The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

In an interview conducted in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Emirati special envoy Lana Nusseibeh warned Israel that annexing the West Bank would cross a “red line” that would “end the vision of regional integration.” Today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meant to hold a major ministerial consultation on whether to advance. Magid sets the scene and explains what Nusseibeh and the Emiratis are trying to get across to the Israeli public.

Earlier in the week, on Monday, in Doha, Magid spoke with Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar’s lead negotiator, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and heard the backstory of their frustrations over the negotiation process. We reset the scene and delve into the role of Qatar as negotiator for the Gaza war -- and other global conflicts.

The United States said on Friday it will not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to New York next month for a United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state. A State Department official told Magid that a US visa ban on Palestinian officials planning to attend the United Nations General Assembly, would cover Abbas along with 80 other PA officials. Magid explains the mechanism of withholding the visas and how it dates to a report written during the Biden administration.

Last week, Magid spoke with Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon about the impending slew of recognitions of a Palestinian state. Borschel-Dan notes that his remarks could be construed as dismissive: “These countries want to show that they are doing something, so they blow off steam by coming up with these declarative statements.” We hear Magid's takeaways from the conversation.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

UAE warns Israel: Annexing West Bank is a ‘red line’ that would ‘end regional integration’

After US cools on phased Gaza deal, senior Qatari official laments ‘moving goalposts’

US says it will ban PA’s Abbas, 80 other officials from attending UN General Assembly

Israel’s UN envoy: Western leaders recognizing Palestinian state to ‘blow off steam’

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump, center, with from left, Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, during the Abraham Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

During today’s day of disruption in the capital, protesters calling for a hostage deal have escalated their tactics, including torching bins in Jerusalem -- which police said damaged a car and caused nearby residents to be evacuated -- and gaining access to the roof of the National Library, near the Knesset, to hang banners. The activists are pushing for renewed ceasefire-hostage release negotiations this week ahead of the IDF's "Gideon's Chariots B" operation. Berman updates us on the communications between the mediation teams.

The IDF said today that it is boosting operational and logistical preparedness for reservists called up for the military’s planned Gaza City offensive. Over the coming weeks, troops will participate in open-terrain and urban warfare exercises to strengthen readiness across the Gaza Strip. At the same time, yesterday, some 350 reservists signed a mass petition stating that they refused to rejoin the war. Berman speaks about the willingness of reservists to continue to fight and how the IDF is taking their needs into consideration.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may visit Israel in two weeks, an Israeli official told Berman yesterday. We hear what may be on his agenda.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot announced Tuesday that Belgium will recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly later this month. Berman describes how the slew of countries may recognize the Palestinian state at the GA and how European countries are already clamping down on Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday decried the “unacceptable” US decision not to grant visas to Palestinian officials, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the United Nations General Assembly later this month, when France is also set to recognize a Palestinian state. A day before the GA kicks off, France and Saudi Arabia are holding a conference in New York promoting a two-state solution on September 22. We hear what the goals are for this conference and speculate on whether the visa decision may be reversed.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

IDF chief: War ‘will not stop’ until Hamas is defeated; PM says ‘decisive stage’ starting

Tens of thousands of reservists drafted ahead of Gaza City takeover, but turnout down

US Secretary of State Rubio to visit Israel later this month; early contacts reported on possible Netanyahu-Trump meeting in US
 
Belgium to recognize Palestinian state at UN General Assembly, impose sanctions on Israel

Macron slams ‘unacceptable’ US decision to bar PA officials from attending UN confab

Netanyahu said to mull annexing West Bank parts in response to Palestine recognition

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Illustrative: A Jewish settler comes to pray in the Eviatar outpost in the West Bank, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and tech reporter Sharon Wrobel join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

As deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel said she won't follow foreign minister and New Hope party head Gideon Sa'ar into a merger with the Likud party, Sokol discusses Haskel's position on the front lines of Israel's information battle and her concerns about Likud's representation of moderate voters.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid warned of the end of Zionism if Netanyahu's coalition wins the next election, which Sokol calls Lapid's election rhetoric, consistent with how Lapid has been speaking for the last few years.

Sokol analyzes rising tensions between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Haredi parties and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth's new approach to Haredi conscription law.

Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air plans to establish a base in Israel, notes Wrobel, offering it advantages in the Israeli air transportation market.

Wrobel also discusses milk shortages in Israel due to production issues and consumer panic.

IMAGE: Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid attends a Yesh Atid party conference in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2025 (Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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Political correspondent Tal Schneider and reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

The security cabinet met for some six hours on Sunday night, but didn't raise the current hostage deal during last night's lengthy meeting, according to Schneider. There was reportedly a discussion of extending Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, as a possible response to the expected announcements of a Palestinian state later this month.

Schneider also mentions the disagreements among security officials regarding the planned military incursion in Gaza, pointing out that any final decision is by the security cabinet, and the military has to comply with their decision.

As President Trump reportedly considers a plan to evacuate Palestinians as part of a postwar Gaza plan, Schneider analyzes that it appears to be planned by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the organization handling the food distribution in the Gaza Strip. The plan includes having a portion of the population leave and setting up enclaves inside Gaza for those who remain, a plan that Schneider says seems far-fetched.

Two surveys issued in the run-up to the new school year highlight persistent socio-economic gaps between schoolchildren, says Surkes, pointing to a lack of funds in low-income families for afterschool activities and the struggle to afford certain kinds of healthier foods.

The legendary Nahal military group that once primarily served agricultural communities is returning to its roots, according to Surkes, with pre-army volunteers serving in the kibbutz communities along the Gaza and northern borders.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Security cabinet meets, reportedly discusses West Bank annexation but not hostage deal

Trump said weighing plan to pay Gazans to leave, put Strip under US-run trusteeship

As children go back to school, two reports detail vast socio-economic gaps

From Sept. 1, the storied Nahal military group will return to its agricultural roots

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: Palestinians carry food parcels and supplies from a GHF aid distribution point in central Gaza, August 5, 2025. (Photo by Ali Hassan/Flash90)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

The government's weekly cabinet meeting was held in a secure location on Sunday, Berman notes, after the IDF announced it killed the prime minister of Yemen’s Houthi government and several other ministers, and the Houthis pledged to retaliate.

Following a Channel 12 report that said three of Israel's top security officials are expected to argue that Israel should cancel its imminent operation to capture Gaza City and accept the phased hostage-ceasefire deal currently on the table, Berman believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will ignore them. Instead, he says, Netanyahu will likely continue to demand a comprehensive deal under which all hostages are released at once and the war ends on terms acceptable to Israel, in line with his demands in recent weeks and backing, thus far, from US President Donald Trump.

Berman discusses his interviews on the outskirts of Gaza City with members of the IDF's 7th Armored Brigade, six of whose members are held hostage -- two of them alive and four whose bodies are held.

He also analyzes the prime minister's recent remarks recognizing the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, suggesting it was presumably timed as a way of getting back at Turkey for its aggressive stance and policies against Israel throughout the war.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Houthis, IDF confirm group’s prime minister, other top officials killed in Israeli strike

Body of slain hostage Idan Shtivi identified days after recovery from Gaza

‘A wild gamble on hostages’ lives’: Defense chiefs to urge cabinet to eschew Gaza op, take deal

For IDF’s 7th Brigade, return to Gaza City is personal: Six of its crew are held hostage

In first, Netanyahu says he recognizes Armenian genocide

Israeli airlines say they’re still traversing Turkish airspace despite declared closure

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Lt. Col. G., commander of the 77th Armored Battalion, in Zeitoun, Gaza, August 28, 2025 (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with legal expert on genocide Menachem Rosensaft.

Rosensaft is an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School and lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches the law of genocide -- since 2008 at Cornell and since 2011 at Columbia. A dedicated pro-Israel US Jewish leader, Rosensaft is the general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress and has been part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, most notably sitting with PLO leader Yasser Arafat alongside four other American Jewish leaders in 1988, after which Arafat said he recognized the State of Israel's right to exist.

Rosensaft discusses the important legal and rhetorical distinction between genocide and crimes against humanity or war crimes, feeling that the definition's precision is being diluted in popular use. We learn about the history and evolution of Raphael Lemkin's definition of genocide and the ripple effect it has caused.

He emphasizes that Israel cannot be held out as the sole villain in the ongoing war, and explains how Hamas exhibits genocidal intent and ideology. However, the statements from a handful of far-right Israeli politicians is making South Africa's December 2023 legal case accusing the Jewish state of genocide much harder to win.

Finally, he rails against the Israeli government's weaponization of the word "antisemitism" for all dissent against the Jewish state, but doubles down on the need for an ongoing peace process leading to a Palestinian state.

And so this week, we ask genocide legal expert Menachem Rosensaft, what matters now.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Menachem Rosensaft (courtesy) / Palestinians stand on the edge of a crater after Israeli military strikes in a tent camp for displaced people near Al-Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al-Balah, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This Friday, we present a fourth and final installment of our August mini-series centering on the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza. We launched the series with a zoom-out conversation with public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman, followed by a personal account of life in Gush Katif by former Nezer Hazani resident Anita Tucker and last week, we heard from Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who shared the perspective of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip and the ripple effect felt after the Disengagement.

This week, we speak with author and thinker Yossi Klein Halevi from his Jerusalem home.

The Shalom Hartman Institute senior fellow begins by explaining why he and so many other Israelis supported Disengagement. He describes how the promises of security from the right and peace from the left failed, and so many Israelis were eager to try the "centrist" approach of unilateralism.

Klein Halevi describes the zeitgeist of the time and compares it with the renewed global interest in a Palestinian state -- despite the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, and the continued captivity of another 20 living hostages and 30 dead.

In the context of the ongoing war, when asked whether the two-state solution is dead, Klein Halevi's answer may surprise.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Yossi Klein Halevi (courtesy)/ Former prime minister Ariel Sharon speaking to students on the first day of classes in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, Sept. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

A reportedly routine policy meeting in the White House made headlines, says Magid, as it included two senior figures, Jared Kushner, son-in-law and former adviser to US President Donald Trump, and former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

Magid discusses how Kushner and Blair have been working behind the scenes on a postwar Gaza management plan. He also notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategic adviser, Ron Dermer, was at the meeting as well, pointing to the closeness between the US and Israel on this issue.

Magid talks about an interview with a former State Department spokesman for Palestinian-Israeli affairs who was recently fired for perceived missteps regarding Trump administration policies concerning Israel.

Finally, he takes a look at recent IDF activity in the West Bank, examining whether that region is destabilizing as pressure points reach urban areas such as Ramallah and Nablus.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Blair and Kushner join Trump’s Gaza meet; official calls it ‘a simple policy’ session

Trump to hold White House meeting on ‘comprehensive plan’ for managing postwar Gaza

Fired State Dept. press officer claims Huckabee, aide usurping Trump’s ‘America First’ policy

IDF troops raid Ramallah money changer accused of funding Hamas activities

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

 

IMAGE: White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner wait for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J. on July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and health editor Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Schneider discusses the timing of US President Donald Trump's announcement regarding Wednesday's White House meeting about the management of the day-to-day lives of Gazans after the war. She notes the Israeli cabinet's decision Tuesday to gloss over the latest Hamas proposal and the US administration's allowing Israel to go ahead with its current military plans.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will only accept comprehensive deals, notes Schneider, and he will not agree to any phased deals of the kind that Egypt and Qatar have succeeded in bringing to the negotiating table.

Bletter describes the  Druze community's efforts with a platform created to help supply medical supplies and food from Israel to the devastated Sweida province in Syria where thousands of Druze are under siege by Syrian government-led forces.

Bletter also highlights groundbreaking medical research, including unlocking bacteria to create more effective antibiotics and vaccines. She also notes research on spinal cord tissue that will be transplanted into paralyzed patients, helping them walk again.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Trump to hold White House meeting on ‘comprehensive plan’ for managing postwar Gaza

As cabinet meeting glosses over deal, mediators say Israel ignoring Hamas proposal

Large crowds fill Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square for rally urging deal to free captives

In a Galilee war room, Startup Nation’s Druze mobilize to help their Syrian brethren in Sweida

Using novel method to compare subgroups, Israeli researchers unlock bacteria’s secrets

In world 1st bid to cure paralysis, Israeli team gears up to implant innovative spinal cord

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current government and for the release of hostages outside Tel Aviv's Defense Ministry on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.

As protesters blocked major highways Tuesday and demonstrated in front of cabinet ministers’ homes in an effort to pressure the government to try to finalize a deal to bring home the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, Horovitz discusses the despair of the hostages’ families, the price of an agreement, and the complexities surrounding the government’s stated goals of bringing home all the hostages, destroying Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza.

Horovitz points out that the US seems to be taking a back seat lately in hostage negotiations, but could and should play a vital role in arranging talks between Israel and neighboring countries that have normalized ties with it regarding a mechanism for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of having non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority “Arab forces” governing a postwar Gaza.

Following the IDF attack Monday on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital that reportedly killed 20 people, including several journalists, Horovitz notes that the army is still investigating the incident. He highlights that numerous released hostages have detailed the hospital’s functioning as a facility under Hamas oversight.

Horovitz also talks about his recent visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community of barely 400 people, a quarter of whom were killed or taken hostage by hundreds of Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. He discusses the ongoing trauma within the community adjacent to the Gaza border and its debate on how to memorialize its tragedies, as well as how to move forward.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Thousands demonstrate, block roads at start of nationwide day of protests for hostages

Trump claims Gaza war to reach ‘conclusive ending’ in two to three weeks

IDF strike on south Gaza hospital said to kill 20, including rescuers and journalists

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Adina Karpuj.

IMAGE: Protestors block Route One on August 26, 2025 at Shapirim Interchange (Credit: Barak Dor/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

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