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.

Military correspondent Mannie Fabian and health reporter Nathan Jeffay join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Fabian discusses comments made by top military intelligence official Amit Saar at a recent military think tank conference, positing that Israel needs to better understand the causes of the recent West Bank attacks, often carried out by younger, frustrated Palestinians using firearms and posting their attacks on social media platform TikTok.

Jeffay talks about an Israeli study regarding the psychosomatic side effects of Covid vaccines and how that affects those gearing up for their next boosters.

Fabian explains the partnership between the US Lockheed Martin and Israel’s Rafael weapons manufacturer who are developing a laser interception system, with mutual investment and development teams from both companies.

Jeffay talks about an Israeli sociology study finding that gynecological research has overlooked women going through menopause or who are post menopause.

Discussed articles include:

Top military intel officer: West Bank violence only going to get worse

Side effects of COVID vaccines often ‘psychosomatic’: Israeli peer-reviewed study

Lockheed Martin joins Iron Beam project to build variant of system for US market

Gynecology research neglects women after onset of menopause — Israeli study

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IMAGE: Palestinian demonstrators clash with Israeli security forces during a protest in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the West Bank city of Nablus, December 2, 2022 (Courtesy Nasser Ishtayeh/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 founding editor David Horovitz and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Horovitz discusses Benjamin Netanyahu's quizzical decision to appoint extremist MK Avi Maoz as a deputy minister at the helm of a new “national Jewish identity” government agency, an appointment that will give him control over external subjects taught at schools.

He also looks at the newly released details of the coalition agreement that will give Bezalel Smotrich's far-right Religious Zionism party extensive influence over the Israeli government’s civilian activities in the West Bank.

Surkes discusses the most recent findings regarding Israeli pension funds that hold some $17 billion in companies that profit from oil, gas, coal and other polluting energy sources.

Horovitz talks about Iran and the increase in press information being disseminated lately regarding the disbanding of its morality police and hijab laws.

Surkes looks at the recent sharp increase in bird flu in Europe and whether it's spreading in Israel, given Israel's location as an avian highway and the predominance of cranes and other birds stopping in the country during the winter months.

Discussed articles include:

Likud on back foot as dozens of towns say won’t let anti-LGBT MK dictate education

Deal will reportedly give Smotrich say in filling sensitive West Bank defense posts

Smotrich primed for authority over key West Bank appointments in deal with Likud

At least NIS 57.6 billion of Israelis’ pensions invested in fossil fuels — watchdog

Bird flu detected in Israel in 2nd case within days

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IMAGE: Noam head Avi Maoz speaks during a function meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on November 28, 2022. Photo by 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.

Settlements reporter Jeremy Sharon and news editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Just before he stepped on a plane to Bahrain, diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman briefs listeners on what we should expect from President Isaac Herzog's two-day visit to Israel’s allies in the Persian Gulf region.

On Thursday, details of the final terms of the coalition agreements with the Religious Zionism bloc were released. What do we know about what each party got?

Head of the Religious Zionism party MK Bezalel Smotrich is often called a "zealot" or an "ideologue." How is that expected to affect his performance as head of the Civil Administration and COGAT?

Sharon explains what kind of reactions we are hearing from settler leaders and well as opposition lawmakers and former high-ranking IDF officers.

Spiro recently watched season 2 of “My Unorthodox Life” and spoke with its lead, Julia Haart. Buckle up.

Discussed articles include:

‘Message of peace’: Herzog lands in Bahrain for 1st state visit by Israeli president

New Smotrich powers likely to see settlements flourish, Palestinian building limited

Netanyahu gives Smotrich broad powers over settlements, Palestinian construction

How Bezalel Smotrich rode unfiltered radicalism and unforgiving politics to power

Former lawmakers, top soldiers blast deal giving Smotrich authority over West Bank

Messy divorce, religious battles headline season 2 of Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’

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ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: MK Bezalel Smotrich, center, waves an Israeli flag during the annual 'Flags March' next to Damascus gate, outside Jerusalem's Old City, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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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 investigative and features reporter Inna Lazareva join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Keller-Lynn discusses incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's complex negotiations with Religious Zionism leader and idealogue Bezalel Smotrich, and how their coalition deal is an attempt to rein in Smotrich on certain issues.

She also talks about why there could be as many as 32 ministries in Israel's small parliament in order to keep the complicated coalition together.

Lazareva looks at recent chess championships in Israel, one with the first Israeli woman to captain a local chess team and another featuring Ukrainians in Israel who most recently were on the battlefield with Russia.

Steinberg speaks about the recently opened Jerusalem Arts campus in downtown Jerusalem, with four arts schools, including the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, and the failed efforts to include student dorms as part of the campus.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahu, Smotrich said to inch closer to finalizing deal to form government

‘Are you here by mistake?’ Meet the 1st Israeli woman to captain a men’s chess team

Holding Russia in check, Ukrainians look to capture chess glory at Jerusalem tourney

Film school’s second act gives starring role to new downtown Jerusalem arts campus

IMAGE: Religious Zionist party head MK Bezalel Smotrich seen after coalition talks at a hotel in Jerusalem on November 30, 2022. Photo by 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 features writer Renee Ghert-Zand join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Yesterday marked 75 years to Kaf Tet B’November, November 29, 1947, on which the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution that adopted the plan for partitioning Eretz Israel. Currently, Israel is facing a vote on a damning resolution that will come to the General Assembly plenary at some point in December. Berman updates us on how Israel is fighting it so far.

Earlier this week, Berman wrote about the possibility of Israel joining the Grain from Ukraine program. What’s actually happening here?

Ghert-Zand discusses a study by University of Ottawa researcher Dr. Peggy J. Kleinplatz that suggests that the Nazis attempted to sterilize Jewish women in camps through the delivery of a hormonal food additive. What triggered the study and what was found?

There is a new Paul Newman memoir 14 years after his death. What were some of the revelations in it?

And finally, we hear about a new book that delves into a series of overlooked historical figures, the Rothschild women.

Discussed articles include:

TICKETS HERE: English screening of Israel’s Oscar pick ‘Cinema Sabaya’ + director interview

‘The occupation must end,’ UN leader tells Palestinian solidarity event

Lapid to world leaders: Stop Palestinian push to refer conflict to The Hague

After Zelensky invitation, Kyiv has not talked to Israel about new food program

Study suggests Nazis attempted to sterilize Jewish women in camps with food additive

No longer just pretty faces, Rothschild family women take center stage in new book

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IMAGE: Prime Minister Yair Lapid sends a letter to over 50 nations asking them to pressure the PA to abandon its drive to refer the conflict to the International Court of Justice in The Hague (PMO)

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

Schneider discusses events in the new Knesset, including efforts to extract Shas party's Aryeh Deri from his legal wrangling in order to make him a minister and more about the extremist one-man political party Avi Maoz of Noam.

Magid talks about how the Biden administration will handle the new government, given the president's long-standing ties with incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will have to carefully navigate his coalition members vis a vis the US.

He also comments on former president Donald Trump's dinner with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West and known antisemite Nick Fuentes.

Discussed articles include:

‘A crisis of trust’: Deri said to rage at Netanyahu over broken coalition promises

Trump’s own ex-antisemitism envoy is latest to bash him for Kanye, Fuentes meeting

Lapid: Netanyahu and allies intend to dismantle the democratic foundations of Israel

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IMAGE:  Shas chairman Aryeh Deri seen after coalition talks at a hotel in Jerusalem on November 21, 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.

Editor David Horovitz and health reporter Nathan Jeffay join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

Before the serious talk, Borschel-Dan mentions that ahead of the nominations for Best Foreign Film for the Academy Awards, on December 6 at Jerusalem’s Yes Planet, The Times of Israel is holding a screening of “Cinema Sabaya,” which swept Israel’s Ophir Awards in September, and culture editor Jessica Steinberg is speaking with its creator, Orit Fouks Rotem.

Turning to Horovitz, we hear why it is problematic to world Jewry that Avi Maoz, the single lawmaker of the fringe Noam party, will be appointed as a deputy minister and head a to-be-created authority for Jewish identity, which will be housed under the Prime Minister’s Office.

In another contentious appointment, Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir is set to be the newly created role of national security minister in the upcoming government. The brand new National Security Ministry's planned portfolio will include overseeing the police and, potentially, Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Jeffay reports on a recent peer-reviewed study that tells us about the currently available COVID booster's safety.

We hear about a new company, Wisdome Wearables, that may soon blow the paper mask idea away. What’s their great, peer-reviewed idea?

Another new Israeli med-tech start up claims it can use voice analysis techniques through a phone app they’re calling HearO to sound the alarm before the onset of congestive heart failure.

And finally, four South Sudanese children who have waited over two and a half years for heart surgery should be soon going under the knife in Holon. How did they, and their guardians, finally get the green light?

Discussed articles include:

TICKETS HERE: English screening of Israel’s Oscar pick ‘Cinema Sabaya’ + director interview

Netanyahu puts extremist homophobic politician in charge of Israel’s Jewish identity

‘Insanity, unreal’: Netanyahu slammed over deal with anti-pluralistic, homophobic MK

Ben Gvir: Security forces should be able to shoot anyone holding stones or firebombs

Israeli data provides ‘safety assurances’ to world on fourth COVID shots — study

Israeli scientists invent face mask made of thin air, which blows virus away

Israeli app sounds alarm before heart failure — just by analyzing your voice

In first, 4 children from South Sudan to get life-saving heart surgery in Israel

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IMAGE: MK Avi Maoz attends a discussion at Jerusalem's Knesset, the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament, on November 22, 2022. (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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and Diaspora and Religions reporter Judah Ari Gross join Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Unfortunately, a second victim from Wednesday’s attack succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, Tadese Tashume Ben Ma’ada. The 50-year-old immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia 21 years ago and leaves behind a wife and six children. Fabian updates on the status of the manhunt and how on Saturday, police shut a main entrance to Jerusalem after a suspected pipe bomb was found near the Chords Bridge.

On Friday, the IDF suspended two soldiers who physically assaulted and taunted left-wing activists in Hebron, which is the latest in a series of incidents involving the Givati infantry brigade in the flashpoint West Bank city. What exactly happened here?

Early last week, Chief Rabbi David Lau ask the incoming government to revoke the so-called “grandchild clause” from the Law of Return, which grants Israeli citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent who does not practice another religion. What are the chances of this?

Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai spoke with Gross last week and voiced several regrets. What are his parting words?

Discussed articles include:

Second person dies of injuries days after Jerusalem bombing attack

In false alarm, entrance to Jerusalem briefly shut after suspected pipe bomb found

IDF suspends soldiers for beating and taunting left-wing activists in Hebron

Chief rabbi calls for government to change immigration law to keep non-Jews out

Diaspora minister: ‘Not implementing Western Wall compromise was a historic failure’

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IMAGE: Head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu visits at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the night before the Israeli general elections, October 31, 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.

Joining host Amanda Borschel-Dan today are political correspondent Tal Schneider, military correspondent Emanuel Fabian and legal affairs correspondent Jeremy Sharon.

The body of Israeli 12th grader Tiran Fero was recovered by Israel this morning from Palestinian gunmen who kidnapped it in Jenin following a fatal car crash. Fabian tells us how this heart-breaking saga ended.

Wednesday morning Jerusalem faced a double bombing, which killed 16-year-old Israeli-Canadian Aryeh Schupak and injured dozens more. Fabian updates with more information about the perpetrators and the hunt to find them.

The coalition talks are still in process. Schneider explains how yesterday’s terror attack affect them and what's expected next.

One of the first orders of business with the new government could be the Override Clause, which could allow the Knesset to override High Court of Justice rulings, potentially by a slim majority of 61. Sharon shares concerns from some 100 law professors and lecturers across Israel’s universities and academic institutions who published a letter this week opposing the proposed bill.

Finally, Schneider speaks about the dire situation facing far-left party Meretz, which did not make it into the Knesset in the recent elections.

Discussed articles include:

Teenager’s body snatched by Palestinian gunmen returned to family in Israel

Teen terror victim Aryeh Schupak mourned as ‘fighter’ after Jerusalem bombing

Likud, right-wing allies cite bombings to inject new urgency into coalition talks

Smotrich takes aim at Likud, muddying reports of progress in coalition finagling

Law professors urge incoming coalition to reject High Court override law

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IMAGE: The funeral of 16-year-old Israeli-Canadian Aryeh Schupak who was killed earlier on November 23, 2022 in a terror attack in Jerusalem. (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.

Joining host Amanda Borschel-Dan today are military correspondent Emanuel Fabian, Palestinian Affairs correspondent Jack Mukand and, from the World Cup in Doha, news correspondent Ash Obel.

Two explosions at two bus stops near entrances to Jerusalem on Wednesday morning killed one person and left another 22 people injured, police and medics said. Post recording, the victim of the Jerusalem bombing attack was named as 16-year-old Aryeh Shtsupak, a yeshiva student from Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood.

Next, Fabian discusses the heartbreaking case of Tiran Fero, an 18-year-old 12th grader from the Druze-majority town of Daliyat al-Karmel, who was critically injured in a car crash in the West Bank and treated at a Palestinian hospital where he died. His body is believed to have been snatched by Palestinian gunmen from a hospital in the city, the military said.

Podcast first-timer Jack Mukand speaks about some of the factors that led to the horrific beheading of Ahmad Abu Murkhiyeh, a gay Palestinian who sought refuge in Israel, only to be kidnapped and murdered in Hebron.

Also joining the podcast for the first time is Obel, who is The Times of Israel's intrepid reporter onsite in Doha. He speaks about the availability of kosher food, approaching Iranian fans for interviews and how the tournament stacks up to Russia in 2018.

Discussed articles include:

LIVE BLOG, November 23, 2022

1 killed as terror bombings target 2 bus stops at entrances to Jerusalem; 22 hurt

IDF: Body of Israeli who died after West Bank crash snatched by Palestinian gunmen

Ghastly beheading lays bare the myriad perils for LGBT Palestinians fleeing to Israel

‘I’m talking to an Israeli journalist!’ Giggles and grace from Iranians at World Cup

Iran newspapers: World Cup loss due to protest pressure and ‘Zionist,’ Saudi media

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IMAGE: Israeli police inspect the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, November 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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