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.

US reporter Luke Tress and Tech Israel editor Ricky Ben David join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Ben-David discusses the future of self-driving buses in Israel, meant to help alleviate the traffic situation and being rolled out throughout the country over the next two months.

Tress looks at a thwarted antisemitic terror attack in New York City's Penn Station, and the city and state's response to the ongoing uptick in antisemitic incidents.

Ben-David talks about two new offices being opened in Abu Dhabi, part of a growing list of Israeli concerns doing business in the United Arab Emirates since the Abraham Accords.

Tress speaks about the recent Chabad 'shluchim' convention in New Jersey for thousands of ultra-Orthodox emissaries placed around the world.

Discussed articles include:

Israel to test self-driving public bus systems in two-year national pilot

New York police arrest 2 men, seize weapons over ‘threat to Jewish community’

Two Israeli companies join $545m innovation program in Abu Dhabi

Thousands of Chabad emissaries gather in New York to reconnect, celebrate growth

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IMAGE: The Chabad movement's annual convention in Edison, New Jersey, November 20, 2022. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

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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 correspondent Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Three weeks following the Israeli elections, the coalition has yet to coalesce. What are the current obstacles and what are some reactions from top US Jewish leaders?

Prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is fielding calls from world leaders, including, and perhaps most notably from the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Will bygones be bygones?

The World Cup is now taking place in Qatar. Horovitz speaks about some historic firsts and how some of the world is relating to Qatar's human rights record. Berman jumps in and discusses how the fact that a team of six Israeli diplomats are currently in Doha -- which does not have official relations with Jerusalem -- is a cautiously optimistic sign.

Israel is also hosting its own sporting event, the World Team Chess Championship which kicked off yesterday in Jerusalem. Horovitz plunges into makes this match so exciting.

Discussed articles include:

Likud woes over coalition assembly mount as far-right partners dig in on demands

US Reform chief: Ben Gvir as police minister akin to KKK leader as attorney general

Orthodox parties demand legalization of gender-segregated public events

At the World Cup, a timid start, on and off the pitch, for hosts Qatar

World Cup kicks off in Qatar after troubled 12-year buildup and fierce criticism

World chess tourney kicks off in Jerusalem, featuring star accused of cheating

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IMAGE: Fans cheer as they pose for a photograph at flag plaza in Doha, Qatar, November 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

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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 news editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Yesterday, Orthodox synagogues around the world read the Torah portion Chayei Sara and some 30,000 Israeli Jews made a pilgrimage to Hebron where violence was sparked by parading Jews against Palestinian residents and Israeli soldiers. Fabian gives background.

On Thursday, Israeli authorities announced they would reinvestigate materials related to a deadly explosion at Israel’s military headquarters in Tyre during the First Lebanon War in 1982. The explosion was widely believed to have been a suicide bombing but was officially attributed to a gas leak. What's changed now?

Spiro delves into her long examination of the legacy of Mizrahi singer Zohar Argov 35 years after his death. Can one separate out the art from the artist and should streets be named after a convicted rapist?

To end on a lighter note, we hear about the first Jewish star from "Love is Blind," a wildly popular Netflix reality TV show.

Discussed articles include:

‘Shameful’: Israelis assault troops, initiate clashes with Palestinians in Hebron

Israel reopens probe into deadly 1982 blast at army headquarters during Lebanon war

Unfit to be ‘the king’: How singer Zohar Argov’s legacy continues to be whitewashed

First Jewish star of ‘Love is Blind’ says antisemitic threats only make her stronger

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IMAGE: Israeli security forces guard during clashes between Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron, November 19, 2022. (Wisam Hashlamoun/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 real estate editor Danielle Nagler join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's podcast.

Rettig Gur weighs in on the constant rumors that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in talks with Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid and outgoing defense minister Benny Gantz. Where are they coming from?

Next Rettig Gur speaks about the thrum of talking heads bemoaning “The end of Israeli democracy.” What’s different today from every other time this comes up?

Mortgage borrowing in Israel has continued to decline amid rising interest rates and soaring housing costs. Could this be the push we need to lower the costs?

Nagler recently wrote about plans for a new amusement park in the south outside of Beersheba. Could Negev Park be Israel’s answer to EuroDisney?

Discussed articles include:

Likud, Lapid and Gantz deny report that they’re in unity government talks

Plans to build $15m amusement park, hotel complex in Negev move forward

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IMAGE: File - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the European Friends of Israel Policy Conference in the Chagall Hall in the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem, Feb. 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Debbie Hill, 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.

Knesset correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn and health and science reporter Nathan Jeffay join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Keller-Lynn talks about Tuesday's swearing-in of the 25th Knesset, with newcomers elated by their wins and the opposition heralding the end of democracy, with concerns over a lack of unity in the government.

Jeffay speaks about a Hebrew University study that examines plummeting sperm counts worldwide, which could point to a wider decline in aspects of men’s health.

Keller-Lynn also discusses the lack of outside activists at the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference COP27 in Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh, part of the Egyptian efforts to quash the usual protests.

Jeffay looks at a new technology under trial, which offers a fuller report on the DNA of tumors.

Discussed articles include:

Far-right vows upped security under new gov’t; Liberman warns of ‘ayatollah regime’

Sperm counts worldwide have plunged 62% in under 50 years, Israeli-led study finds

Egyptians keep tight leash on climate confab, muffling traditional din of protests

Israeli hospital: New tech gave instant DNA info on tumors, jump-starts treatment

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IMAGE: Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and Party leaders at a swearing-in ceremony of the 25th Knesset, at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, November 15, 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.

Political writer Tal Schneider and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Schneider discusses prime minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu's options for his government's top ministers and why those choices are stalling his ongoing coalition talks, even as the 25th Knesset is being sworn in Tuesday.

Berman looks at the welcome offered by Russia's Kremlin to Netanyahu, and what that could mean for Israel-Russia-Ukraine relations going forward.

Schneider talks about why foreign diplomats are leery of any official meetings with newly elected Itamar Ben-Gvir, and how that could play out in the future.

Berman examines whether Israel retaliated against Ukraine at the UN Monday, and what is signified by this diplomatic pinball.

Discussed articles include:

Knesset swearing in heralds political stability, though discourse unlikely to soften

Ben Gvir claims he’s met foreign officials to rehabilitate image; evidence is scant

Kremlin on Netanyahu win: Good to have Israeli leaders who share a ‘common approach’

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IMAGE: Parliament workers seen preparing the Israeli parliament for Tuesday's opening session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on November 14, 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.

US correspondents Jacob Magid and Luke Tress join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Magid discusses what the final midterm results mean for US-Israel ties and which legislation will likely be handled over the next few years, with Democrats in control of the Senate, but with a slim majority for Republicans in the House.

Tress looks at the loss of New York's most likely Haredi champion, Lee Zeldin, and how governor elect Kathy Hochul will likely react to the various issues at play in the ultra-Orthodox community.

Magid talks about the US reaction to far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, the presumptive public security minister, who may very well not be welcomed or receive a visa to visit Washington.

Tress and Magid break down Friday's tiff at the UN, when Israel called out Ukraine for supporting a resolution by a committee calling on the International Court of Justice to “urgently” weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israeli “annexation.”

Discussed articles include:

US blasts ‘abhorrent’ celebration of Kahane after prospective minister attends

Hochul triumphs over Jewish challenger Zeldin in close New York governor race

Israeli envoy lashes Kyiv for backing UN panel call on ICJ to opine on ‘annexation’

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IMAGE: Head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir and members of the party speak to the press after a meeting with Israeli president Isaac Herzog at the President's residence in Jerusalem on November 10, 2022, as Herzog began consulting political leaders to decide who to task with trying to form a new government after the results of the country's general election were announced (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.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz and military correspondent Mannie Fabian join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Horovitz discusses the ongoing coalition talks and possible ministerial appointments, as Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu figures out what will work best for him and his new government.

Horovitz also talks about the so-called override clause that all four parties in Netanyahu’s incoming coalition are interested in legislating, which would reduce the power of the Supreme Court.

Fabian looks at the latest and largest theft of IDF bullets and grenades, stolen from a Golan Heights army base.

He also discusses the ongoing IDF investigation into the death of 78-year-old Omar As’ad and the possibility of charges being pressed against the officer and soldier in the accidental death of As'ad, an American citizen.

Discussed articles include:

Herzog tasks Netanyahu with forming coalition: ‘Not easy decision as he’s on trial’

Israel could be en route to a tyranny of the majority

73,000 bullets, 72 grenades stolen from Golan Heights army base in latest theft

IDF mulls charges against 2 soldiers over death of elderly Palestinian-American man

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IMAGE: Illustrative: Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to US President Joe Biden, from a Likud office in Tel Aviv on November 7, 2022. (Courtesy Likud)

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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 how prime minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu will handle the Democrat-heavy results of this week's US midterm elections, given the far-right emphasis of his new government partners.

She also looks at the issues and topics being debated with Netanyahu's coalition partners, including the Law of Return, subsidies to yeshivas, Jewish identity, 

Surkes reports from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where she's attending COP27 United Nations Climate Conference and where Israel is hosting a large delegation, promoting its climate technologies.

Discussed articles include:

Herzog heard on hot mic saying ‘entire world’ anxious about Ben Gvir

Israel joins Mideast nations, including Iraq, Lebanon, to agree on climate action

Israeli startup to supply Moroccan renewable energy developer with hydrogen power

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

IMAGE: Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu arrives coalition talks with his political allies, in Jerusalem, November 6, 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.

Zman Yisrael editor Biranit Goren and political correspondent Carrie Keller-Lynn join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

Today, President Isaac Herzog begins meetings with members of all the factions that were voted into the next Knesset as part of formal consultations on who should assemble the next government. Keller-Lynn takes us through the procedure.

Next, we hear about incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s revolutionary idea to sign a single coalition agreement for all parties.

Goren explains about a probable and looming legal conflict of interest with Netanyahu as he again resumes the role of prime minister.

Finally, Keller-Lynn addresses the personal motivations behind the varied group who voted for the parties led by MKs Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.

Discussed articles include:

Herzog to begin formal consultations on who should form new coalition

Dramatic rise of Smotrich and Ben Gvir fueled by voters willing to ‘hold their nose’

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IMAGE: Likud party chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu seen after coalition talks at a hotel in Jerusalem on November 6, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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