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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn join Amanda Borschel-Dan on this New Year's Day episode.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution to refer Israel’s “occupation… of Palestinian territory” to the International Court of Justice. What are Israel's next steps?

On Thursday, the new government was sworn in. Keller-Lynn describes the stormy Knesset proceedings, including demonstrations outside.

We discuss the final parceling out of the ministries, including a few last-minute ones to a pair of women. We hear about a precedent-setting Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, and what message is being sent with his appointment.

Former pope Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign as head of the Catholic Church since the Middle Ages, died on Saturday aged 95, leaving a somewhat mixed legacy. Berman explains how he will he likely be remembered by the Jews.

Berman also fills us in on an annual interfaith ceremony that took place at the President’s Residence on Thursday.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu pans ‘despicable’ UN vote, says Jews cannot be occupiers in their own land

Likud’s Amir Ohana becomes Israel’s first openly gay Knesset speaker

Netanyahu offers condolences for death of ex-pope Benedict, recounts Israel visit

Former pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff to resign in 600 years, dies at 95

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IMAGE: FILE - In this May 12, 2009 file photo, Pope Benedict XVI places a note in the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City. (AP Photo/David Silverman, Pool)

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Is Israeli democracy in danger? A proposed High Court override clause has many concerned about a possible tyranny of the majority. Join us as a diverse set of legal experts discuss with ToI editors what’s currently at stake.

In this eighth episode of our limited series podcast, Amanda Borschel-Dan speaks with Dr. Susan Weiss about how the proposed legislation may affect women's rights.

Weiss is the founder and director of the Center for Women’s Justice, an NGO defending women's rights whenever they are violated by the state in the name of religion. We speak about five main areas in which implementation of the override clause "should terrify women."

Ahead of a live-streamed Times of Israel event on judicial reform that took place in Jerusalem's Israel Democracy Institute on December 15, Weiss wrote an op-ed exploring these themes for The Times of Israel explaining her viewpoints.

Subscribe to 'Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?' on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts. 

IMAGE: Dr. Susan Weiss, head of the Center for Women's Justice (courtesy)

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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 religion and diaspora affairs correspondent Judah Ari Gross join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Sharon talks about the final details of the coalition deal, including Border Police control for Otzma Yehudit's Itamar Ben Gvir and settlement expansion powers for Religious Zionism's Bezalel Smotrich, creating unprecedented, dramatic changes in Israel's incoming government.

Gross discusses the background of Likud MK Amichai Chikli, being appointed Diaspora Affairs minister and what that could mean for future debates of the Law of Return and the grandchild clause, under attack from the Religious Zionism party, and their belief that it alters the Jewish identity of the state.

Gross also talks about the legacy of Rabbi Chaim Druckman, considered a founder of the settler movement, and who was buried earlier this week.

Discussed articles include:

Otzma Yehudit deal includes control over Border Police, major boost to police funds

Religious Zionism coalition deal: Settlement growth, changes to discrimination laws

Political deals over Law of Return set stage for fight over future of immigration

Rabbi Chaim Druckman, spiritual leader of political religious Zionism, dies at 90

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IMAGE: Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu with Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the assembly hall of the Knesset on December 28, 2022 (Courtesy Olivier Fitoussi/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.

Ops&Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag and military reporter Emanuel Fabian join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Fabian reported yesterday on an arrest in connection to the double bombing in Jerusalem that took place on the morning of November 23 that killed two and wounded over 20. Who is currently in custody for the attack?

On Monday, the Shin Bet security agency announced it foiled an attempt by terror groups in the Gaza Strip to carry out a bombing attack in Israel and arrested four West Bank Palestinians on December 14. Who was behind the planned attack?

Fabian wrote a deep dive into Israel's porous border with Jordan, stating that Israeli authorities say they are beginning to gain the upper hand in a relentless battle to stymie the mass smuggling of arms into Israel and the West Bank. How is the tide turning?

Herschlag compiled a list of her top dozen posts from the past year. She explains how she assembled the list and we speak about three that particularly moved us.

Discussed articles include:

Arab Israeli with Islamic State ties arrested for bombings at Jerusalem bus stops

Shin Bet busts Gaza-directed terror cell planning ‘major’ bombing in Israel

On porous Jordan border, Israel starts to see success against rampant gun-smuggling

Voices of 2022: A dozen posts that moved and shook us

New ToI podcast miniseries: 'Israel's Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?'

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IMAGE: Voices of 2022 (from top left): Rachel Sharansky Danziger, Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Mark Shinar, Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, Karen Feuer, Guy Lieberman, Alla Borisova-Linetskaya, Ori Golan, Daniel Landes, Shira Pasternak Be'eri, Grant Arthur Gochin, Ruth Efroni

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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 environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Yesterday, new Speaker of the Knesset Yariv Levin made an announcement. What was it?

As the clock winds down for incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, what is happening with the pieces of legislation that his coalition partners and Likud wanted to pass before the swearing in?

Surkes recently wrote about how Israeli scientists are trying to revolutionize the egg industry and have produced hens that are the first in the world to lay eggs that only produce females.

Also on the theme of waste reduction, we hear about OPA and its 100% recyclable take-out bowls now hitting Tel Aviv.

And finally, space, the final frontier: A US-born Israeli academic has designed a conceptual plan to rig the moon with solar panels. Why in the world did Emeritus Professor Jeffrey Gordon of Ben-Gurion University turn to this particular problem?

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu government set for swearing-in Thursday, but hurdles remain

Days before coalition is to take power, law clears path for ministers Deri, Smotrich

In first, Israeli scientists program hens to lay eggs that carry only female chicks

Start-up offers reusable, 100% recyclable bowls for takeout food

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IMAGE: In this photo provided by NASA, the Earth and its moon are seen from NASA's Orion spacecraft on November 28, 2022. (NASA via AP)

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

Horovitz speaks about the various pieces of legislation being proposed and discussed by the incoming government, including one that could allow places of business to bar certain customers, depending on owners' religious beliefs.

He and Schneider discuss the potential racist legislation, President Isaac Herzog's response and the possible reasons for the continued silence of Netanyahu’s Likud partners.

Schneider also talks about her recent interview with Zohar Palti, the former intelligence director in the Mossad, and his remarks about Iran's nuclear program, as well as the need to keep the peace with Jordan and how the incoming, right-wing government could handle these potentially delicate political situations.

Discussed articles include:

Hanukkah 2022, when Netanyahu began turning out the lights on Israeli democracy

No ban on racist MKs, a curbed judiciary, more yeshiva funds: 12 key coalition plans

Former Mossad intel chief says Israel must prepare for an imminent attack on Iran

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IMAGE: Ministers and MKs seen during a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, on December 20, 2022 (Courtesy 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.

New York-based culture critic Jordan Hoffman joins Amanda Borschel-Dan for an extended Daily Briefing with Hoffman's top ten moments of Jewish entertainment this year.

Those listeners who would prefer a podcast of more weighty matters should please check out our recently released miniseries about looming legislation that could shift the face of Israel. You can find "Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?" anywhere you get your podcasts.

Buckle up and get ready for Hoffman's 2022 top ten.

Discussed articles include:

New ToI podcast points lens at looming, highly influential judicial reform

ToI culture critic’s top 10 moments of Jewish entertainment for 2022

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

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Is Israeli democracy in danger? A proposed High Court override clause has many concerned about a possible tyranny of the majority. Join us as a diverse set of eight legal experts discuss with ToI editors what’s currently at stake.

In this first episode of 'Israel's Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?,' we speak with Prof. Yaniv Roznai, Vice-Dean at the Harry Radzyner Law School and Co-director at the Rubinstein Center for Constitutional Challenges at Reichman University. His scholarship focuses on comparative constitutional law and constitutional theory.

Roznai is among those legal scholars who are leading the charge against the potential game-changing legislation. He explains why in a brief conversation ahead of a live-streamed Times of Israel event on judicial reform that took place in Jerusalem's Israel Democracy Institute on December 15. 

Subscribe to 'Israel’s Judiciary: Reform or Ruin?' on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you find your podcasts. 

IMAGE: Prof. Yaniv Roznai at a ToI Live event in Jerusalem’s Israel Democracy Institute, December 15, 2022. (Oded Antman/IDI)

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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 NY reporter Luke Tress join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's Hanukkah-flavored episode.

Yesterday, during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden made reference to Hanukkah, saying that it is “A time when Jewish people around the world, President Zelensky and many families among them, honor the timeless miracle of a small band of warriors fighting for the values and their freedom against a much larger foe and how they endured and how they overcame.” Is this overt normalization of the Jewish holiday another White House effort to combat antisemitism?

On Tuesday night, US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides attended a candle-lighting ceremony hosted by the Reform movement at the egalitarian section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Was this some kind of protest against the incoming Netanyahu coalition?

The Biden administration stated it intends to hold Netanyahu responsible for his coalition partners. What does it mean practically?

The FBI’s recent report on hate crimes in the US in 2021 did not contain any data from New York City, most of Florida and all of California, areas where some of the largest American Jewish populations are located. What are the consequences?

The Ben & Jerry's saga appears to have been resolved. Sweet success for the pro-Israel camp?

Discussed articles include:

Meeting Zelensky, Biden likens Ukraine’s fight against Russia to Hanukkah story

US envoy Nides attends Reform candle lighting at Western Wall’s egalitarian plaza

US said planning to hold Netanyahu responsible for actions of far-right ministers

US lawmakers urge FBI to improve hate crimes data collection after limited report

Ben & Jerry’s settles its lawsuit against parent company over settlement boycott

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IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, December 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

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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 founder of the pioneering podcast Israel Story, Mishy Harman, join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Facing a Wednesday night deadline, designated prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to declare later in the day that he is able to form a government. Schneider explains the potential snags.

Netanyahu’s corruption trial is ongoing and yesterday, Former Israel Police commissioner Roni Alsheich said that he believes Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara should seek a plea deal, saying “Our democracy is not yet ready to prosecute a sitting prime minister." Why would he say that?

Finally, we hear from Harmon, the creator of the award-winning Israel Story podcast. The wildly popular podcast will now be hosted on The Times of Israel, featured alongside the ToI podcasts. This will commence next month with the upcoming seventh season of Israel Story.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu expected to announce new government ahead of midnight deadline

Ex-police chief says he recommends seeking plea deal in Netanyahu corruption trial

Times of Israel announces partnership with podcast Israel Story

FIRST EPISODE of a new Times of Israel podcast -- Israel's judiciary: Reform or ruin?

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

IMAGE: FILE - Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, center, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, December 13, 2022.(AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo, File)

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