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 senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and health reporter Nathan Jeffay, along with host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

The past 24 whirlwind hours have seen what can only be described as chaos in Israel's political sphere. Rettig Gur breaks down this fast-changing situation, in which the cabinet (illegally?) voted and approved a new Justice Minister, despite the protestations of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. This morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recanted and agreed to allow Blue and White Head Benny Gantz serve as acting minister, but the High Court may have its own say today.

Next, Jeffay describes a newly developed precise, scalpel-free form of diagnosing early skin cancers, which could be a gamechanger for high-risk individuals.

This week, amid fears of the spread of the new Indian variant, some 150 Israelis who flew in from India and Mexico refused COVID testing at Ben Gurion Airport. Likewise, Jeffay describes visits he's recently made to ultra-Orthodox communities in which youth are refusing the COVID vaccine. Is this a new wave of non-compliance?

Finally, we discuss two new studies involving the coronavirus vaccination -- one troubling and one optimistic.

Discussed articles include:

‘Insane’ cabinet bedlam as Netanyahu tries to wriggle out of unity straitjacket

Israeli tech said to give precise, knife-free skin cancer diagnosis in seconds

150 Israelis who arrived from India, Mexico refusing tests; 55 cases on flights

‘I’m young, I don’t need it’: Ultra-Orthodox non-vaxxers dig in their heels

Israel said probing link between Pfizer shot and heart problem in men under 30

COVID vaccines don’t harm ovaries and neither does virus, Jerusalem doctors find

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

Illustrative image: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, on April 20, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.