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. Founding editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show, a bonus episode from our weekly What Matters Now podcast. Five years ago this week, The Times of Israel launched its Daily Briefing podcast to keep listeners updated on the latest news out of Israel and the region, from Sunday through Thursday. Starting from October 7, 2023,...
Jan 04, 2025•32 min
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 on today's show. In today's special longer Friday episode, Berman charts the evolving essential purpose of the IDF, starting with its origins. He speaks of the push-pull of a fledgling organization as both a defensive and offensive body. We learn how the fight for Israel's independence cry...
Jan 03, 2025•41 min
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 on today's show. Magid discusses why former defense minister Yoav Gallant resigned from the Knesset, which appears to be primarily due to his opposition to legislation that would allow ultra-Orthodox men exemptions from army service. The move is somewhat confusing, given that Gallant's vote...
Jan 02, 2025•24 min
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 joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's show. Sokol discusses the political machinations in the Knesset as voting over the 2025 budget leads National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and several ultra-Orthodox parties to threaten to oppose the bill, given some of the planned cuts. While Ben Gvir and Finance Minister B...
Jan 01, 2025•21 min
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 on today's show. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is recovering after a successful prostate removal surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem on Sunday. The premier was moved to an underground, fortified recovery ward where he is expected to spend several days under observation amid fears ...
Dec 31, 2024•19 min
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 reporter Gianluca Pacchiani and reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show. Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke on Al Arabiya and gave a glimpse of his plans for the country, including divulging that holding elections in Syria could take up to four years and that drafting a new constitution could take...
Dec 30, 2024•24 min
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 on today's show. Some 240 suspected terror operatives were detained during the operation against Hamas at northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, including the medical center’s director and 15 terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel....
Dec 29, 2024•26 min
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. Stand-up comedian Yochay Sponder joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show, a bonus episode from our weekly What Matters Now podcast. After the 2012 Gaza war, comedian Sponder began using his talent to make people laugh as a tool for pro-Israel advocacy in his heavily Hebrew-flavored English. This work has only ramped up since the October 7,...
Dec 28, 2024•35 min
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 on today's episode. In the past several months, Ireland has formally recognized the State of Palestine, it said that it would execute an arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and it also backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the Internation...
Dec 26, 2024•34 min
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 on today's episode. Horovitz discusses ongoing spin regarding ongoing hostage negotiations, more than a year after the release of 105 hostages that took place during a brief pause in fighting last November 2023. It's not clear if it's a truce or ceasefire, says Horovitz, but Is...
Dec 26, 2024•21 min
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 on today's episode. Magid discusses the ongoing hostage negotiations, commenting that if a deal happens, it will probably take place closer to the January 20 inauguration date for President-elect Donald Trump. Magid says that Qatari negotiators are asking the Israeli government to be more flexibl...
Dec 25, 2024•19 min
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 environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode. Schneider discusses the ongoing discussion in Israel's defense establishment of changing Israel’s long-range attack systems from the country's use of air power, as seen in retaliatory Israeli strikes against Iran in October ...
Dec 24, 2024•19 min
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 reporter Diana Bletter join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Recently, attempts are being made to restart the controversial judicial overhaul legislation and last week, Sokol spoke with one of its architects, MK Simcha Rothman. We hear about Rothman’s perspective on why it is needed and in fact pr...
Dec 23, 2024•20 min
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 on today's episode. A ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen impacted a playground in south Tel Aviv early Saturday, lightly injuring some 16 in the area. This came days after the Israel Defense Forces carried out intense airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen e...
Dec 22, 2024•22 min
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 bring you a bonus episode of 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 Andrew Fox. Fox, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, served in the British Army from 2005 to 2021, completing three tours in Afghan...
Dec 21, 2024•30 min
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 on today's extended Friday episode. As Israel continues to contend with a war on seven fronts -- primarily through Iran-backed militia proxies -- Berman floats a hypothesis that Israel should turn to its natural allies in the region as well. We hear about how history has shown that Israeli...
Dec 20, 2024•32 min
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 on today's episode. Magid speaks about the ongoing hostage negotiations and intense speculation in the media. He notes that any agreed-upon ceasefire would be longer and less fragile than the week-long pause in fighting that took place in November 2023. He also discusses the unusual cooperation t...
Dec 19, 2024•20 min
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 reporter Luca Pacchiani and archaeology reporter Gavriel Fiske join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet the Qatari Prime Minister in Doha today, in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas on a Gaza deal. Pacchiani updates us on what he is reading about the hosta...
Dec 18, 2024•24 min
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. Horovitz speaks about recent comments made by Defense Minister Israel Katz about the IDF remaining in Gaza, as a way of reiterating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's positioning in the current ceasefire negotiations. He also looks at what's being said abo...
Dec 17, 2024•16 min
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. Yesterday, Berman visited Lebanon, crossing through Fatima Gate with 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Shai Klepper to examine what Lebanon’s border villages look like after two months of fighting, and how the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel is holding up...
Dec 16, 2024•21 min
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 troo...
Dec 15, 2024•25 min
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 fro...
Dec 14, 2024•29 min
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...
Dec 13, 2024•43 min
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 a...
Dec 12, 2024•23 min
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 ...
Dec 11, 2024•24 min
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 ni...
Dec 10, 2024•24 min
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...
Dec 09, 2024•24 min
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...
Dec 08, 2024•16 min
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 Au...
Dec 07, 2024•35 min
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...
Dec 06, 2024•40 min
