The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The US military carried out strikes in Iran early Wednesday following the downing of an Apache helicopter that US President Donald Trump accused Iran of shooting down and vowed retaliation for. Schneider describes uncertainty in Israel this morning as US bases housed by its neighbors are being targeted.

During an interview about the Iran war with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump claimed Tuesday that it was an “open question” whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 76, wants to continue his political career, while a poll showed that over 60 percent of Israelis don’t want the longtime premier to run in the upcoming Knesset election. Schneider weighs in.

Legislation enshrining Torah study as a Basic Law is set to be brought to a vote today. The proposed law, backed by Haredi parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, would establish Torah study as a foundational national value and define long-term Torah study as “meaningful service” to the state, equivalent to army service, with implications for the rights and obligations of those engaged in it. What could this mean for the country?

Italian prosecutors have put Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir under investigation over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists seen in a video he published last month. This comes as France has barred Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers from entering the country, as several countries introduced fresh sanctions against settlers and organizations deemed to be responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Even as the Israeli ministers brush off the sanctions, Schneider explains why this matters.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

US strikes Iran after Trump vows retaliation for downing of US helicopter over Hormuz

Trump says Netanyahu may quit politics, as poll shows 61% of Israelis want him out

Italy investigating Ben Gvir for alleged torture, kidnapping over Gaza flotilla video

Smotrich banned from France as 4 countries introduce new sanctions against settler violence

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called off a further major strike on Iran on Monday following Israel's initial retaliation to Iran's ballistic missile barrages overnight Sunday. With IAF fighter jets on the runway, Trump instructed the premier to deescalate Israel’s fight with the Islamic Republic. Later, the president explained to a BBC reporter, "If I tell him to do something, he does it."

On today's episode, we unwind the political ripple effect of Trump's assertion and ask whether Israel is truly still operating as a sovereign nation even as its hands are increasingly tied when combating the terror threat on its northern border.

Additionally, as Iran appears to consider Lebanon its own vassal state that is intrinsically embedded in the Trump ceasefire negotiations, we talk through the initial goals of the war launched on February 28 and assess the Jewish state's current standing.

In the second half of the program, Horovitz gives a broad-strokes picture of where political parties lie in recent polling -- while it's still anyone's game -- as Israel gears up for elections a few months away.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Trump seeks to tie Netanyahu’s hands, as the partnership that went to war 100 days ago collapses

Netanyahu called off major Iran strike after Trump warned Israel would be on its own — reports

Vance: Iran deal a ‘home run for the American people,’ whether Israel likes it or not

IDF downs drone over Eilat launched by Yemen’s Houthis

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Iran fired a volley of missiles at northern Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all-out war after two months of a shaky ceasefire, with Israel initially vowing to respond before US President Donald Trump attempted to limit the fallout and keep truce negotiations with Tehran on track. Israel responded overnight and we're recording on Monday morning.

We roll back time and give the background and context for the IDF's strikes on Beirut -- ostensibly Iran's trigger for sending some dozen ballistic missiles to Israel last night.

Fabian fills us in on a massive subterranean bunker that Hezbollah -- with Iran's help -- carved into a mountain near the iconic Beaufort Castle that sits close to the border with Israel. We learn there are more such sites in southern Israel that the IDF has not yet reached.

Hours before the renewed Iran strikes, an Arab Israeli terrorist opened fire in several locations in a shooting spree in central Israel on Sunday, killing an IDF reservist who served as a civil defense squad member, and wounding five other people, before he was shot dead by security forces. Fabian gives us a recap.

And finally, we close the program with a look inside news that broke late last week: For the first time, a female combat soldier completed training in the Israeli military’s Sayeret Matkal commando unit. What does this mean for the elite unit?

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Iran fires missiles at Israel for first time in two months; Trump tells Netanyahu not to retaliate

IDF strikes Beirut’s Dahiyeh after Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel

Israeli man killed, five hurt in central Israel terror shooting spree by Arab Israeli

In first, female IDF combat soldier completes training for elite Sayeret Matkal unit

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use. This week, we're joined by our first guest, Isaac Zablocki.

For over 20 years, Zablocki, the director of film programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, has been developing film programs at the JCC, including The Israel Film Center and its annual film festival, a festival focusing on disabilities, ReelAbilities, and the Other Israel Film Festival about Arab and minority populations in Israel.

Before turning to the two feature films on the menu this week, we ask Zablocki about the status of boycotts against Israeli films at international festivals and whether his festivals have ever been protested.

This year's Israel Film Center Festival is taking place June 9–16 at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (MMJCCM) and expanding to 10 additional venues across the New York Metro Area, including Manhattan, Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey.

The first movie on our bill this week is festival opener, "Love, Statistically Speaking." Directed by Amichai Greenberg, the dark comedy stars actor Yehoram Gaon and Meshi Kleinstein as a grandfather-granddaughter duo on a bizarre whodunnit mission.

Next, we review the surrealistic and all-too-realistic film "Oxygen" by Netalie Braun. Set in an Israel beset by war in the north, mother Anat decides how much she is willing to sacrifice to keep her soldier son Ido from fighting in Lebanon.

The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

After a Bethlehem family was shot in their car Friday evening by an IDF soldier, killing a seven-month-old baby and critically injuring his mother, Magid discusses the army's reaction and its hesitation to take disciplinary action in the current political climate, following a recent coalition uproar over similar incidents involving soldiers' questionable actions.

As images emerge of masked settlers riding in on white pickup trucks on Shabbat to attack Palestinians in the village of Huwara, Magid discusses reactions from opposition politicians who called for the IDF to move quickly and take a far harder line in controlling the situation in the West Bank.

Magid also reports on his experience observing the activists taking part in Protective Presence, an Israeli initiative to protect Palestinians in the West Bank, as they joined a Bedouin community that has been repeatedly expelled and attacked by Jewish settlers.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

IDF soldier fires at vehicle in Hebron, killing 7-month-old baby and wounding his parents

9 Palestinians wounded in settler rampage in Huwara; IDF soldier seen beating man

1 lightly hurt as Palestinian car hits settlers who blocked West Bank road and hurled stones

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

IMAGE: US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI / Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Lt. Col. (res) Sarit Zehavi joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

This week, Hezbollah resumed striking Israel soon after an announcement out of DC that the Jewish state and Lebanon had agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which the terrorist group would be banned.

From her vantage point, only 10 km from the northern border, Zehavi, the head of the Alma Research and Education Center, explains how this plan was unrealistic from the start: Hezbollah is not going to willingly vacate its territory and the Lebanese army -- many of whose members openly support Hezbollah -- is not the force to uproot the terrorist group from southern Lebanon.

Zehavi gives us an overview of the options on the table -- none of them good -- and hypothesizes that the only way Hezbollah will be driven out of Lebanon is if the government takes a principled stance and risks civil war.

And finally, Zehavi, a member of Forum Devora, speaks about how the organization is promoting the equal representation of women in key decision-making positions in the fields of national security and foreign policy.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Rockets, drones trigger warnings in north after Hezbollah rejects Lebanon ceasefire proposal

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Israel and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of “pilot” security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah terrorists would be banned. This comes as the US House, for the first time, approved a war powers resolution that would halt the US military action against Iran, even as the US is still negotiating a permanent ceasefire with the Islamic Regime. Horovitz unwinds the storm of headlines from the US and speaks about the relationship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists smashed windows and caused property damage while trying to break into Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg’s house during a riot Wednesday night, in the latest such violent demonstration targeting law enforcement over the arrest of Haredi draft dodgers. Sohlberg’s wife, Meira, said to reporters outside her vandalized home. “Look at this devastation; it’s a pogrom. What is this, Kristallnacht?” Horovitz weighs in on what led up to this smashing of a societal red line.

Lawmakers voted 61-57 in the Knesset on Wednesday to elect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, as state comptroller in a controversial do-over vote marred by accusations that illegal pressure tainted the election. Can Rabello freely criticize the government of his former client? We get Horovitz's take.

And finally, Horovitz narrates a troubling conversation he held this week -- with AI.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israel and Lebanon agree to renew truce, create ‘pilot’ zones where Hezbollah is banned

US House backs symbolic resolution aiming to halt Iran war, in rebuke of Trump

Netanyahu downplays row with Trump, says he and US leader agree on the ‘main things’

‘A pogrom’: Haredi rioters smash windows, damage home of deputy Supreme Court chief

Netanyahu forces through election of his lawyer as state comptroller amid tainted vote

Google’s Gemini AI admits it is unfit for purpose: ‘You should not trust a single thing I say’

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Political correspondent Ariela Karmel joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

An overnight Knesset session ended early Tuesday with first readings of a bill that calls for dissolution of the Knesset, as well as of two controversial pieces of legislation that would split and weaken the role of the attorney general, reports Karmel. She puts the latter bills in context of the broader war the government has long waged against the judiciary.

A meeting on aid for the Hezbollah-battered north of Israel was tied to a bill by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that would increase tax benefits for West Bank settlements, and Karmel notes that the discussion ended once again without the much-needed financial aid for the north being approved. The aid was finally okayed on Tuesday.

Karmel also reviews the harrowing images of far-right lawmakers disrupting a Knesset event on settler violence against Palestinians, with the MKs posting videos of their antics on social media to boost their image with voters.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Legislation to split and weaken role of attorney general passes first Knesset reading

Funds for war-torn north delayed as Smotrich forges ahead with tax breaks for settlements

Coalition MKs disrupt Knesset event on violence against Palestinians, threaten attendees

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

IMAGE: Political correspondent Ariela Karmel joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI / Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 episode.

Israel and Lebanon were set to hold a fresh round of talks between their ambassadors to the US on Tuesday, as Hezbollah continued to target Israeli troops in Lebanon and fresh IDF strikes were reported. The talks come as US President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that Washington had brokered a fresh truce between Israel and Hezbollah, after the one reached in April unraveled in recent days. 

Magid weighs in on US-Israeli relations after Trump reportedly fumed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Monday call, calling the premier “fucking crazy” and telling him that everyone “hates Israel.” He demanded Israel agree to a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terror group, and US officials were quoted as saying Trump told Netanyahu that he has kept him out of prison, an apparent reference to Trump’s repeated public demand that Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardon the prime minister, who is in the midst of a lengthy corruption trial.

We hear how Gulf states are handling the Iran war after Kuwait’s military said its air defenses responded to an “enemy” attack on Thursday.

Gaza mediators were set to renew disarmament talks with Hamas in Egypt on Thursday and were considering alternatives to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, two Arab diplomats involved in the process told The Times of Israel.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Hezbollah and IDF trade fire despite nominal truce as Lebanon-Israel talks to resume

Trump announces fresh Lebanon truce as Netanyahu appears to call off Beirut strikes

Trump said to yell at Netanyahu: ‘You’re f**king crazy. You’d be in prison if not for me’

Ceasefire rattled as Iran targets 4 ships at Hormuz, US fires on Iran, which then targets US base

Gaza mediators to resume Hamas disarmament talks in Egypt looking to unblock impasse

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Israel announced Monday morning that it would renew strikes on Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, after significantly curtailing attacks on the Lebanese capital for weeks at the request of US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The joint statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz came as Israel has steadily expanded its ground offensive by capturing more areas in southern Lebanon, including the iconic Beaufort Castle, amid constant Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel and on IDF troops in Lebanon.

We delve into what is actually happening on the ground -- and air -- during this "ceasefire" in Lebanon.

Yesterday evening, two teenage girls were injured, including one seriously, in a car-ramming terror attack in the West Bank just outside of Jerusalem, with the attacker shot dead by IDF troops at the scene. Fabian fills us in.

Netanyahu said Thursday that he ordered the IDF to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip – well beyond the portion of the enclave that Jerusalem was allowed to temporarily continue occupying as part of an October 2025 ceasefire deal with Hamas. We discuss what this new directive means in practice and explore what the IDF is currently doing in the Strip.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israel says it will renew strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut after lobbying for US green light

IDF captures strategic Beaufort Castle, as soldier killed in Hezbollah drone strike

IDF soldier killed, 3 hurt, in Hezbollah drone attack near newly seized Beaufort Castle

Israel shuts schools near Lebanon border amid repeated Hezbollah rocket, drone attacks

Two teen girls hurt, one seriously, in car-ramming terror attack at West Bank junction

Netanyahu says he told IDF to seize 70% of Gaza, well beyond terms of truce

‘A jungle’: Reservists speak of permissive open-fire rules along Gaza’s Yellow Line

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.