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.

Today's guests are senior analyst Haviv Rettig-Gur and Arab affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman, with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

Boxerman leads today's podcast with a look back at the various talks taking place between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian monarch Abdullah II in Cairo, as well as President Isaac Herzog's secret meeting last week in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II.

The two reporters discussed the regional dimension of the meetings, and whether they herald anything new for the region, a very faint possibility. Finally, Boxerman and Rettig-Gur take a look at why Defense Minister Gantz has been so defensive of his recent meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, and why Bennett seemed to be critical of that conversation. 

Discussed articles include:

PA’s Abbas meets Egypt’s Sissi, Jordan’s Abdullah in rare trilateral summit

Herzog secretly visited Jordan for meeting with king

Gantz defends his meeting with Abbas, says it had Bennett’s backing

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IMAGE: Jordanian King Abdullah II, right, as Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein, second right, looks on, speaks to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Tuesday, July 20, 2021 at the State Department in Washington. (Nicholas Kamm /Pool 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.

Today's guests are Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and senior analyst Haviv Rettig-Gur, with Jessica Steinberg as host.

Horovitz and Rettig-Gur begin with a discussion of this morning's headline and the challenge of Israel’s fledgling government attempting to pass the state budget in a first reading in the Knesset. It’s been three years since Israel has had an approved budget and a failure to succeed could bring down the coalition.

Rettig-Gur reviews some of the many remaining contentious budget issues, including reforms for the agricultural industry, small businesses and retirement age for women and what that could portend as a tax issue.

Horovitz weighs in on the start of the school year and the calculated risk taken by the government in its push to open school on time, despite the many issues regarding the coronavirus, testing and vaccinations.

Horovitz and Rettig-Gur also discussed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and a remark he madeWednesday about the poor execution of the US pullout from Afghanistan, a comment more akin to his former role as a columnist than as a politician.

Discussed articles include:

In major challenge for coalition, Knesset to vote on 1st reading of state budget

Amid COVID and other challenges, hoping for a year of energy, humility, health

Right move, wrong way: Lapid pans US pullout from Afghanistan

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IMAGE: Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman presents the the state budget at the assembly hall in the Israeli parliament, September 2, 2021 (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.

Today's guests are Zman Yisrael editor-in-chief Biranit Goren and military correspondent Judah Ari Gross with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

September 1 brings the first day of school in Israel, with questions about vaccinated students, rapid testing and Green Passes.

Despite tales of some parents and teachers rebelling against the current system, Goren takes a more positive spin on the bumpy beginning, looking at the 80% vaccination rate among older students, and the chance for teachers to finally look at their students, face to face.

Gross weighs in on his report about the approved NIS 500 million loan to the Palestinian Authority, which was agreed upon during last week's talks between Defense Minister Benny Gantz and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Finally, Gross and Goren discuss the deeper meaning of the slight thaw in Israel-Palestinian relations, agreeing that it could be due to the current government and the play between left and right under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Discussed articles include:

Israel hands every child a DIY virus test, in bold bid for safe school restart<

Full text: The Education Ministry’s rules for opening schools

Israel agrees to send NIS 500 million to PA, bypassing terror stipend freeze

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IMAGE: Young Israeli students on their first day back at school, at Gabrieli school, in Tel Aviv. September 01, 2021 (Courtesy Avshalom Sassoni/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.

Today's guests are health and science correspondent Nathan Jeffay and environment correspondent Sue Surkes, with Raoul Wootliff as host.

Summer holidays are over and school is set to restart tomorrow. On today's show, we discuss the new regulations allowing the school year to begin and how they are set to work.

Israel yesterday passed 7,000 fatalities from the virus since the start of the Pandemic last year. We look at the current rate of infection and ask how the vaccine booster is having an impact.

Turning to the environment, we assess a new government report released yesterday which claims Israel has much high methane emissions than the world average. Why is it so high and what can be done?

And finally, we'll look at how the new agricultural reform as part of the state budget is set to impact both Israeli farmers and consumers.

Discussed articles include:

Bennett says schools will open Wednesday, eases in-person learning rule

Ministers OK barring unvaccinated and untested teachers, doctors from workplaces

Israel’s COVID death toll passes 7,000; over 500 felled by virus in August alone

Israel widens 3rd COVID booster shot to those aged 12 and over

Government report finds Israel methane emissions much higher than world averages

Syrian oil spill spreads into Mediterranean, may reach Cyprus

Tar still washing up onto Israel’s beaches six months after oil spill

Doubts crop up as bid to lower price of produce targets farms for reform

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PHOTO: A child poses with her COVID-19 home kit test that she received from her school, ahead of the opening of the new school year, in Jerusalem, August 30, 2021. (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.

Today's guests are Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz with Arab affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman, and Jessica Steinberg as host.

Horovitz reviews aspects of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's meeting in the Washington, DC with US President Joe Biden, including Bennett's ability to converse easily and fluently with Biden, a clear advantage that former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu always favored in his moments on the world stage.

Boxerman discussed the logistics and content of the Sunday night meeting in Ramallah between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the first in over a decade. 

He also spoke about ongoing conversations regarding how Israel can help strengthen the PA economy, which has suffered tremendously as a result of the coronavirus and internal politics.

Horovitz closes Monday's podcast with a look at how the US is suffering post its pullout from Afghanistan, and how it needs to play a role as the world's superpower, particularly in the Middle East.

Discussed articles include:

In shadow of Kabul chaos, Bennett tells Biden why US must stay engaged in region

Catastrophe in Afghanistan — for Afghans, Israel, the region… and for America

In first top-level meeting in a decade, Gantz holds talks with Abbas in Ramallah

PM’s office downplays Gantz-Abbas meeting, says there won’t be peace talks

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PHOTO: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, May 25, 2021, in West Bank city of Ramallah. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, 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.

We're speaking today with Times of Israel military correspondent Judah Ari Gross and US correspondent Jacob Magid, with Jessica Steinberg hosting.

Gross opens with a discussion about the IDF airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late Saturday night in retaliation for airborne arson attacks, and whether that portends a return to conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Magid takes us to the US and an overview of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's visit in the US, reviewing his meetings with US President Joe Biden, which included a pledge from Biden that Iran will "never" get a nuclear weapon, although he stopped short of offering a military option.

Along those lines, Gross added more information about the IDF's plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program in light of the Islamic Republic’s ongoing march toward the technology needed for an atomic weapon.

Bennett's visit with Biden also included conversations about aid to Ramallah amid fears of an economic collapse, and Biden's opposition to the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and thoughts about reopening the US consulate in Jerusalem.

Finally, Magid shares some more details about Bennett's extended visit over Shabbat in DC, including a makeshift synagogue service in the hotel and his words of Torah to the assembled minyan on Shabbat day.

Discussed articles include:

IDF strikes Gaza after violent border riots, airborne arson attack

3 months after Gaza conflict, IDF gearing up for another round of fighting

At first meeting, Biden pledges to Bennett that Iran will ‘never’ get nukes

As Bennett meets Biden, IDF ramps up plans for strike on Iran’s nuke program

Israel, PA discuss potential aid to Ramallah amid fears of economic collapse

Biden raised reopening of Jerusalem consulate, opposition to evictions, with PM

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IMAGE: President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, in Washington. (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.

Today’s panel includes Times of Israel Ops & Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag and political analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, with Jessica Steinberg as your host.

Herschlag and Rettig Gur discuss blogs written by former Israel ambassador Michael Oren and American sociologist Samuel Heilman, examining the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Oren looks at how the US used the Middle East peace process in the 1970s to reclaim its role as peacemaker post Vietnam, suggesting it can do the same again, using the Abraham Accords as a starting point.

Meanwhile, sociologist Heilman offers five lessons the Afghanistan withdrawal can teach to democracies.

Finally, Herschlag and Rettig Gur discuss Israel's new mother by surrogacy, Labor Party head Merav Michaeli, an outspoken champion of women's right to opt-out of motherhood, who could have averted a backlash with more transparency about her plans, suggests blogger Naomi Chazan.

Discussed articles include:

The Taliban win forces the question: What’s next for the US?

5 Afghan lessons (‘the US as unreliable ally’ is not one of them)

Merav Michaeli should have been up front about the surrogate baby

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IMAGE: Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division help facilitate the safe evacuation of U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other at-risk Afghans out of Afghanistan, at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021. (Sgt. Jillian G. Hix/U.S. Army 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.

Today’s panel includes Times of Israel political correspondent Tal Schneider and US correspondent Jacob Magid, with Jessica Steinberg as your host.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed early this morning in the US, and Schneider fills us in on what to expect in the initial meeting between Bennett and US President Joe Biden, who are meeting in person for the first time.

Magid, already on the ground in Washington, DC, shares some of his expectations for topics and issues under discussion between the two leaders, including tensions regarding Iran, fallout from the US pullout from Afghanistan and how to proceed with Israel-Palestinian relations.

Finally, Schneider speaks about how former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be watching the US-Israel meeting from his vacation in Hawaii, where he is still tweeting his displeasure about Bennett's diplomatic progress.

Discussed articles include:

Bennett lands in US on first state visit as PM, ahead of meeting with Biden

Bennett: Israel won’t annex territory or establish Palestinian state on my watch

Bennett to US congressmen: Preventing a nuclear Iran is America’s interest

Netanyahu on vacation at island owned by Larry Ellison, a witness in graft trial

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PHOTO: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett boards plane for the US (Courtesy Avi Ohayon/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.

Today’s panel comprises editor David Horovitz and Palestinian affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman, along with host Raoul Wootliff.

We open today's show with a look at tensions between Israel and Hamas after the IDF carried out a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip following the launch of incendiary balloons and a violent incident on the border.

What does Hamas want? How is Israel avoiding escalation? And has Israel lost its deterrence?

Then, as COVID cases continue to rise both in Gaza and inside Israel we look at Israel's strategy is for trying to contain the Delta outbreak and examine the steps taken so far.

And finally, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on his way to Washington, we analyse the issues that could divide him and US President Joe Biden, and how the Israeli premier may approach Iran.

Discussed articles include:

Israeli jets strike Gaza following fires set by arson balloons

IDF strikes Hamas targets in Gaza in response to shooting of soldier at border

Security officials believe Israel, Hamas on collision course in Gaza — TV

Israel passes 1 million total COVID cases, approaches one-day record

COVID positivity rate hits highest figure since February

Delta surprised Israel, which dropped the ball on vaccination, admits COVID czar

Bennett to present Biden with strategy for stopping Iran without nuclear deal

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PHOTO: Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City, on August 21, 2021. (Abed Rahim Khatib/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.

Today’s panel includes diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.

Berman fills us in on expectations for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's upcoming 48-hour trip to the US, his first time meeting with US President Joe Biden.

The two leaders differ ideologically, and Berman, part of the press corps in attendance, wonders about their chemistry and chances of finding common ground.

Rettig Gur is working this week on a piece about Israel’s firefighting policies in the wake of the destructive forest fire last week in the Jerusalem hills. His research so far shows that Israel needs more than additional firefighters or planes, and must consider bigger picture forestry policies.

Berman closes today's podcast with a look at Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid's visitors this week, the Greek and Cypriot foreign ministers. The visit is part of Lapid's efforts to push toward a broad alliance of Gulf countries and those in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

Discussed articles include:

Bennett and Biden meeting in Washington set for August 26

‘We said it’s all over’: Hospital staff describe recall rescue as flames neared

Lapid hosts Greek, Cypriot FMs, hails regional alliance

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IMAGE: Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett holds a presss conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on August 18, 2021 (Courtesy Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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