The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

We're speaking this week with Daniel Sivan, the Israeli co-director of the new animated Netflix short film, “Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis,” which was shortlisted for the best documentary short Oscar; final nominees will be announced on February 8.

"Camp Confidential” is the latest of several Sivan documentary collaborations with his work and life partner, Mor Loushy, to explore different aspects of Jewish history — their previous films have dealt with subjects such as the Oslo Accords, the Six-Day War and the legacy of AIPAC.

"Camp Confidential" tells the story of a group of Jewish American veterans, refugees of Nazi Germany, whose sole experience of WWII was guarding a secret Nazi POW camp on American soil, outside Washington, DC.

Sivan discusses the use of animation to tell this story, their decision to make it into a short film and how he and Loushy unintentionally became filmmakers telling aspects of the Jewish story.

IMAGE: A still from 'Camp Confidential.' (Netflix via JTA)

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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.

Tech editor Ricky Ben-David and deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan join host Jessica Steinberg.

Ben-David updates the latest news in the Israeli company NSO spyware saga, as FBI announces it purchased NSO's Pegasus spyware, but never used it.

She reflects on the price hike brouhaha this week, as the Finance Ministry chided food industry companies for unnecessary planned price hikes, resulting in at least one of the companies, Osem, putting off its price hikes until after Passover.

Ben-David also discusses why she chose to research and write about the overturning of the Cypriot conviction of the young British woman for lying about being gang raped by Israeli tourists.

Borschel-Dan finishes up today's podcast with a look at two Israeli archaeological research findings, and why they're significant right now.

Discussed articles include:

FBI admits buying NSO’s Pegasus hacking tool, says it never used it

Finance, economy ministries warn major food companies against price hikes

Osem delays price hikes by 3 months amid boycott calls

Israeli study finds early humans knew to situate hearth in cave’s optimal spot

Scientists find oldest evidence of humans in Israel — a 1.5 million-year-old bone

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IMAGE: Products from Osem on a shelf in a grocery store on December 29, 2021in Jerusalem. (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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and News Editor Amy Spiro join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

We begin today's program in laying out the facts behind the current flurry of headlines surrounding statements made by American comedian Whoopi Goldberg on the popular ABC talk show "The View." What did she say and what has been the fallout?

Next, Berman gives a little rare good news about the fight against antisemitism as presented in a recent Tel Aviv University Kantor Center report last week.

We break down Amnesty International's controversial report which stated that Israel is using "apartheid" tactics against Palestinians. Berman was onsite at the report's launch and talks about the changing goal posts of the definition of "apartheid."

It was a busy day for Berman yesterday, who also attended the online INSS conference in where Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Israel would soon be protected by a "wall of lasers." What does this mean for the beleaguered Jewish state's standing in the region?

And finally, we dive into all things Israeli and Jewish about the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. Could there be a medal for Israel?

Discussed articles include:

ABC suspends Whoopi Goldberg from ‘The View’ for ‘hurtful’ Holocaust comments

2021 saw positive legal, cultural trends in fight against antisemitism — TAU report

Amnesty: Israel practices apartheid against Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza, Israel

Laser-based defense array to be deployed within year, Bennett says, speeding rollout

Olympic bobsled dreams are crushed. But AJ Edelman is not giving up

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Illustrative: Whoopi Goldberg attends the ACE (Accessories Council Excellence) Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street on November 2, 2021, in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and US reporter Jacob Magid join host Jessica Steinberg.

Magid discusses why the Western Wall compromise fell apart,  the political machinations behind the scenes, after years of seeking a solution that would work for the ultra-Orthodox and Reform and Conservative movements.

Schneider looks at what changed to push through the recent passage of the first of three votes on legislation that would lower the age at which yeshiva students are exempt from the military draft.

She also talks about the recent rise in electricity, fuel prices and consumer product costs and the latest scuttlebutt involving Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra Orthodox Shas party, who came out against the price hikes while vacationing at a five-star resort in Switzerland.

Magid finishes up the podcast with a brief look at President Joe Biden's Israel policy record during his first year in office.

Discussed articles include:

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IMAGE: Then-education minister Naftali Bennett delivers a statement at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, on December 25, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90, file)

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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 Heath reporter Nathan Jeffay join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Esther Pollard, the wife of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, died on Monday from coronavirus-related complications at the age of 68. We hear why hers is a household name in Israel.

Israeli President Issac Herzog took an unprecedented trip to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and members of the Jewish community, among others. Later that day, however, the UAE’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist group towards the country. Why are the optics on this so important geopolitically?

Jeffay wrote a heart-wrenching article last week after speaking with Shaarei Zedek’s Dr. Ariel Rokach, who minutes prior had just lost another patient. With all the media discussions on how Omicron is a relatively "light" wave, Jeffay explains why is it important to hear these stories as well. Next, we hear how Israel's HMOs are the real frontline of the Omicron wave, and how successful they have been in keeping the hospitals functioning.

Jeffay brings us newly published research conducted during that Alpha and Delta waves that shows how children living with inoculated parents had 72% fewer infections than unvaxxed parents’ offspring.

And finally, Berman brings us a few words about Tom Brady.

Discussed articles include:

Esther Pollard, wife of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, dies at 68

As Herzog visits, UAE downs ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis

In meeting with UAE Jewish leaders, Herzog says he draws inspiration from MBZ

‘I see death daily’: Under record strain, doctor describes misery of Omicron wards

Tireless triage: How Israeli community medicine prevents Omicron swamping system

Vaccinated, boosted parents slash their kids’ COVID risk — pre-Omicron Israeli study

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IMAGE: Israeli President Isaac Herzog, center, and First Lady Michal Herzog are received by UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 30, 2022.(Amos Ben Gershom/GPO 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 senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Jessica Steinberg.

Horovitz and Rettig Gur discuss Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's conversations about a new right-wing bloc in Israeli politics, including who would be part of it, and why he's starting to talk about that now.

They then take a closer look at Israel's worst-ever score in Transparency International’s ranking of public sector corruption worldwide, and whether that means the country is doing better or worse in terms of awareness and responsibility.

Horovitz also talks about the plea deal and lenient sentence for United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Litzman who admitted to using his former position as deputy health minister to thwart the extradition to Australia of Malka Leifer, the former school principal accused of sexually assaulting minors.

Finally, Steinberg offers some good news about Tel Aviv art galleries that banded together in solidarity and support of freedom of expression to show the artworks of artists who withdrew their pieces from the Ramat Gan contemporary art museum after the work of fellow artist David Reeb was pulled at an opening event.

Discussed articles include:

Bennett said to eye ‘new national camp’ with coalition partners Liberman, Sa’ar

Israel’s deepening slide into corruption

Litzman signs plea deal in Leifer case, avoiding jail time and paying symbolic fine

Galleries to present protesting artists’ works in weekend show of solidarity

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IMAGE: UTJ MK Yaakov Litzman seen in the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, on July 1, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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This week in honor of the January 27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Times Will Tell spoke with Dani Dayan, the new head of Yad Vashem, in his Jerusalem-based museum and Holocaust education center.

We met a few days after the Colleyville hostage situation, in which four Jews were held captive for some 11 hours in their Reform synagogue in what was arguably an antisemitic attack. We discuss what role Holocaust education could play in mitigating such attacks and how Dayan once naively thought they would not occur in the United States. 

Dayan was born in 1955 in Argentina and moved to Israel in 1971. Prior to heading Yad Vashem, he was the Consul General of Israel in New York. Before that, he was a longtime activist and head of the right-wing Settler Movement’s Yesha Council.

In the most recent elections, he ran on Gidon Sa’ar’s New Hope ticket and was appointed chair of Yad Vashem by the party’s Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton in August. Despite his former political ties, Dani tells me that he and Yad Vashem are strictly non-partisan in their work -- and why that is increasingly important. 

IMAGE: Head of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan. (Alex Kolomoisky/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.

Senior Analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and Holocaust correspondent Matt Lebovic join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for a special International Holocaust Remembrance Day episode.

We first ask the question why Anne Frank is continually a target of antisemitic rhetoric, most recently in the much-decried statements by United States politician Robert F. Kennedy said that it’s harder for Americans under COVID measure than it was for the Jews during the Holocaust. “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.”

Next, we discuss controversial new research which claims to have pinpointed who turned Anne Frank and her family over to the Nazis, included in author Rosemary Sullivan’s “The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation.” Why does Lebovic think this is a wasted last, best chance?

Discussed articles include:

RFK Jr. apologizes for Anne Frank comparison at anti-vaccine rally

Historians bash ‘rubbish’ findings of investigation into Anne Frank betrayal

Anne Frank Fund head slams findings on betrayal of diarist as ‘full of errors’

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IMAGE: A journalist takes images of pictures of Anne Frank at the renovated Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

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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.

Health reporter Nathan Jeffay and Tech Israel editor Ricky Ben-David join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode.

The one thing on every Israelis' minds today is snow -- how much and where? Love it or hate it, a snowy Holy Land is a relatively rare, national event. How are our guests getting prepared?

One in 20 Israelis is currently infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Jeffay gives context to the dire-sounding numbers even as Israel appears set on a fourth vaccination for all above age 18.

The pandemic has led to some pupils being sent home to multiple quarantines. This, along with other side-effects of the ongoing crisis, has led to a marked increase in depression among children. Jeffay weighs in. And finally, what about those reports that the pandemic is basically over?

Ben-David sheds light on how the Abraham Accords has opened up new markets for Israeli medical tech. She spotlights one company, TytoCare, a telehealth startup that developed an artificial intelligence-based device that enables clinicians to perform remote medical examinations.

And finally, following the Colleyville hostage situation last week, a philanthropist is investing $1 million into Blue Systems Ltd's Gabriel — inspired by the biblical guardian angel of the same name — a “smart panic-button” system, equipped with sensors, a camera and a microphone that can be installed in school and institution rooms.

Discussed articles include:

Winter storm Elpis brings heavy snow to Golan; schools in north, Jerusalem to shut

1 in 20 Israelis infected, yet experts optimistic Omicron won’t defeat hospitals

Health officials said to warn country will soon break own record for serious cases

Depression, anxiety in children jumped during pandemic, study shows

Israeli startups head to Dubai to tout medical, health technologies

Rabbi creates ‘guardian angel’ panic button to cut chaos in school shootings

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Illustrative image: Despite freezing temperatures following the first snow fall, Israelis enjoy the abundant snow and warm spring waters near Kibbutz Merom Golan, Northern Golan Heights on January 20, 2022. (Michael Giladi/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 Judah Ari Gross and Arab Affairs reporter Aaron Boxerman join host Jessica Steinberg.

Boxerman and Gross discuss the ongoing increase of extremist settler violence against Palestinians and whether it's a matter for the Israel Defense Forces or the Israel Police to handle in the West Bank.

Gross takes a quick look at why Russia held a joint jet patrol with Syria along the Golan Heights, and how Israel will delicately approach the matter with Russian military officials.

We also briefly talk about vegan bacon startup being funded by Natalie Portman and whether meat eaters will ultimately be interested in plant-based meat products.

Discussed articles include:

3 Palestinians injured after Jewish extremists attack West Bank village near Nablus

Israel said holding talks with Russia over Syria standoff, may limit air campaign

Russia said conducting joint patrols of Syrian border airspace, including over Golan

Natalie Portman, French firm work to create vegan bacon

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IMAGE: An Israeli soldier stands by as Israeli settlers enter a Palestinian playground in Susiya, a Palestinian hamlet in the West Bank, on Saturday, November 6, 2021 (Credit: Guy Butuvia)

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