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.

Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and health reporter Renee Ghert-Zand join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on this episode marking Yom Hashoah, Israel’s National Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Even as President Isaac Herzog called for the Israeli people to put aside their differences over the judicial overhaul last night during the official ceremony marking Yom Hashoah at Yad Vashem, in Tel Aviv MK Boaz Bismuth of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party was forced to leave a ceremony at a synagogue after participants heckled him and threatened violence. Why does this worry Goren ahead of next weeks Memorial Day ceremonies?

In the year since 2022's Yom Hashoah, the Tracing Services at Magen David Adom — the Israeli branch of the International Red Cross — has received 150 requests for help in locating relatives and renewing family ties. Over the years, it has aided in the reunion of hundreds of relatives, including six siblings. How does it go about this work eight decades following World War II?

Israel’s Labor party suffered a crushing blow in the November elections and now the four-seat party seems to be in disarray. This week we heard that it’s dropped out of the judicial overhaul negotiation talks at the President's Residence and yesterday we learned that its few MKs are forcing leader Merav Michaeli to get their approval for her decisions. What’s happening here?

Finally, we hear about a European grassroots effort in which several young leaders are taking the initiative and organizing coexistence clean-up projects for the thousands of Stolpersteine or stumbling blocks that are embedded in sidewalks in European towns and cities.

Discussed articles include:

Israel grinds to a halt as siren wails to commemorate 6 million Holocaust victims

As Israel remembers Holocaust, Herzog says commemoration must be ‘above all dispute’

Likud MK shouted down by anti-coalition hecklers at Holocaust Remembrance Day event

Magen David Adom aids Shoah survivors seeking lost relatives

Labor MKs seek to replace leader Michaeli, claim party’s future depends on it

Citing ‘deals in the dark,’ Labor party quits judicial overhaul talks with president

In grassroots effort, young Europeans clean ‘stumbling stones’ to gleam like beacons

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IMAGE: Visitors at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem light memorial candles dedicated to individuals killed in the Holocaust, April 17, 2023. (Yad Vashem)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz and Tech Israel editor Sharon Wrobel join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Late on Friday, Moody’s Investors Service lowered the country’s economic outlook from positive to stable. We hear why this is significant -- and what were the reasons. How did Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu respond and what are we hearing from experts in the field?

Yesterday, Netanyahu held a meeting with some of his coalition partners to discuss potential new legislation on the military draft — specifically, weighing lowering the age at which members of the ultra-Orthodox community can get a formal exemption from service. Why is this controversial?

Israel’s Eco Wave Power has developed technology to harness clean energy from the motion of waves. It has inked a first agreement with the Israeli National Electric Company to connect its wave-energy power plant and sell electricity to Israel’s power grid. How far away are we from wave energy in Israelis' homes?

Discussed articles include:

Dismissing Moody’s downgrade, Smotrich says any economic damage is fault of protests

Netanyahu in talks on new IDF draft law that would lower age for Haredi exemption

In first, Eco Wave to supply electricity generated from waves to Israeli households

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Illustrative image: NIS 100 bill. December 31, 2017. (Nati Shohat/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 on today's episode.

For the 15th straight week, anti-judicial overhaul protesters took to the streets throughout the country, with an estimated several hundred thousand throughout the country. Rettig Gur weighs in on why the protests have continued even as negotiations are taking place under the auspices of President Isaac Herzog.

Israel suffered a series of Hamas rocket attacks over the first Passover holiday weekend, including from Lebanon. Fabian explains what Israeli experts are saying about this seemingly new alliance between Hamas and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

A senior delegation representing the Palestinian terror group Hamas is reportedly set to visit Saudi Arabia today. Rettig Gur describes how Iran and Hamas have finally built and activated their alliance, which allows Hamas to continue expanding the Gaza front to more theaters. What can we can learn from what just happened over the past week about the effects of Israel’s domestic strife on the broader region?

And finally, Likud MK Tally Gotliv gave a rare English-language interview to an international reporter last night during a rally in support of the judicial overhaul last night. Rettig Gur responds.

Discussed articles include:

Hundreds of thousands rally against judicial overhaul plans for a 15th straight week

With support of Iran and Hezbollah, experts believe Hamas well established in Lebanon

Saudis said set to host top Hamas delegation, further dimming Israeli hopes for ties

Saudi-Iran detente marks latest twist in decades of fraught ties

Israel’s efforts to forge Saudi ties said on ice as tensions with Palestinians spike

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Illustrative image: Hamas supporters wave green Islamic flags during a protest to show the solidarity with Al-Aqsa Mosque, in Jebaliya City, northern Gaza Strip, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

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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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Schneider discusses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attendance at a post-Passover Mimouna celebration on Wednesday night, de rigeur for politicians, with hundreds of protestors outside as the prime minister called for unity inside.

Schneider talks about her piece reviewing the government's first 100 days, detailing the jump into the judicial overhaul and the nearly immediate protests that have since continued.

She also looks at the reinstatement of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who spoke out against the judicial reform several weeks ago and was fired and then reinstated by Netanyahu, part of the prime minister's longstanding, difficult relationships with his various defense ministers.

Surkes speaks about discoveries made by Israeli scientists regarding the various types of communication offered by plants.

She also looks at a new recycling factory for appliances opened in Sderot, aiming to make a dent in the disposal of household appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners.

Discussed articles include:

Hundreds of protesters outside as Netanyahu extolls Jewish unity at Mimouna event

The Hundred Days War: Chronicles of a government in chaos and a nation at the brink

In groundbreaking research, Tel Aviv U team records plants ‘talking’ for first time

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IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara attend a Moroccan Mimouna in Hadera on April 12, 2023. (Photo by Rami Shllush/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.

US correspondent Jacob Magid and Diaspora Affairs correspondent Canaan Lidor join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

In light of the current terror wave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a public address on Monday night during primetime news. Magid explains what was significant.

Israeli high school trips to Poland were put on hold last year after a series of acrimonious statements between the two governments. On Monday, a draft agreement to resolve the stand-off was published by Haaretz. What are the draft’s contents and why are they so controversial?

Former Adass Israel School principal Malka Leifer was convicted for sex abuse last week, but for one of her accusers, the victory was bittersweet. Magid reports on a moving conversation with Nicole Meyer.

Lidor shares impressions from covering a "monotheistic feast" in the Old City on Easter Sunday, when he covered the priestly blessing at the Western Wall, saw the Christian celebrations and preparations for Muslims' iftar break fast.

Discussed articles include:

‘Polish propaganda’: Critics assail deal to resume Israeli youth trips to Poland

Malka Leifer accuser takes solace in ‘collective win’ after partial guilty verdict

Wary amid terror fears, thousands of Jews receive priestly blessing at Western Wall

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IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on April 10, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/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.

Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Sharon was at the Kfar Etzion settlement yesterday for the funeral of 20-year-old Maia and 15-year-old Rina Dee, who were murdered in a shooting attack on Friday afternoon in the Jordan Valley. He describes a truly remarkable family embraced by its community.

A poll published yesterday on Channel 13 shows a dramatic drop in support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. Goren explains the significance of who is on the wane and who is on the rise.

Three mayors in border towns in the north -- from Metulla, Mateh Asher, and Shlomi, northern communities and regions that took rocket fire this week — were allegedly blackballed from a strategic defense briefing on Sunday. Why?

A three-kilometer march in support of the wild cat West Bank settlement of Evyatar took place today at noon, with several government ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and other coalition members. Sharon and Goren explain why this march is so controversial.

Leaked documents allegedly stemming from the CIA spurred incredible reports in US media that senior Mossad officials encouraged spy agency members and citizens to protest the government’s judicial overhaul plans. Fake news?

Discussed articles include:

‘How will I explain to your mother?’ wails father of terror victim sisters at funeral

Poll shows dramatic drop in support for Likud, surge in backing for National Unity

Gantz says 3 mayors he had met with were excluded from Netanyahu security call

Right-wing West Bank march Monday will strain stretched security forces – officials

US intel says Mossad heads stirred anti-overhaul protests; PMO: ‘Completely false’

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IMAGE: Israelis march to the Evyatar outpost, near the West Bank city of Nablus, during the Passover holiday, on April 10, 2023. (Sraya Diamant/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.

Editor David Horovitz and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

In the past several days, Israel has seen attacks on most fronts and throughout the country. Two Israeli sisters from the West Bank settlement of Efrat, 20-year-old Maia Dee, and 15-year-old Rina Dee, were shot dead in a terror attack on Friday. Their mother, Lucy is in critical condition. Separately, Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was killed in a car ramming attack on Friday night. Fabian unravels the sequence of events.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was ostensibly fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although he continues to serve in the role. Fabian weighs in on whether this instability is emboldening Israel's neighbors.

Horovitz discusses how Iran, now cozying up to Saudi Arabia, is another actor in the region.

Almost three weeks ago, Justice Minister Yariv Levin gave an interview to the pro-Netanyahu TV station Channel 14, which in a recent op-ed Horovitz called “astonishing” and “astounding.” Hear why.

Discussed articles include:

Sisters gunned down in Friday terror attack named as Maia and Rina Dee

Italian tourist dead, 7 others hurt in car-ramming on Tel Aviv promenade

IDF: 6 rockets fired from Syria at Golan Heights; military retaliates with strikes

34 rockets fired from Lebanon at Israel in worst barrage in years; Hamas blamed

US navy sends nuclear submarine to Middle East amid soaring Iran tensions

Our enemies smell weakness

‘Democracy will win’: Amid terror threat, hundreds of thousands protest overhaul

Minister behind overhaul admits it would end democracy, falsely claims he’s fixed it

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IMAGE: A Jewish worshipper attends the priestly blessing prayer near the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, April 9, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/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.

Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and health and science reporter Renee Ghert-Zand join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Goren discusses the current status between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who spent part of Monday together at pre-Passover toasts, while Gallant's ministerial status is up in the air after the prime minister fired him last week for his comments about the judicial overhaul.

She also talks about the appearance of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the high court Monday, and his surprisingly strong legal defense on a petition demanding he be disqualified from his ministerial position.

Ghert-Zand looks at how Israeli hospitals are already dealing with the renewed ban of leavened hametz products from their institutions over the course of Passover.

She also discusses findings about green tea, the naturally caffeinated plant that may be causing liver disease.

Ghert-Zand talks about a new trial at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek hospital, testing the effectiveness of an osteoporosis drug for preventing breast cancer tumors in BRCA1 carriers.

Discussed articles include:

In first joint appearance since firing attempt, Netanyahu and Gallant tout IDF unity

‘I made mistakes’: Ben Gvir tells High Court he’s ‘refined’ since entering politics

Hospital confiscates pregnant woman’s cookies as new hametz law goes into effect

Green tea can be dangerous for some people, Israeli study concludes

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IMAGE: Israeli minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir arrives for a court hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on April 3, 2023. (Photo by EriK Marmor/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.

Editor David Horovitz and diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in our Jerusalem office.

Government ministers voted to pass the formation of a national guard under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir yesterday prior to the Knesset's Passover recess. How it will be funded was a sticking point during the voting yesterday. Horovitz weighs in.

The judicial overhaul compromise talks resumed today at President Isaac Herzog’s residence, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended his greater intervention in the overhaul process. Horovitz explains some of the reasons Netanyahu's lawyers give for ostensibly breaking his corruption trials’ conflict of interest agreement with the Attorney General.

Israel hosted an iftar “break fast” meal last night for diplomats from Muslim countries serving in Israel and local Muslim leaders, but there were a number of notable absences. Who didn’t show and what does this say about the strength of the Abraham Accords?

Jordan’s King Abdullah II stated yesterday, “It is the duty of every Muslim to deter Israeli escalations against… holy sites in Jerusalem.” Berman explains the context to this statement.

Ukrainian Jewish communities are preparing for Passover under drone fire again this year. The Dnipro Tiferet Matzot Bakery, the main matza factory for Ukraine, was set ablaze last week. Hear why the matza is so emblematic of freedom of worship in this former Soviet country and why Passover observance is on the rise.

Discussed articles include:

Ministers approve Ben Gvir-led national guard, major budget cuts to fund it

Herzog’s office says overhaul compromise talks to resume on Monday

UAE, Bahrain ambassadors skip Foreign Ministry iftar meal for Muslim diplomats

Jordan king says Muslims have ‘duty to deter Israeli escalation’ in Jerusalem

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Illustrative image: Palestinians read the Quran during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at the Great Al-Awda Mosque in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 1, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/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.

Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn and legal affairs reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in The Times of Israel's Jerusalem offices.

Keller-Lynn reports on the pro-judicial overhaul protest in Thursday where some 20,000 self-proclaimed "right-wing" citizens rallied in support of the coalition's reform package. Keller-Lynn compares the moood with the many anti-overhaul protests she has attended.

The cabinet is set to vote today on what many are calling National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s “private militia.” Sharon explains who is meant to make up the National Guard and what the unit is assigned to patrol.

Last Sunday night, reports of the firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant set off a chain of events leading to the eventual pause of the judicial overhaul package. What is his status a week later?

Sharon looks into the much-cited case of the High Court overriding the Knesset with the legislation against African asylum seekers.

Finally, we hear from Keller-Lynn what she expects in the political realm during the Knesset's Passover break.

Discussed articles include:

‘They’re stealing the election’: Thousands attend Tel Aviv rally backing overhaul

Mounted police officer beats protester at anti-overhaul demonstration in Tel Aviv

Government made ‘mistake of their lives’: Hundreds of thousands protest overhaul

Cabinet vote Sunday on Ben Gvir bid for 2,000-strong national guard under his command

Ex-police chief: Ben Gvir could use proposed national guard to launch coup

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Illustrative image: Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir takes part in the annual parade marking the Jewish holiday of Purim in the divided West Bank town of Hebron, March 7, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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