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.

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

Rockets were fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from Gaza at southern Israel Friday night. These aren’t the only rockets from the Strip in the past week or so. We hear what this uptick represents.

On Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that it had withdrawn its troops from the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon in accordance with the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. What kind of presence remains in southern Lebanon?

Exactly a week ago, the first IDF tanks and troops pushed into southern Syria, seizing control of the former Syrian army posts located within a buffer zone that has existed between the countries since 1974, after a rebel uprising took place there by a coalition of various Druze tribes and opposition groups going by the name of Southern Operations Room. We hear what little is known about their leadership and ideology and Fabian reports on what he saw at an IDF's forward defense post, just beyond the buffer zone.

On Thursday, the IAF said that after over a decade of evading air defenses over the skies of Syria during a campaign against Iran’s supply of weapons to Hezbollah, it had achieved total air superiority in the area and therefore, there is an opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. Fabian weighs in.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF says rockets fired at south on Friday were launched from aid warehouse area

IDF confirms withdrawal from southern Lebanon’s Khiam in accordance with ceasefire

Katz says IDF troops will stay atop Syrian side of Mount Hermon during winter months

We don’t know how the rebels will act, IDF commander tells ToI inside southern Syria

New Israeli strikes said to target Syrian military sites, underground missile bunkers

IDF sees chance for strikes on Iran nuke sites after knocking out Syria air defenses

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 convoy of IDF vehicles approach a United Nations position on the border between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights on  December 11, 2024. The Syrian Army Tel Kwdana post can be seen in the background. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel) 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Today we're bringing you a bonus episode of 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 Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova.

As the rebel factions in Syria continue to fight to wrest control -- from the fallen Assad regime as well as from each other -- one of the ways to measure how the country will emerge is to look at the factions' treatment of women: On Tuesday, for example, the Biden administration said it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women.

In 2020, Svetlova published a Hebrew-language book, "On Heels in the Middle East," depicting her travels throughout the Middle East as a female (and sometimes overtly Jewish) journalist.

Born in Moscow, Svetlova immigrated to Israel at the age of 14. She is a journalist and analyst and was a member of the 20th Knesset for the Zionist Union party. Today she is the executive director of ROPES, which works to connect "forward-thinking Israeli and Palestinian emerging leaders with like-minded peers from across the Middle East and North Africa."

In our conversation, she draws on her experiences reporting from inside the region's Islamic countries to evaluate and rank their women's rights and freedoms. We discuss which country most supports women's rights -- Tunisia -- and the many countries that vie for the least free.

Later, we hear Svetlova's thoughts on future Russian influence in Syria and the region.

So this week, as all eyes are on Syria and the rebels that hope to rule it, we ask Ksenia Svetlova, what matters now.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

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 woman holding a rifle borrowed from a Syrian opposition fighter poses for a picture, next to a government forces tank that was left on a street, at the Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria, December 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast from the Jerusalem office.

We are continuing a new Friday tradition that we instituted last week and giving a deeper look into one aspect of the news. Today, we’re going to delve into Israel’s ever-evolving relationship and strategy with Syria.

We turn back the clock to the foundation of Syria and take a look at each decade of Israel’s existence vis a vis its neighbor to the north. We see how this background plays into Israel currently filling the vacuum in the buffer zone between the two countries after rebel forces decimated the Asad regime’s forces in the past week.

We learn that following a series of wars, Syria discovered that it would not win back the Golan Heights through force. Berman speaks about the decades-long peace talks between the two countries -- and what foiled them

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Israel rejects French call to withdraw from Syria buffer: ‘Necessary for defense’

France calls on Israel to exit Syria buffer zone as Spain, Germany urge restraint

IDF building along UN-patrolled demilitarized zone in Syria, satellite images show

Pro-Assad troops take over Golan UN post in demilitarized area on Israeli border

UN calls for armed groups to leave Golan area separating Israel-Syria forces

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: Israeli soldiers stand guard on a security fence gate near the so-called Alpha Line that separates the Golan Heights from Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, December 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 and political correspondent Tal Schneider join host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Magid and Schneider speak about the cautious optimism of some Israeli government officials regarding renewed hostage talks, amid the arrival of US National security adviser Jake Sullivan to the region.

Magid also looks at the request of Trump advisors who asked for the return of Hamas leaders to Qatar as they view the Gulf country's mediation efforts as vital to the hostage negotiations, and want the entire situation completed by the January 20 inauguration.

Magid and Schneider discuss the latest in the Golan Heights and IDF activity in the buffer zone with Syria following the rebel group takeover.  Several European countries asked for Israel's restraint as no one wants Israel and the rebel groups to set off on an antagonistic relationship.

Finally, Schneider looks at the latest in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's criminal trial, as the prime minister claims he was never favored by any of the Israeli media that he attempted to influence, but rather received hostile coverage.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Sullivan heads to Israel for Biden administration’s likely final hostage deal push

1st hostage to return from Gaza meets Trump, urges him to do all he can to free captives

Security chiefs discuss hostage deal in Cairo as Israel sees growing chances

Trump aides asked Qatar to recall ousted Hamas chiefs in bid to revive hostage talks

Netanyahu argues ‘hostile’ Walla coverage, telecoms reforms prove bribery claims ‘absurd’

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: Hostage family members speak to the media after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, December 8, 2024. (Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 and reporter Diana Bletter join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Part of Israel’s strategy to deter the Syrian rebel forces from expanding into Israel is the decision to fill the vacuum in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria with IDF forces. Bletter reports back from a trip to a Druze town within shouting distance of Syria -- Majdal Shamas, which saw 12 youths killed in July when a Hezbollah bomb struck a soccer pitch. We hear how the residents, many who have relatives living on the other side of the border, view the fall of the Assad regime.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally took to the witness stand on Tuesday in his criminal trial on corruption charges, the first time in Israeli history that a serving prime minister has appeared in court to testify as a defendant. Sharon was there and discusses the festive circus-like atmosphere in the courtroom as well as some choice Netanyahu anecdotes.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

In war-struck Majdal Shams, Assad’s fall sparks hope for Israel’s Druze

In historic campaign across Syria, IDF says it destroyed 80% of Assad regime’s military

Netanyahu, 1st PM to testify as criminal defendant, ridicules charges, denies illicit media ties

Netanyahu regales court with story of John Kerry’s invitation to visit Afghanistan

Coalition MKs, ministers line up at court to back Netanyahu as trial testimony kicks off

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: Residents in the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights celebrate on December 9, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they had taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the defendant in three corruption cases, took the stand today for the first time and presented long-anticipated testimony. Horovitz reminds us what are the key allegations against the prime minister and what Netanyahu said last night at a press conference that gives insight into his goals in testifying.

Last night, the Israeli Navy carried out a large-scale operation to destroy the former Assad regime’s navy fleet in Syria to prevent the Syrian navy capabilities and weaponry from falling into the hands of hostile forces, following the collapse of the Assad regime. Likewise, the Israeli Air Force, meanwhile, has carried out some 300 airstrikes in Syria since the collapse of the regime, destroying advanced weapons. Yesterday, the United Nations accused Israel on Monday of having violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria after Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon explained Israel’s reasons for entering the demilitarized buffer zone. Horovitz speaks about Israel's goals.

During a press conference last night, Netanyahu repeated his previous assertion that Assad’s fall was the “direct result of the heavy blows we landed on Hamas, on Hezbollah, and on Iran,” and said that ever since the October 7 attacks, Israel has been working in a “systematic, measured and orderly fashion” to dismantle the Iranian axis. Horovitz weighs in.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

The State of Israel vs. Benjamin Netanyahu: PM finally set to take the witness stand

On eve of court testimony, Netanyahu pans legal system, media in heated press conference

Coalition MKs, ministers line up at court to back Netanyahu as trial testimony kicks off

After fall of Assad, PM says Israel is ‘transforming the face of the Middle East’

Israel pounds Syrian military sites; regional sources claim ‘nothing left’ of army assets

UN slams ‘violation’ of 1974 Syria disengagement deal as Israel acts in buffer zone

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: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, arrives to attend a hearing at the district court for his long-running corruption trial, in Tel Aviv, December 10, 2024. (Menahem Kahana / POOL / AFP)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets on Sunday struck dozens of targets across Syria, taking out weaponry that Israel feared could fall into the hands of hostile forces in light of the dramatic fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime some two weeks into a lightning offensive by rebel groups. Also on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces seized control of a buffer zone between the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights, in what it described as a temporary defensive measure. We discuss why we have a buffer zone with Syria, when it was established and the legal standing of the Golan Heights.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday claimed credit for starting the chain of events that led to the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, hailing it as an “historic day.” According to Berman, "Seeing that Hezbollah and Iran were exhausted and that Russia was stretched to the limit in Ukraine, Syrian rebels poured out of their statelet in the northwest, driving south until they took the capital." He explains some of the scenarios of what may happen next.

On Sunday night, Netanyahu told the family members of hostages held in Gaza that the regime change in Syria could help advance a deal, while US President-elect Donald Trump said he did not believe there were many captives left alive. This morning, it was reported that mediated negotiations between Israel and Palestinian terror group Hamas to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip have advanced to the point where the sides are discussing lists of those who would be released. Berman updates.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Sinwar’s ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ washed Iran’s axis away, but new groups could reach Israel

As Assad falls, Israeli jets destroy his deadly arsenals before they fall to rebels

Netanyahu claims credit for starting ‘historic’ process that led to fall of Assad regime

Netanyahu tells hostage families fall of Assad regime could advance negotiations

Israel and Hamas exchange lists of names for release as talks advance – report

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 elite Shaldag unit are seen on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, December 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Arab Affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and Jewish World reporter Zev Stub join host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast.

Pacchiani reviews the latest in the stunning takeover in Syria by rebel forces followed by celebrations in the streets of Damascus as the Assad family appears to have fled the country. He discusses the Russian, Kurdish and Turkish strongholds in the country, the Islamic tone of the rebel forces and what that could mean in the country's new political reality.

Stub discusses the details of the early Friday morning arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, the reactions within the Jewish community and the eventual designation of the fire as a terrorist attack by the Australian government.

Steinberg briefly discusses the latest in the Hamas hostages and the release of a video of hostage Matan Zangauker on Saturday. Zangauker's mother, Einav Zangauker, has emerged as one of the most vocal anti-government voices in the ongoing hostage situation.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Rebels declare Damascus captured in stunning end to Assad family rule in Syria

Syria rebels take areas near Israel border; IDF warns them not to ‘turn in our direction’

Syrian rebel commander urges Israel to support uprising, strike Iran-backed forces

Who are the rebels battering Syria’s regime, and do they pose a risk to Israel?

Australia rebuffs Netanyahu’s claim synagogue arson due to ‘anti-Israel’ government

Police hunt 2 suspects in devastating arson attack on Melbourne’s Addas Israel synagogue

Hamas video shows Gaza hostage Zangauker for first time as thousands rally for deal

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: Israeli soldiers near the Israeli border with Syria on December 8, 2024 (Photo by David Cohen/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

In today's episode, ToI senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for a special bonus episode of our weekly What Matters Now podcast.

Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, an Iranian career diplomat who participated in the previous round of nuclear talks, has been Iran's vice president for strategic affairs since August. In that role, he wrote an op-ed in the bimonthly Foreign Affairs journal. The century-old magazine focuses on international relations and policy and can serve as a platform to float ideas and hear reasoned responses.

In Zarif's article, "How Iran Sees the Path to Peace," among the arguments raised was the idea of a "referendum" voting on the governance of the territory that largely includes the Jewish state.

"Iran can continue to play a constructive role in ending the current humanitarian nightmare in Gaza and work with the international community to pursue a lasting and democratic solution to the conflict," writes Zarif.

"Iran will agree to any solution acceptable to Palestinians, but our government believes that the best way out of this century-long ordeal would be a referendum in which everyone living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — Muslims, Christians, and Jews — and Palestinians driven to diaspora in the twentieth century (along with their descendants) would be able to determine a viable future system of governance. This is in line with international law and would build on the success of South Africa, where an apartheid system was transformed into a viable democratic state."

To Rettig Gur, Zarif's op-ed -- filled with posturing and warnings to the Western world -- is a sign of Iran's faltering regime and he explains why.

So this week, we discuss this new era of Iranian potential weakness and how the West needs to handle it wisely, as Haviv Rettig Gur weighs in on what matters now.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IAEA chief: Iran poised to ‘dramatically’ increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium

US deepens sanctions on Iranian oil as smuggling said to rake in billions for Tehran

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: Masoud Pezeshkian, center, flashes a victory sign after casting his vote in Iran's presidential election as he is accompanied by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, July 5, 2024. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode, recorded in our Jerusalem offices. We’re doing something different today and Berman and Borschel-Dan have an informal conversation about a mid-November report that Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide.

These remarks were included in a new book celebrating the pontiff’s jubilee year and they marked the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.

The revolution in ties between the Catholic Church and Jews began with a brief document -- Nostra Aetate -- issued on October 28, 1965, by more than 1700 Catholic bishops gathered in Rome for the Second Vatican Council. We speak about what this document states and what it represents.

We learn about the relationship between the Catholic Church and Israel -- and the Jewish people writ large -- and how it has evolved from accusations of Jews as Christ-killers to a relatively Golden Age. Lately, however, observers wonder if remarks made by Pope Francis and others could mark a turning point.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Pope calls for probe into whether Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza

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: Pope Francis waves as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, December 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.