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.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz and Arab Affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman join host Jessica Steinberg.

Horovitz looks at the possible suspension of the Western Wall compromise deal that would have formalized the alternative Western wall space for non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, and why this may be happening.

Boxerman discusses the ongoing issue of extremist attacks on Palestinians, and whether the Bennett government can offer more justice for those attacked.

Horovitz speaks about the seriousness of the Iran threat and how much politics is playing into the responses being put forward by Israel and the US.

Boxerman talks about his recent visit to Bethlehem, where Christmas will be celebrated publicly, unlike last year during the coronavirus, but without tourists, who are not being allowed in to the ancient Christian village.

Discussed articles include:

Settler attacks on Palestinians are on the rise, but justice remains elusive

Bethlehem hoped to recoup some coronavirus losses this Christmas. Then came Omicron

After Birthright exception, Holy Land Christians decry Israel’s ‘racist’ travel ban

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IMAGE: Then-minister of health Yaakov Litzman of the United Torah Judaism party (right) and then-interior minister Aryeh Deri of Shas (left) flank the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, during a visit to the pluralistic prayer pavilion at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on May 30, 2016. (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.

Health correspondent Nathan Jeffay and Ops and Blogs editor Miriam Hershlag join host Raoul Wootliff on today's podcast.

We start the show with an update on the latest coronavirus and Omicron data and assess how new estimations of the vaccines' impact compare to those made a year ago.

We look at Israel's ongoing vaccination campaign and ask if it really is slowing down.

And we discuss two blog posts about the impact of the pandemic -- one that laments the damage done to the Israeli tourism industry, and the other that looks at inter-personal relationships in a post lockdown world.

Discussed articles include:

Israeli study finds 2 Pfizer shots fail to neutralize Omicron, but booster effective

2 Pfizer shots 70% effective against Omicron hospitalization — South African data

Liberman says tourism workers should find a new job amid ongoing travel restrictions

Reach out, please, to your local tour guide

I’m stepping back from hugs and embracing the mitzvah of consent

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

 

PHOTO: View of an empty bus terminal at the Ben Gurion airport on December 17, 2017. (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.

Reporters Amy Spiro and Carrie Keller-Lynn join host Jessica Steinberg.

Spiro discusses atmosphere of Miss Universe competition in Eilat, who was in the audience and how Israelis view the beauty contest as somewhat archaic.

Keller-Lynn speaks about the evacuation of Givat Amal, a lower-income community and neighborhood in central Tel Aviv that was emptied of its long-time community to make way for more luxury housing.

She also takes a look at some of the creative and unusual methods for plugging in electric cars, which have arrived in Israel.

Discussed articles include:

Israel’s beauty on full display as India takes the crown at Miss Universe in Eilat

Battered by COVID, Eilat hopes Miss Universe will help revitalize tourism

A Tel Aviv neighborhood is gone, but evicted residents are still mired in struggle

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

IMAGE: Miss Universe contestants take part in a photoshoot in the Israeli desert on December 4, 2021. (Ronen Horesh/GPO)

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

Both Schneider and Magid were at the Israeli American Council’s national summit in Florida last week, attended by some 3,000 participants, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Magid discusses a briefing with Gantz regarding construction in settlement blocs in the West Bank. He senses that Gantz is thinking strategically about his own political positioning, given his comments about expanding the so-called settlement blocs.

Schneider offers some details about who attended the summit, including the high participation in the age of Covid and in the wake of AIPAC's canceled conferences.

Magid also talks about his interview with MK Nir Barkat, and his harsh line with regard to Iran, while Schneider gave some insights as to Barkat's political plans to become the Likud party leader and his position as a Knesset member without a particular role.

Discussed articles include:

Senior defense official: ‘Blocs’ prioritized but all settlements have right to exist

Likud’s Barkat: Tehran should be targeted if Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel

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IMAGE: Defense Minister Benny Gantz addresses the Israeli American Council's national summit in Hollywood Beach, Florida on December 10, 2021. (Noam Galai)

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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 senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Jessica Steinberg.

Gross and Rettig Gur discuss the possible meanings behind former United States president Donald Trump's recently released quotes about former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to journalist Barak Ravid for an upcoming book.

They also speak about Defense Minister Benny Gantz's comments in the US regarding his instructions to the IDF about preparing for a strike against Iran, including the probable timeline in mind.

Discussed articles include:

‘F*ck him’: Trump rages at Netanyahu, claims he saved Israel from destruction

Trump: I thought Israelis would do anything for peace, but found that not to be true

Gantz: I told the US I’ve ordered the IDF to prepare a strike against Iran

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IMAGE: US President Donald Trump, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk to a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, January 27, 2020. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

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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.

Reporter Carrie Keller-Lynn and arts and culture editor Jessica Steinberg join host Raoul Wootliff on today's podcast.

Keller-Lynn discusses her recent investigative piece about Israel's traffic woes, looking at the number of cars and drivers on the road, and the fact that Israelis seem to prefer their cars to public transportation.

She also talks about the passport challenges facing Israelis born abroad, and the complications wrought by the pandemic when they want to come 'home' to visit.

Steinberg describes a new gallery installed at the iconic Jerusalem cafe Tmol Shilshom, the first exhibit featuring photos of the European-style cafes opened in Jerusalem in the Mandate era.

She also speaks about the new Karon theater complex, an expanded version of the Train Theater created in Jerusalem's Liberty Bell Park back in the 1980s.

Discussed articles include:

It’s the errands, not the commute: What’s really driving Israel’s traffic crisis

Shaked eases some requirements to register Israeli children born abroad

Jerusalem’s Train Theater takes a short ride to a new playhouse

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IMAGE: Traffic jams the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, as a train passes above, December 2, 2021 (Tomer Neuberg/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.

Startup Israel editor Ricky Ben-David and US correspondent Jacob Magid join host Jessica Steinberg on today's podcast.

Ben-David discusses President Herzog's new awareness campaign on Facebook, attempting to take on the cyberbullies.

Magid looks at two articles he wrote recently about delays for a massive housing project for ultra Orthodox Jews on the grounds of the former Atarot airport in East Jerusalem, as well as plans for new housing for Israelis next to Beit Safafa, a Jewish neighborhood in southern Jerusalem.

Ben-David also talks about Intel’s plan to take Mobileye public at an estimated $50 billion valuation, the highest in Israel's high-tech history.

Discussed articles include:

President Herzog partners with Facebook for new campaign against cyberbullying

Panel delays East Jerusalem Atarot airport housing project that sparked US ire

Intel to take Mobileye public in 2022 at estimated $50b valuation

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

IMAGE: Seen on the screen of a device in Sausalito, Calif., Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces their new name, Meta, during a virtual event on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.  (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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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 senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur appear on today's podcast with host Jessica Steinberg.

Berman and Rettig Gur discuss the outcomes and meaning of last week's nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna, looking at the more lenient and more hawkish reactions to the meetings.

Berman speaks about President Isaac Herzog’s official ceremony to receive incoming US ambassador Tom Nides on Sunday, which included more talk about Israel's stance on Iran.

He also offers a brief preview of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid's upcoming visit to Cairo this week, the latest in a series of high-level contacts between Israel and Egypt.

Discussed articles include:

Lapid’s Iran approach seems to be paying off with Western allies… for now

Israel will protect itself against Iran if world won’t, Herzog warns new US envoy

New US ambassador lands in Israel, heads straight to quarantine at home in Jerusalem

Lapid set to visit Cairo for talks with Egyptian counterpart

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IMAGE:  The flag of Iran waves in front of the the International Center building with the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, in Vienna, AustriaI, May 24, 2021 (AP Photo/Florian Schroetter, 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.

Environmental reporter Sue Surkes and science and health writer Nathan Jeffay appear on today's podcast with host Jessica Steinberg.

Nathan discusses if Israel is in the calm before an intense Omicron-induced storm, and what COVID-19 life looks like right now in these parts/

Surkes talks about new Israeli research regarding bat mothers and how they teach their young to navigate.

She also speaks about the Negev becoming part of the world's first mapping of underground fungal networks, the circulatory and communications systems that link above ground plants underground.

IMAGE: A medic collects a swab sample from a woman at a COVID-19 drive-through testing site in Jerusalem on November 29, 2021. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

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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 in chief David Horovitz and military correspondent Judah Ari Gross appear on today's podcast with host Raoul Wootliff.

On today's show, we look at the terrorist stabbing attack in Jerusalem yesterday in which two Border Police officers shot dead the Palestinian attacker.

Why has the incident caused such visceral reactions from both sides and what can we learn from past similar incidents about the potential fall out.

And, with Iranian nuclear talks already breaking down after just a few days, we assess Israel's attempts to block Iran from the bomb, and what it really means when it talks about striking Iran’s nuclear program.

Discussed articles include:

Border Police officers questioned amid fracas over shooting of Palestinian attacker

US official: Iran backtracked on all compromises; we’re preparing for no deal

War: What Israel talks about when it talks about striking Iran’s nuclear program

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

PHOTO: Israeli security forces at the scene of a stabbing attack outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, on December 4, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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