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 Times of Israel editor David Horovitz and United States correspondent Jacob Magid, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

US President Joe Biden was inaugurated yesterday in a ceremony with muted pomp and circumstance, and much conciliatory messaging. Invoking his mother, St. Augustine, and Psalm 30, Biden gave a heart-felt cry for empathy, unity and the dawn of a better day.

Immediately following the ceremony, Biden signed 15 Executive Orders that unraveled much of the work of the Trump administration. Will Biden's team continue the Trump-led Abraham Accords? Magid fills us in on which Muslim countries were next in line to sign agreements with the Jewish state.

Ron Dermer stepped down yesterday from his role as the Israeli ambassador to the US. Just how instrument was he in swinging the pendulum of Israel support into partisan territory?

Finally, among the first challenges facing Biden is whether or not to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears primed for a fight.

Discussed articles include:

Joe Biden, his mother, and the Golden Rule

Full text of Biden’s speech: ‘America has been tested; we’ve come out stronger’

Fashion icon Bernie Sanders, and his mittens, star at inauguration

With 15 strokes of a pen, Biden reverses Trump on climate, virus and immigration

Trump officials: Mauritania, Indonesia were next to normalize, but time ran out

Netanyahu envoy Dermer departs US, but to Democrats he’s been gone for years

All the Jews Biden has tapped for top roles in his new administration

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Image: President-elect Joe Biden, wearing a medical boot, raises his leg as he enters The Queen theater, December 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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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 Times of Israel Ops and Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

On today's show, as Donald Trump finishes his term as president, we look at the reaction of the Times of Israel blogosphere to the tumultuous presidency and its turbulent final days.

Discussed blogs include:

Can America inoculate against the dire threat of ‘us vs. them’?

American Orthodoxy’s political suicide

Dear Trump-supporting friends, we love you and forgive you. Now apologize.

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PHOTO: US President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the White House on the ballistic missile strike that Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing US troops in Washington, January 8, 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.

Today’s panel comprises Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

We open today's show with Israel's soaring COVID-19 cases and ask why the country is managing so successfully to provide vaccines but consistently failing to contain contagion. With ultra-Orthodox localities suffering the most severe infection rates, the panel ponders the community's influence on domestic policy and whether their leadership is failing them, and the wider public.

While Israel's vaccination campaign pushes ahead at brake speed, we look at the (not so) parallel efforts to provide Palestinians with vaccines, and ask what role the Jewish state should be playing.

And finally, we discuss the latest on the campaign trail ahead of March's election with parties from across the political spectrum looking to the US for possible inspiration.

Discussed articles include:

Israel passes 10,000 daily infections for first time since start of pandemic

Netanyahu says Israel may need to extend lockdown, pleads with Haredim to comply

Palestinian shipment of Russian Sputnik vaccine delayed

Born on the 4th: Israeli parties look to US playbook for pandemic-era campaigns

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ILLUSTRATIVE PHOTO: The groom dances with family and friends during his wedding in Giv'at Ze'ev, outside Jerusalem on October 14, 2020. Violence erupted when police officers intervened to call off the wedding for violating coronavirus regulations. (Photo by 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 Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and military correspondent Judah Ari Gross, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

We open today's show by looking at the overnight rocket fire from Gaza to Israel, the reaction from the IDF and the possibility of a surprise flare up in the south.

With Israel and Iran each stepping up threats and provocations, we ask the panel what's behind the two counties' latest moves and what the building tension says about their views on and hopes for the Biden administration.

And finally, we discuss Phil Spector's complicated legacy of musical brilliance and murder.

Discussed articles include:

2 Gaza rockets fired toward Ashdod land in sea; IDF strikes Hamas in response

With Iran held in check by Biden hopes, Israel grabs chance to hit hard in Syria

Likud minister warns Israel could attack Iran nuclear program if US rejoins deal

Phil Spector, ‘Wall of Sound’ music producer, murderer, dies at 81

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PHOTO: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sits in the cockpit of F-15i fighter jet, August 11, 2009, during a visit to the Hatzerim air base in southern Israel. (Edi Israel/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.

On today's show, Times of Israel health correspondent Nathan Jeffay joins founding editor David Horovitz host Amanda Borschel-Dan to discuss the latest on Israel's battle with COVID-19 and its ambitious vaccination drive.

Discussed articles include:

Top official: Israel in ‘final stages’ of COVID, showing world an exit strategy

How well does the vaccine work? Israel’s real-world stats can be globe’s guide

As UK virus variant spreads, the kids will be all right, but you might not be

‘Trump’s horrific legacy: He destroyed the truth in America’ — Abe Foxman

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PHOTO: A medical worker prepares a Covid-19 vaccine injection at a vaccination center in Jerusalem, on January 13, 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 Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and Palestinian affairs correspondent Aaron Boxerman, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

In the run-up on the vote whether to press forward with the Impeachment process for US President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi unexpectedly quoted from a 1982 Hebrew poem written by the great Israeli poet and lyricist Ehud Manor. The poem, "Ein Li Eretz Aheret" (I have no other land" is resonant in Israel, across the political spectrum, explains Horovitz.

In 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the (Jewish) Israeli electorate that Arabs were coming out to vote in droves. But yesterday, in a visit at an HMO clinic in the northern city of Nazareth to woo these same voters, he explained his remarks were taken out of context -- to a mixed response.

As Israel continues its widespread vaccination drive, what is happening in Arab centers and in the Palestinian Authority? Boxerman fills us in and offers a thought-provoking analysis.

Discussed articles include:

‘I can’t keep silent’: Pelosi quotes Israeli poet to urge Trump removal

Divided and dismissed despite historic gains, Arab parties now bleeding support

Wooing Arab votes, Netanyahu claims 2015 ‘voting in droves’ remark was twisted

With distrust rampant, East Jerusalem Palestinians shirk COVID vaccine

Israel acknowledges it gave 100 COVID vaccine doses to the Palestinian Authority

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U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, centre, is applauded during her speech in the Chagall state hall at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday May 19, 2008. Pelosi is leading a bipartisan delegation to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

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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 Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and Deputy Editor Joshua Davidovich, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Businessman and philanthropist Sheldon Adelson died on Tuesday. A supporter of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the 87-year-old has left lasting marks on both country's political scenes. We discuss what is part of Adelson's legacy, whether his right-wing will vision continue, if only in the pages of his free influential daily newspaper, Israel Hayom.

Israel is harvesting Big Data in the fight against COVID-19. How do its citizens like being treated as Guinea pigs?

Elections are on the horizon for March 23 and initial polling is indicating that the long-time Labor party will not cross the threshold. Who is to blame?

Discussed articles include:

Backed by deep pockets, Adelson made his mark with an unwavering focus on Israel

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, key backer of Trump and Netanyahu, dies at 87

Initial Israeli data: First Pfizer shot curbs infections by 50% after 14 days

How Israel’s efficient, data-savvy HMOs help it lead world in COVID vaccination

Labor chief Peretz says he won’t run for Knesset in March elections

Poll predicts 7 small parties would fail to clear electoral threshold

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Image: Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson watches a lion dance at the opening ceremony of the Sands Cotai Central in Macau, April 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

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Welcome to the fifth episode of The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing: Your audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world.

Today’s panel includes Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and Tal Schneider, the new political correspondent for both The Times of Israel and its sister Hebrew-language site Zman Yisrael, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Monday night, Alternative Prime Minister Benny Gantz held a much-hyped press conference in which he proclaimed he was sorry for joining the current government coalition. Gantz further proclaimed a state of emergency and pressed the center, right, and left, to create an alliance to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- which Gantz had promised to do in the previous three elections. Fool me three times, shame on whom?

Further political mergers and acquisitions are in the air as the religious far-right parties are discussing a joint list. But, as Schneider and Horovitz point out, voters should be aware of just how extremist some of these partners could be.

Earlier this week, Schneider elucidated a little-known security force in Israel, the Knesset Guard. They're not part of the IDF or the police: Just who are they?

And finally, Horovitz speaks to the increasingly uncovered anti-Semitic sentiment found among the supporters of US President Donald Trump who stormed Capitol Hill last week.

Discussed articles include:

Israel and the shameful, dangerous final days of Donald Trump

Gantz unity plea falls flat, but his deep coffers are nothing to sneeze at

Responsible parties? Fragmenting political field is ripe for mergers

Watching DC strife, armed Knesset Guards say they’ve long readied for unrest

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Image: Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz visits at the Jerusalem Municipality on November 10, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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Welcome to the fourth episode of The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing: Your audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world.

Today’s panel includes Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

In a stunningly personal video posted on Sunday, US movie star-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger compared last week's storming of Washington, DC, Capitol Hill supporters of US President Donald Trump to Kristallnacht. In his seven-minute video, Schwarzenegger explained that the November 9, 1938 Nazi pogrom, in which thousands of Jewish properties were destroyed and some 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, is what historians regard as the prelude to the Holocaust. Is this an appropriate comparison?

Coincidence or not? Just prior to the inauguration of incoming US President Joe Biden, Israel announces some 800 new settlement homes. Is this a concerted effort to incite tension? Are Israel-Us relations returning to Obama days?

Next, Rettig Gur explains the play-by-play in a small religious-right party that just might, he claims, determine the outcome of the Israeli election on March 23.

And finally, Borschel-Dan recaps her trip to the banks of the Jordan River on Sunday, where she observed the first mass in 54 years at a church called St. John the Baptist Chapel, which was recently cleared of landmines and returned to the Franciscan order.

Each Sunday through Thursday, a panel of Times of Israel reporters and editors will give a fresh perspective on the day’s news in a brief, fast-paced conversation. Special thanks to producer Raoul Wootliff.

Discussed articles include:

Schwarzenegger says Capitol raid like Kristallnacht; recalls father’s WWII guilt

Israel to okay over 800 new settlement homes days before Biden sworn in

With landmines cleared, church on Jordan River holds 1st mass in 54 years

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Image: May 20, 1977 file photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger. (AP Photo, File)

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Welcome to the third episode of The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing: Your audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish World.

Today’s panel includes Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

The amazing timing of Prime Minister's projected vaccination completion -- by the end of March -- has the team wondering about the power of coincidence with the next Israeli election due March 23. On the heels of an interview with Netanyahu challenger Gidon Sa'ar, the idea of whether the mob mentality seen last week at Washington, DC's Capitol Hill's could be seen in the Holy Land is chewed over. And, also in light of US President Donald Trump's complicated role in the incitement of his supporters on Wednesday, how do Israelis now view his legacy in Israel?

Each Sunday through Thursday, a panel of Times of Israel reporters and editors will give a fresh perspective on the day’s news in a brief, fast-paced conversation. Special thanks to producer Raoul Wootliff.

Image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives his second vaccination against the coronavirus at Tel HaShomer hospital outside of Tel Aviv, on January 09, 2021. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

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