The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Welcome to a bonus episode of The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. In today's episode, environment reporter Sue Surkes makes a guest appearance, stepping in for Berman.

This is a week of spring holidays, and so we are dedicating the program to some of the biblical flora of the Land of Israel.

In honor of Easter, which is celebrated by much of Christendom on Sunday, we begin with a date palm that was brought back from the dead and a plant that resurrects itself.

In 2008, Dr. Elaine Solowey germinated a 1,900-year-old date palm seed that took the name Methuselah after the long-lived biblical character. She has since gone on to revive several more ancient seeds, including females that bear fruit. Surkes tells the story of Solowey's amazing success -- and describes how the dates taste.

Next, we hear about the Rose of Jericho, which was named for the biblical city of Jericho that constantly rose from its ashes -- and still stands today. It's an extraordinary story of a plant surviving in the harshest of circumstances.

We then turn to a tree that is called the Christ-thorn jujube (shezaf). Traditionally, this type of tree was used to create the thorny crown that Jesus wore on his last journey down the Via Dolorosa.

Surkes then speaks about the olive tree -- both the last few remaining "wild" variety located near Atlit, and the cultivated variety. She turns to Psalm 128 to show how being acquainted with the flora of the Land of Israel gives a deeper meaning to the text.

And finally, we speculate on the Garden of Eden's "forbidden fruit." Was it an apple? Or maybe a fig?

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: Dates harvested from 'Hannah,' the first female palm tree germinated from 2,000 year-old seeds discovered in the Judean desert, are displayed in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel, on September 27, 2021. (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

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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.

Following a phone meeting of the security cabinet, Berman discusses that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar was involved in the conversation that included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite efforts to fire the Shin Bet chief.

Hamas officials have said they will not accept any partial deals and still demand an end to the war, with some of the terrorist group's reactions appearing to react to protests in Israeli society, says Berman. He also speaks about criticism regarding top hostage negotiator Ron Dermer, with remarks from both the Qataris and hostage families about Dermer, a close advisor to Netanyahu.

With the latest headlines about ongoing talks between Iran and the US, Berman expresses concern about Israel's position. He discusses chief negotiator Steve Witkoff, who doesn't have much background in Iran or the nuclear program but has Trump's ear and is a skilled negotiator. Berman notes that Netanyahu can't undermine Trump in this potential Iran deal, but the final result may not be as good for Israel.

Please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog for more updates.

For further reading:

Hamas said to reject Israeli proposal that it disarm as part of 6-week ceasefire

Hostage talks said to have lost ‘momentum’ since Dermer took over negotiating team

Iran wants to drag out talks, Trump wants a deal now. Neither is good for Israel

Trump waved off planned Israeli attack on Iran to pursue negotiated nuclear deal — NYT

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: Outside the home of chief hostage negotiator Ron Dermer in Jerusalem on his birthday, protestors call on him to light up hope instead of blowing out candles (Credit Adar Eyal/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

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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 Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

On Saturday, US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” together in Oman to kick off nuclear talks in what marks the first time the two nations have spoken directly to each other since the Obama administration. We learn about the US's evolving "redline" and the Trump administration's expected timeline.

Hamas has reportedly turned down an Israeli offer for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, which demanded the group to disarm. Magid weighs in on the stalled process, including what he's hearing from one of the Arab negotiators.

The Palestinian Authority has formally invited the Trump administration to certify that Ramallah’s reform of its controversial welfare system viewed as incentivizing terror is being implemented, a US official and a PA official revealed to Magid on Friday. Magid explains the provisions of the Taylor Force Act, a 2018 congressional legislation that barred US economic aid that directly benefits the PA, and how the PA is attempting to comply.

Please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog for more updates.

For further reading:

In swift reversal, Witkoff says any nuclear deal must ‘eliminate’ Iran’s enrichment, weaponization

Trump says he expects to make a decision on Iran’s nuclear program ‘very quickly’

Gaza hostage talks still stalled, official says, amid reports of incremental progress

Hamas said to reject Israeli proposal that it disarm as part of 6-week ceasefire

Hostage’s father to PM: How do you plan on freeing last captive without ending war?

PA invites US to verify that controversial prisoner payment system no longer in place

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

IMAGE: A handout picture released by Iran's Atomic Energy Organization on November 4, 2019, shows the atomic enrichment facilities Natanz nuclear research center, some 300 kilometres south of capital Tehran. (HO / Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)

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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.

Tech editor Sharon Wrobel and archaeology reporter Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

The setting of a 17% tariff on Israel by the US appears to be paused for the moment, as Wrobel discusses. Israel thought it could receive a reduction on the tariff, the main worry is the indirect impact and talk of a recession in Israel's tiny market and the instability and uncertainty that could cause. There are ongoing negotiations with efforts to protect Israeli companies and concerns over exposure to machinations in global markets and the value of Israeli savings.

Over 8,000 tech employees have left Israel in recent months and Israel was downgraded in the global ranking of top 50 wealthiest cities as millionaires and tech workers relocated, following first the judicial overhaul and then the ongoing war and hostage situation. Wrobel discusses the biggest concern in that shift, given the high-tech sector's payment of taxes, and its effect on the state and the Israeli economy.

Tercatin discusses research at the Academy of the Hebrew Language, looking at how Hebrew accents developed across different communities and millennia, and the role of cultural heritage in preserving those language differences.

She also talks about a Sicilian farmer who is part of a centuries-old ritual to harvest a sweet, white sap from the bark of ash trees, a syrup known as manna. Tercatin describes the process and the substance, following an interview with the 75-year-old Sicilian farmer on the eve of the holiday of Passover, when Jews across the world commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, and when they ate manna in the desert.

This conversation can also be viewed here:

Please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog for more updates.

For further reading:

Demand for state-backed insurance soars as Israeli exporters fear Trump tariff chaos

War spurs brain drain, outflow of Israeli high-tech employees, report finds

Tel Aviv drops in global ranking of top 50 wealthiest cities as millionaires decamp

Research center works to save myriad Hebrew dialects shaped by millennia of wandering

In this Sicilian town, manna is a heavenly delicacy with deep 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 the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A boy looks at shipping containers in Haifa's port , Israel, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Yesterday, the family of Edan Alexander approved the publication of a Hamas propaganda video released Saturday, which showed signs of life from the US-Israeli hostage soldier who has been held by the terror group since he was kidnapped on October 7, 2023. Born in Tel Aviv, Alexander grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. He returned to Israel to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces after graduating from high school in 2022. Fabian fills us in and we hear a segment of the video.

This morning, we learned that over 1,600 former IDF paratroopers and infantry soldiers signed a letter demanding the government reach a deal to bring the hostages home, even if it means ending the war. We discuss this latest appeal, which adds to a growing wave of public pressure to end the ongoing war following similar letters from IDF reservist doctors, the Talpiot program, former 8200 intelligence unit members, ex-Mossad members, navy reservists, and reservist air force personnel. We focus on the air force letter, which has brought the most media attention, and hear what steps -- if any -- the IDF is taking to stem this tide.

The Israel Defense Forces announced at noon Saturday that it had completed the capture of the Morag Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip, cutting off the city of Rafah from Khan Younis. Fabian explains how this is part of a greater plan to widen the new border buffer zone.

Yesterday, the Israeli military carried out an airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City, after telling staff and patients to evacuate ahead of the overnight attack, one of a series of strikes that Israel said were targeting Hamas operational centers. No casualties were reported in the hospital strike, with Israel issuing a warning to evacuate the facility before the attack. We learn where civilians are meant to go during such airstrikes, and in general.

Air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen early on Sunday evening. The Houthis claimed to have fired two missiles in the attack, one targeting the Sdot Micha Airbase — where, according to foreign reports, Israel holds nuclear-capable Jericho missiles — and the other aimed at Ben Gurion Airport. Fabian weighs in.

On Friday, the IDF confirmed that it participated in a just-completed annual aerial exercise hosted by Greece, which this year included the participation of Qatar -- along with 11 other countries. We ask Fabian how significant this joint exercise is.

Please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog for more updates.

For further reading:

‘Why am I not home?’ Edan Alexander’s family okays publication of Hamas propaganda video

Over 250 ex-Mossad members, 3 former chiefs urge hostage deal even if it ends war

IAF to dismiss reservists who signed letter demanding prioritization of hostages over war

IDF says it hit a Hamas command center embedded in Gaza City hospital

IDF fully surrounds Rafah as Katz warns Gazans of ‘final moment to remove Hamas’

IDF says Houthi missile intercepted; shrapnel falls in West Bank

In first, Israeli Air Force participates with Qatar in aerial exercises hosted by Greece

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

 

IMAGE: Troops of the Givati Brigade operate in Gaza, in a handout photo issued on April 9, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

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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.

Culture editor Jessica Steinberg joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

We begin today's program by discussing Israeli art in a post-October 7 world. Steinberg brings us several examples, starting with Design Museum Holon latest exhibit, “Heroines.” Steinberg explains how this show examines how fashion design provided a sense of hope during dark times.

Our next stop is the spiral surroundings of the Bat Yam Museum of Art, which are hosting artist Ester Schneider in her first solo museum exhibit, “Hoshana,” which showcases her installations, paintings and watercolors. Steinberg sets the scene.

Sofie Berzon Mackie, Kibbutz Be’eri’s art gallery director and curator, has lived and worked in more than one temporary home since the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, decimated her home and community. Steinberg shares how the Be’eri gallery, an art institution cherished on the kibbutz since 1986, was torched by Hamas terrorists, leaving nothing untouched. She explains where the art -- and curator -- are now.

Finally, we turn to how hostage parents have prepared themselves for another Passover seder without their children who are still in bondage. One example is Viki Cohen, whose son Nimrod Cohen was a soldier taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. Viki has recently released a children’s Haggadah for Passover, adding illustrations of the hostages — those still in captivity, those who were freed and those who were killed — and symbols and signs of their lives. We hear more.

For further reading:

Fashion exhibit looks at design as symbol of hope during World War II

Artist calls for salvation in show at Bat Yam museum

Be’eri artist and gallery director finds clarity in temporary home, art and family

Hostages’ families yearn and mourn in new Passover Haggadahs

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

IMAGE: From 'Heroines,' an exhibit about fashion design during wartime at the Holon Design Museum, from April 2025 (Credit Elad Sarig)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host arts and culture editor Jessica Steinberg speaking with Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel.

Ohel talks about her son, who was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival.

Ohel discusses what she knows about the injuries sustained by Alon on October 7, including shrapnel in his eye, and she firmly demands that he receive medical attention.

She says she deeply believes that despite his injuries and captivity, he is surviving and will continue to do so until he's released home.

She explains what she's heard from released hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, who were kept captive with Alon, and we hear how Alon endures, playing imaginary piano on his chest as a musician, whistling favorite songs and talking about his family.

Ohel says that her son, like her, has always meditated, and she assumes he is still doing so as one of the many methods that has allowed him to survive so many months underground.

She discusses what it's like to mark another Passover without her son, and the need for the entire country and Jewish nation to rally behind the remaining hostages, in order to push the government toward an extension of the hostage deal.

So this week, we ask hostage mother Idit Ohel, 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: Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel, speaks during a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. In today's episode, military reporter Emanuel Fabian makes a guest appearance, stepping in for Berman.

We take a deep look into the IDF probes into the failures leading up to and on October 7 by first taking a step back and discussing the goals of the investigations and their overall general findings.

We then dive into a cluster of probes that were released in the past week, including the investigations into Kibbutz Nirim, the city of Sderot, Kibbutz Re'im and the Supernova open-air music festival.

At the Nova festival alone, some 380 out of 3,500 people attending the party were slaughtered by Hamas and another 44 were taken hostage to Gaza. On this second Passover since the onslaught, 17 of those taken from the Nova party are still in captivity, including 11 living and six declared dead.

In a very tough, at times graphic conversation, Fabian guides us through a handful of the dozens of battles on October 7, 2023.

For further reading:

Troops fended off 1st wave of terrorists at Nirim, but IDF left kibbutz vulnerable

1,000 troops were in Sderot on Oct. 7, when they were urgently needed elsewhere, probe finds

IDF okayed Nova music festival, but didn’t inform troops deployed at border, probe finds

Civil defense squad, cops battled 100 terrorists in Re’im before IDF arrived, probe finds

From our archives:

Camera in hand, partygoer captures escape from rave where Hamas killed 260 Israelis

Thousands flee rocket and gunfire at all-night desert ‘Nature Party’; dozens missing

Daily Briefing Mar. 4: Day 515 – Devastating IDF Oct. 7 probes depict years of misconceptions

The Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch. 

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers drive by the Supernova rave party site, where almost 380 were killed, near Kibbutz Re'im, close to the Gaza Strip border fence, on October 10, 2023. (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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

With nuclear talks between the US and Iran planned for Saturday, Horovitz discusses the implications of the upcoming talks and how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be surprised by Trump's announcement of the diplomatic approach. He reviews past diplomatic efforts with Iran, and the role in the talks taken by Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, as well as Israel's role in potential military responses.

There are still 59 Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity in Gaza, and Horovitz talks about how Trump, perhaps uncharacteristically, gently and patiently hosted three freed hostages at an event this week, as the US president appears to be trying to grapple with the reality of what he's been told about the brutality of Hamas.

Horovitz also discusses the headline about the Israeli Air Force decision to
dismiss Air Force reservists who signed a controversial letter, appealing for the hostages over a return to a military campaign against Hamas.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

This conversation can also be viewed here:For further reading:

IAF to dismiss reservists who signed letter demanding prioritization of hostages over war

Trump: Israel would ‘be the leader’ of strike on Iran if nuclear talks fall apart

‘We owe our lives to you’: Former Gaza hostages implore Trump to help free the rest

Attacked online by PM’s backers, ex-hostage hits back: ‘Wish death upon Hamas, not me’

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

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump greets Israeli hostages who were released from Gaza, during the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) "President's Dinner" at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on April 8, 2025. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

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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.

Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The High Court of Justice issued an interim injunction on Tuesday stating that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar must remain in office until further notice and giving the government and the attorney general until April 20 to reach a compromise over the legal dispute surrounding the unprecedented vote last month to fire him. Sharon sets the scene in -- and out -- of the courtroom yesterday.

Thirty-one percent of Israelis, including 36% of Jews, believe the government should disregard the High Court of Justice if it reverses the dismissal of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, according to a poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Tuesday. In light of this dangerous moment, Justice Noam Sohlberg, despite his skepticism of the government’s position, was the first to suggest a compromise, proposing the government and the attorney general refer the matter to the advisory committee. Sharon explains.

And finally, Sharon brings us a story about how Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock participated in a ceremony last week in which 19 all-terrain vehicles paid for with state funds were granted to illegal settlement farming outposts in the South Hebron Hills region, for "security purposes."

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

After chaotic hearing, High Court rules Netanyahu can’t fire Shin Bet chief Bar for now

Court seeks to avert constitutional crisis in Ronen Bar hearing, while upholding law

Netanyahu’s office says High Court ruling on Bar ‘puzzling,’ amid calls to ignore it

Poll: 31% of public says government should ignore court on Shin Bet head’s ouster

Government gifts state-financed ATVs to illegal settlement outposts for security

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

IMAGE: Demonstrators protest against Supreme Court President Isaac Amit outside a court hearing on petitions against the firing of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, April 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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