US-Israel relationship.

Schneider explains how Tuesday's elections at the Israel Bar Association could affect the Judicial Selection Committee, expanding on the two candidates for the position of chairman.

Schneider and Horovitz discuss Netanyahu's statement that the coalition’s original legislation aimed at securing control over the Judicial Selection Committee will not be revived and what that means in terms of the judicial overhaul.

They also look at US semiconductor giant Intel Corp.'s agreement in principle to build a chip manufacturing plant at an investment of $25 billion, and whether it is indeed a show of faith in the current economy.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu hands Smotrich full authority to expand existing settlements

Netanyahu says Israel opposes nuclear ‘mini-agreements’ with Iran

Intel to invest ‘unprecedented’ $25 billion in chip manufacturing plant in Israel

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IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits at the Intel's Kiryat Gat plant on November 14, 2016 (Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Last week's stormy Knesset sessions ended with a surprise twist as the Judicial Selection Committee vote was waylaid by a rogue Likud member, MK Tally Gotliv. Rettig Gur gives a brief recap of where things stand in terms of the vote and the judicial overhaul negotiations and theorizing on next steps for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition.

The Sky Sonic interceptor missile, which has been in development for around three years, will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Paris Air Show next week. What is this technology?

Israel is in talks to sell used Merkava tanks to two countries, including one in Europe, in what would be the first such export of the armored vehicle. Likewise, annual Israeli arms sales reached a new record in 2022, reaching $12.5 billion last year. What are some of the factors that have caused the sharp increase?

Discussed articles include:

With fate of judicial panel in the balance, masses rally nationwide against overhaul

Netanyahu finds he’s lost control of the populist tiger he rode to power

Liberman: Judicial panel vote ‘one big show’ that Netanyahu staged with Lapid, Gantz

Defense tech firm Rafael reveals first-ever hypersonic interceptor

In first, Israel plans to sell vaunted Merkava tank to 2 countries, one in Europe

Israeli arms sales doubled in a decade, hit new record of $12.5 billion in 2022

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ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: MK Tally Gotliv attends a conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 28, 2022 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday was a roller-coaster day in the Knesset with the long-awaited vote for the Judicial Selection Committee vote. What actually ended up happening was beyond our imagination. Keller-Lynn explains what happened on this most colorful day.

There is increased talk of a “less-for-less” nuclear deal with Iran and according to Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed officials about the details of a potential “mini” agreement and said that Israel would be able to accept it. What do we know so far?

Berman met with a high-level Hungarian minister Gergely Gulyás, who was part of the team that wrote Hungary’s new constitution, the Fundamental Law of Hungary, in 2011. What brought him to Israel this week?

Berman brought us insight into Egypt’s somewhat muted response following the lone gunman attack last week that left three IDF soldiers killed. What happened in October 1985?

Discussed articles include:

Coalition in chaos as opposition wins seat on judge-picking panel while Likud left out

Coalition members accuse Likud ‘traitors’ after opposition wins judicial panel seat

US, Iran said discussing informal, limited ‘political ceasefire,’ not full nuke deal

Report: Netanyahu says US and Iran in talks for a ‘mini-deal’ Israel can live with

Wary of harming Israel ties, Egypt looks to bury popular praise for border attack

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IMAGE: File: Israeli MK Karine Elharrar arrives at the Israeli parliament, for the opening session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on November 15, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

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