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 panel comprises our editor David Horovitz and our military correspondent Judah Ari Gross, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

We start today's show with a look at the completion of the transition of power in Israel after former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the official prime ministerial residence on Balfour street in the middle of the night -- nearly a month after Naftali Bennett took office. We know he plans to return. Will he succeed?

Over at the president's residence, with Isaac Herzog now in office, the new head of state spoke over the weekend with Jordan’s King Abdullah. We assess the state of Israel-Jordan relations and ask what can be done to bolster ties.

Then, we look at what officials say is an unprecedented seizure of guns being smuggled from Lebanon to Israel. Could Hezbollah be seeking to facilitate attacks within Israel rather than on the border?

And finally, maverick former Likud MK Yehuda Glick is back in the headlines after being arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle a Palestinian into Israel. We explain why we didn't quite fall off our seats when we heard.

Discussed articles include:

Netanyahus move out of PM’s residence after 12 years

President Herzog speaks with Jordan’s king as nations work to mend relations

Smuggled guns from Lebanon were meant for terror; largest bust in years — TV

Troops foil mass gun-smuggling attempt from Lebanon; probe if Hezbollah involved

In apparent world first, IDF deployed drone swarms in Gaza fighting

Former MK Yehudah Glick detained, suspected of trying to smuggle in Palestinian

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PHOTO: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exits after a press conference about the coronavirus at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on March 25, 2020. (Oliver 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 panel comprises our editor David Horovitz and our deputy editor and archeology reporter (and regular host of the podcast) Amanda Borschel-Dan, along with host Raoul Wootliff.

On today's show -- long live the president of Israel! As of yesterday evening, Israel has a new president, its 11th: Isaac Herzog, the son of the 6th President Chaim Herzog. We try to understand what sort of presidency awaits us for the next seven years.

And, with Herzog in, Israel's 10th president Reuven Rivlin is out. We look back over his presidency and discuss what legacy he leaves behind.

Then, a vast "city hall" has been unearthed in a subterranean ancient warren in Jerusalem's Old City. We hear about the ongoing excavations and the new pathways found in the Western Wall Tunnels.

And finally, with summer upon us, we look at the biblical origins of watermelon and the new studies tracing its roots.

Discussed articles include:

Herzog takes office as Israel’s 11th president, warns of dangers of polarization

Rivlin’s record-breaking presidency in numbers

The presidency that was: Reuven Rivlin’s seven years in office

Magnificent 2,000-year-old ‘city hall’ unearthed near Western Wall

Red origin: New study traces roots of summer fave watermelon, mentioned in Bible

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PHOTO: Newly elected President Isaac Herzog at a welcoming ceremony in his honor at the president's residence in Jerusalem, July 7, 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 panel comprises our United States correspondent Jacob Magid and culture editor Jessica Steinberg, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

On President Reuven Rivlin's final day in office, we discuss lingering resonance in US policy from his farewell tour to the White House last week. Among issues covered was the Israeli linkage of the prisoner swap with Gaza reconstruction -- which the Biden administration has promised to bring up with Cairo.

Next, Magid gives an in-depth look at the recent peaceful evacuation at the new wildcat hilltop settlement at Evyatar. What kind of deal was struck between the settlers, government, and defense officials -- and does this set a "dangerous" precedent?

Tel Aviv's DocAviv festival is running through July 10 with in-person screenings -- or online for Israeli residents. We hear about a few of the choice selections.

And finally, learn about the refreshing pre-state Israeli soft drink Gazoz, making a comeback in trendy Tel Aviv, and now the feature of a new cookbook by Benny Briga and Adeena Sussman.

Discussed articles include:

US opposes conditioning Gaza reconstruction on return of IDF troops’ bodies

‘Illegal even under Israeli law’: US pans establishment of new Evyatar outpost

Settlers vacate illegal Evyatar outpost under deal that keeps it intact

Featuring musical documentaries, Docaviv festival launches with 116 films

Breezy summer drink concocted in Tel Aviv gets book of its own

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PHOTO: President Reuven Rivlin in 2020. (Haim Zach/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 our political correspondent Tal Schneider and our military correspondent Judah Ari Gross, along with host Raoul Wootliff.

In a blow to the coalition, the Knesset knocks down the extension of the family unification law preventing Palestinian spouses of Israelis from gaining citizenship rights. What does this mean for the coalition? What is opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's game? And, what now?

Amid a continued rise in COVID cases and findings showing that the vaccines are less effective against the Delta variant, Israel is considering the benefits of a third shot, all while it signs a deal to trade vaccines with South Korea. We try to work out what the government's plan is.

As the death toll in the Florida building collapse hits 28, officials say the chances of finding more survivors is "close to zero." We hear what aid the IDF team there has provided and why it is planning to stay another week.

And finally, we'll talk about the developing role of female soldiers in the IDF.

Discussed articles include:

In blow to coalition, Knesset knocks down extension of family unification law

Coalition casts Netanyahu bloc as Joint List’s ‘useful idiot’ after Knesset loss

Government reaches agreement on six-month extension on family unification law

After Palestinians reject deal, Israel to send 700,000 vaccines to South Korea

As Florida toll hits 28, official says chances of more survivors ‘close to zero’

Rescue efforts resume in Florida after demolition of remaining part of condo

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PHOTO: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (center) and ministers during a Knesset discussion on the Palestinian family reunification law in Jerusalem, July 6, 2021. (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.

Today’s panel comprises our Palestinian Affairs reporter Aaron Boxerman and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

The controversial Palestinian family reunification amendment is set to reach the Knesset plenum today. Boxerman recently spent time with several Arab Israeli families personally affected by the continued limitations and shares a human side to the complicated issue.

As the Abraham Accords continue to make new ties between nations, Israel is no longer a diplomatic island within the Middle East. We discuss a string of optimistic moves that possibly could snowball into even more diplomatic relations in the nearish future.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a sudden visit to Amman to speak with King Abdullah. Boxerman lays out three scenarios that may have prompted the helicopter trip.

Elsewhere in the region, there are rumors of a third round of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Is this a thawing of their Cold War, and how could this affect Israel?

And finally, Israel's new Foreign Minister Yair Lapid shows the world what's in a flag.

Discussed articles include:

Palestinian family reunification law up for Knesset vote, a day before deadline

Coalition rift reignites debate over law keeping Palestinian families apart

First Bahraini ambassador to Israel formally appointed

Lapid in joint op-ed with Emirati FM: We must urge other states to join us

PA President Abbas meets King Abdullah in Amman as West Bank tensions rise

Lapid fumbles July 4 message with tweet of Liberia flag

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IMAGE: A protest against the 'family reunification law' outside the Knesset, in Jerusalem, July 5, 2021. (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.

Today’s panel comprises our editor David Horovitz and health reporter Nathan Jeffay, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

The surge of new coronavirus infections continues across vaccinated Israel, but currently there are still "only" 35 serious cases. Where are we heading, how much protection are the vaccinations giving and what's going on at Ben-Gurion Airport?

There is new overt rumbling within the Likud party against head of the opposition Benjamin Netanyahu. What exactly is happening here?

Could Netanyahu be in hot water as a new probe is opened regarding use of state funding for renovations in his private home?

And get ready to hear about "GPS-guided" nanoparticles that are busting up inflammation -- at least in mice.

Discussed articles include:

Experts: Without restrictions, daily COVID cases could rise to 1,000 in 2 weeks

Curbing Delta’s force, vaccines keep Israel’s hospitals calm and avert lockdown

Amid eyebrow-raising gov’t decisions, an advanced airport COVID lab stands idle

Likud’s Katz: I would’ve been able to form coalition; Netanyahu chose opposition

Police to question witnesses on funding of Netanyahu’s home renovations – report

Netanyahu said threatening to sue legal adviser at PM’s office

Bennett said planning to sleep 4 nights a week at official PM residence

New Israeli ‘GPS’ nano-drug busts inflammation, touted as antibody replacement

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

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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 our editor David Horovitz and investigative reporter Simona Weinglass, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

We begin the program with some updates about the increasingly disquieting coronavirus infection spread in vaccinated Israel even as serious cases hover around 29. This week Prime Minister Naftali Bennett again called on parents to vaccinate their 12 to 15-year-old children and brought his own daughter to a vaccination center for her jab.

Also this week, within the flurry of diplomatic visits and phone calls, Bennett spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the two men agreed to meet soon. Between Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s recent trip to the United Arab Emirates and outgoing President Reuven Rivlin’s farewell tour of the United States, are we seeing a new era of international relations?

And finally, we focus on an investigative report about Payoneer, which started trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange this week. It achieved a market cap of $3.5 billion on the first day of trading, which would have been a big story in any case, but what made it even more newsworthy is that Bennett invested in the company 13 years ago, becoming about $5 million wealthier this week. The fly in the ointment? Over the years, at least some of Payoneer’s profits came from processing payments for pornography websites and scams.

Discussed articles include:

Israel records over 300 new daily COVID cases for first time since April

Daily COVID cases expected to jump to 500 next week; threats to close airport

Israel said negotiating COVID vaccine swap deal with UK

Bennett talks to Egypt’s Sissi for 1st time as PM; they agree to meet

Playing Joshua to Bibi’s Moses, Lapid looks to take UAE ties into promised land

Behind Bennett’s Payoneer payday, a firm that profited off smut and alleged cons

Payoneer begins trading on Nasdaq

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IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett seen during a memorial ceremony marking 107 years since the death of Zionist leader Theodor Herzl, held on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on June 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 panel comprises our diplomacy reporter Lazar Berman from Abu Dhabi and editor of our Hebrew sister site Zman Yisrael Biranit Goren, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Berman gives an early morning update from steamy Abu Dhabi from a delegation accompanying Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on a two-day trip to the UAE, the first official visit by an Israeli minister to the Gulf state since the normalization of ties between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi last year.

Next, we discuss an unprecedented inter-ministerial initiative to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 2050 that was announced yesterday by four all-women-led ministries: Energy, Economy and Industry, Environment and Transportation. Hear what else is noteworthy here.

And finally, another female hero takes the spotlight in a recent Zman Yisrael story focussing on Idit Harel Segel, a right-leaning Israeli nursery school teacher who decided to honor her Holocaust survivor grandfather's death by donating a kidney. Her kidney was matched with a three-year-old child in Gaza. Hear about the ripple effects of this altruistic effort.

Discussed articles include:

Lapid inaugurates UAE embassy on 1st official visit, thanks Netanyahu and Trump

Lapid in UAE: Palestinians must want progress before Arab states can help

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IMAGE: From left: Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai, Energy Minister Karin Elharar, Environment Minister Tamar Zandberg and Transportation Minister Meirav Michaeli, announce a new inter-ministerial initiative to cut greenhouse emissions by 2050, June 29, 2021. (courtesy)

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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 United States correspondent Jacob Magid and political correspondent Tal Schneider, along with host Raoul Wootliff.

On today's show, we look at President Reuven Rivlin's trip to the US – who he's met, what's been said and what the significance of the visit is.

We'll take a specific look at his meeting with US President Joe Biden and their discussions about both Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the Iran deal. What does it all mean for the future of Israel ties?

And finally, we'll look at alleged efforts by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drive a wedge between the new US and Israeli administrations.

Discussed articles include:

Old friends: Rivlin leaves Washington, confident Biden is in Israel’s corner

Biden tells Rivlin he won’t allow Iranian nukes on his watch

American Jewish leaders laud Rivlin at NYC farewell event

Amid uproar, US denies change in policy recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli

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

IMAGE: President Joe Biden meets with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, June 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

 

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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 diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and Palestinian affairs reporter Aaron Boxerman, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

A unique tripartite summit occurred yesterday in Baghdad between Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. Hear how Iraq is positioning itself to be the new regional peacemaker, broaching subjects including the ongoing Syrian civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and mediation between Iran and Arab countries.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Rome on Sunday. Among other promises, Lapid vowed to fix Israel's bipartisan standing in the US and to minimize the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Hear why this is such a change of tune.

Who was Nizar Banat, the Palestinian social media activist who soundly criticized the Palestinian Authority? He was arrested by the PA in Hebron on Thursday night and died in custody a few hours later, sparking a series of ongoing protests in Hebron and Ramallah. The PA's Labor minister quit today in solidarity. Is this a tipping point?

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced it a national mission to end violence in Arab communities. Been there, heard that?

And finally, Israel and Poland are having a bit of a diplomatic slapdown these past few days. Hear why.

Discussed articles include:

With tripartite summit, Iraq, Egypt and Jordan pitch ‘common vision’ for Mideast

Lapid to Blinken: Mistakes were made in US-Israel relationship, we’ll fix them

Protests after death of Abbas critic reflect growing crisis over PA’s legitimacy

Palestinian labor minister to quit amid protests over activist’s death

Bennett announces national plan to fight crime in Arab community

Israel, Poland summon each other’s envoys over Holocaust restitution law spat

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IMAGE: From left to right, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, prepare to meet in the presidential palace in Baghdad, Iraq, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

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