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The Times of Israel


Welcome to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing: Your update on what’s important in Israel, the Middle East and The Jewish World.


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.
 
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
 
After several nights without US strikes on Iranian targets, Israeli leaders still estimate that US President Donald Trump could soon be compelled to step up military action, according to Israeli reports. The US military has continued to send significant forces to Israel, including dozens of warplanes, refueling planes, air defenses and munitions — a similar deployment to the one that took place just before the US-Israeli war against Iran was launched in late February, according to the Kan broadcaster.
 
At recording time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boarded Israel's official Wing of Zion plane. Berman rolls out what he expects will be on the agenda for tomorrow's planned Trump-Netanyahu meetup.
 
Netanyahu is set to attend the funeral of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham. Yesterday, reports surfaced based on unaired footage seen by The Wall Street Journal that Netanyahu talked Graham out of convincing Trump to join Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Berman shares other insights from the posthumously released excerpts from an upcoming documentary.
 
Yesterday, after a deadly Friday shootout was sparked when settlers illegally entered a Nablus-area village, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed at a cabinet meeting to expand farming outposts and operations against Palestinian “terrorist strongholds” in the West Bank. This promise was made soon after leaked reports were published of Netanyahu's March condemnation of extremist settler violence. How do these conflicting statements play on the international stage?
 
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
 
For further reading:
 
As Trump pauses Iran strikes, Israel said to believe he’ll soon be forced to escalate
 
Netanyahu says he’ll fly to DC for Tuesday meet with Trump, Graham memorial service; Trump confirms visit
 
Netanyahu talked Graham out of lobbying Trump to join war on Hezbollah – report
 
Netanyahu vows expanded operations against West Bank ‘terrorist strongholds’
 
Report: Cabinet quietly okayed plan to curb settler violence; PM called phenomenon ‘cancer’
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yitzhak Ledee filmed and edited this episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Netanyahu-Trump meetup set stage for next Iran war?

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 correspondent Jeremy Sharon joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.
 
We begin by reviewing Friday morning's gunfight in the northern West Bank village of Tell. A far-right hiking group of Israelis allegedly raided the town and a gunfight broke out between the Palestinian residents and Israeli hikers. Benayahu Mellet, a 32-year-old member of the neighboring Havat Gilad settlement’s civil security squad, was fatally shot by a Palestinian, along with Maj. Yuval Ezra, an IDF officer who had been dispatched to the scene. Four Palestinians were killed during the clash.
 
Jeremy Sharon walks us through the parties involved in the fight and gives an overview of the different narratives surrounding why the group of settlers was in the area. How was the conflict initiated?
 
From there we move on to discuss broader patterns in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. These include the rapid expansion of settlements in the area, and markedly higher rates of tensions and violence between Israeli and Palestinian residents.
 
Following the break, we hone in on how Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has taken steps to entrench the powerful Settlements Administration agency he established in 2023. Sharon explains how these changes will help to continue expanding the settlement enterprise, and how they will make it more difficult for a new government to undo those gains. We hear about a variety of other ways the current administration has financed and supported the expansion of the settler movement.
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

West Bank clashes turn deadly

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 Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign for Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse.
 
Alkhatib gives us an overview of the conditions on the ground right now in the Gaza Strip. We learn about an uptick in diseases such as chicken pox due to extreme unsanitary conditions and lack of vaccinations. There are new efforts to allow residents to open bank accounts -- but where is the money to be found even as paper bills are so worn they are disintegrating?
 
Khalil al-Hayya has been elected to be the new leader of Hamas, the terror group announced Monday after months of speculation following a vote in the General Shura Council. We learn how, following the subjugation of protests in the Gaza Strip in late June, al-Hayya's annointing is another signal that the terror group is entrenching its ties with Iran and continuing consultations with Hezbollah. 
 
In the second half of the program, we discuss the intensity of support for Hamas in three population centers: the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan. Alkhatib's comment on the Palestinians living in the Hashemite Kingdom may surprise.
 
Finally, Alkhatib describes his new short book, "Hamas and its Two Million Hostages." Part memoir, part explainer, the work is an attempt to offer an approachable take on the past almost three years of war and how Hamas's stranglehold is only tightening on the people in the Strip.
 
And so this week, we ask Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, 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 Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Hamas still holds two million hostages

Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.
 
This week, Hoffman starts the program with a unique dvar Torah, tying together the new blockbuster "The Odyssey" with James Joyce's "Ulysses" and antisemitism in Ireland. Goes well with white fish.
 
Then we turn to the main event: "Reading Lolita in Tehran," which was directed by Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis and is currently playing in select cinemas.
 
Labeled "a memoir in books," the film is based on the bestselling autobiography by author Azar Nafisi, published in 2003.
 
The film is divided into chapters based on famous literature, including "The Great Gatsby," "Daisy Miller," and "Pride and Prejudice." It stars Golshifteh Farahani (known from a Hoffman favorite, "Paterson"), Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani and Israeli mega-star entertainer Rita.
 
Let's hear who gave this film an "oy," "meh" or the prized "not bad" this week on The Reel Schmooze.
 
The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reel Schmooze on 'Reading Lolita in Tehran': How the regime turned rotten

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
 
Even for Israeli standards, it's been a pretty wild week in Israel's neighborhood.
 
The ceasefire war between the US and Iran continues to escalate. The threats from US President Donald Trump against Iran grow ever more bombastic, but there is a real feeling that he might carry out a significant attack soon that goes well beyond the limited strikes that we have seen over the past two weeks.
 
Of course, Iran is hitting back, primarily at Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, saying it is targeting US bases in those countries.
 
The Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers, as that conflict begins to heat up. Houthi threats to the Bab al-Mandeb would mean the Iranian axis is closing the two waterways connecting the Middle East and Europe to Asian markets.
 
There was slightly better news to the north. After six rounds of direct talks and an agreement that envisions peace between Israel and Lebanon, Lebanese forces began moving into the first pilot zone vacated by Israeli forces.
 
Joined by Times of Israel colleague Nava Freiberg, Lazar made sense of the interconnected but distinct theaters that Israeli leaders and citizens are paying close attention to.
 
He explained what Iran is trying to do with its attack on Arab countries. It is determined to impose its reading of the MOU on the world, especially as it comes to control over the Strait of Hormuz.
 
That is why it hasn't hit Israel.
 
Iran knows that Israel, Lazar said, isn't about to run to Trump and ask him to give in to Iran's demands to get it stop firing. Instead, Israel would relish the opportunity to carry out some of the attacks that it had to call off in April, and would likely go well beyond what the Americans are doing.
 
It doesn't make sense for Israel to go out of its way to get involved either. For now, Iran is being degraded, it isn't getting economic relief, and Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated with his Iranian interlocutors. Meanwhile, life is fairly normal in Israel, with flights returning to Ben Gurion Airport and citizens focusing on the election fight.
 
Lazar also shed light on alternative energy pathways being developed in the wake of Iranian threats to the Strait of Hormuz. Israel might have an opportunity to be key element of some of these plans, but it has to change the tenor of relations with some of its Arab partners.
 
Lazar explained why the Saudi-US nuclear deal is a problem for Israel. First of Israel, it shows that Israel is not being consulted by the White House on strategic decisions. In addition, it represents a potential proliferation risk, especially if the current regime in Riyadh is replaced.
 
Turning to Lebanon, Lazar said that progress on the first pilot zone is undoubtedly a positive step. Still, the Lebanese army is incapable of taking on Hezbollah at this stage, and a lot will have to happen before disarming Hezbollah is a likely outcome.
 
It will be important to help the Lebanese government show the public that negotiations with Israel achieve results, especially the return of some civilians to their homes.
 
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel should worry about Saudi deal, but there is good news in Lebanon

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.
 
News editor Ben Sales joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
 
The Iran-backed Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers on Thursday that they accused of violating a naval blockade imposed by the group. These attacks signal a potential new front in the US-Iran conflict, as the US military struck Iran for the 12th successive night and Iran lashed out at its neighbors.
 
Arguably related to stymying Iran and its ambitions, the United States and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday forged a new agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program. We hear why Israel is worried.
 
Overnight, the US House of Representatives narrowly passed its version of a massive defense policy bill, despite Democrats’ concerns about its huge price tag, the Iran war and a provision that would boost Pentagon ties to Israel. The NDAA includes several provisions that allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to US-Israel joint military projects. Sales explains the political considerations in voting for Israel aid right now.
 
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday acknowledged that he cannot actually arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite his past pledges to do so. Most legal experts had come to that conclusion years ago. Why is this in the news right now?
 
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
 
For further reading:
 
Yemen’s Houthis hit tankers in Red Sea as US strikes Iran for 12th consecutive night
 
US confirms signing a nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia, to Israel’s alarm
 
Mamdani’s vision of NY as ‘a city of international law’ runs up against reality
 
Mamdani admits he lacks power to arrest Netanyahu, after repeated pledges to do so
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big whoop? Mamdani admits he can't arrest Netanyahu

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 Nava Freiberg joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.
 
Following an 11th consecutive night of US strikes on Iran and Iranian strikes on its Gulf and Arab neighbors, Freiberg offers possible paths forward in the war.
 
Freiberg analyzes US President Donald Trump's claim Tuesday that the US will be striking Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “probably pretty soon,” amid reports that Tehran has moved nuclear centrifuges, and possibly even enriched uranium, to the secretive underground enrichment site. Is this bombastic threat just part of Trump's strategy to keep Iran guessing or could the US be prepping a ground invasion?
 
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, where Aoun declared that his country will permanently end hostilities with Israel. Freiberg comments on Trump's remark at the meeting that he is open to speaking directly with the Iran-backed terror group -- if Beirut asked -- after Aoun requested backing in his efforts to disarm Hezbollah.
 
In the second half, we move on to discuss Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which nine months ago was hailed as an end to the war in the Strip and the beginning of Gaza's reconstruction. Freiberg explains why the framework is only moving forward in “baby steps.”
 
The episode closes with a special visitor, Sarah Tuttle-Singer, curator of the Peoples of Israel project, who introduces us to her work and the project's goals.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDF Lebanon pullout takes shape as Gaza peace plan stalls

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 correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
 
Israeli intelligence has reportedly assessed that Iran has moved thousands of nuclear centrifuges into a site in the Natanz area known as Pickaxe Mountain, burying them deep underground and making them harder to target in aerial strikes. We hear from Fabian about the IDF's current assessment of Iran's capabilities.
 
Lebanese army troops began deploying in the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh this morning after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, the Lebanese Armed Forces said in a statement, in line with a US-brokered plan for “pilot zones” in the south. We learn which areas are in the pilot program and the IDF's readiness to step back into the vacuum.
 
Hezbollah launched over 400 rockets from the Beaufort Ridge toward northern Israel during the current round of fighting, mainly at the border community of Metula, according to the IDF. Fabian visited a massive warren inside the mountain that the terrorists carved out over more than a decade. We get a sense of the scope of the underground base.
 
An analysis by Fabian has found that, despite the ceasefire, the IDF has in the past few months stepped up a large-scale retribution campaign with the avowed aim of hunting down and eliminating every single terrorist who took part in the October 7 massacre. Fabian unwinds the competing narratives surrounding these targeted killings.
 
After the Knesset voted to extend the mandatory military service period for males to 32 months, the chief of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate said Friday that the move did not replace the army’s immediate need for more troops. Fabian explains why.
 
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
 
For further reading:
 
Iran says it’s in ‘full-scale war’ with US as mediators said to proffer 10-day truce
 
Israeli intel said to show Iran has moved centrifuges to Natanz’s Pickaxe Mountain
 
US indicates Lebanese army deploying to ‘pilot zones,’ including one IDF will withdraw from
 
Beneath Beaufort’s strategic bulwark, a Hezbollah lair built to attack Israel is unearthed
 
Israel steps up campaign to kill all 5,000 Oct. 7 terrorists; 1,200 were killed on the day, 1,500 so far since
 
IDF says it killed terrorist who attacked Nova festival, abducted Inbar Haiman on Oct. 7
 
IDF manpower chief: Extension of service period doesn’t replace need for more troops
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDF begins trial pullout from Lebanon buffer zone

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.
 
US forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as the number of confirmed American military deaths in the renewed fighting rose to three, and concerns grew over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which the Trump administration accused the Islamic Republic of seeking to control “as leverage against the world.”
 
Yesterday, Israel launched interceptors after fragments from Iranian missiles fired at Jordan’s southern city of Aqaba potentially threatened the nearby city of Eilat. We discuss why the Iranians are trying to keep Israel out of the fray and why US President Donald Trump has not asked the Jewish state to join in the fight.
 
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Washington, DC, this week in the first trip to the US capital by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009. Aoun is slated to meet with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. We learn what is on the agenda and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not invited.
 
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
 
For further reading:
 
US strikes Iran for 9th night, confirms American servicemember killed in Iraq
 
IDF fires interceptors over Eilat as Iranian missiles target nearby Aqaba in Jordan
 
At meeting in DC, Rubio lauds Lebanon president’s ongoing push to disarm Hezbollah
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yitzhak Ledee filmed and edited this episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iranian strikes on Jordan raise IDF hackles in Eilat

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 joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
 
The Knesset voted early Friday morning to disband itself ahead of the October 27 election, heading into a recess after the coalition’s last-ditch blitz succeeded in passing a spate of controversial legislation into law.
 
Addressing the plenum, Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called the 25th Knesset the “most challenging” in Israeli history, encompassing Israel's longest war and widespread social upheaval.
 
Schneider takes us back to the beginning of the Knesset session and explains which aspects of the judicial overhaul package have passed -- and what moves the Supreme Court has made to counter some of them.
 
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
 
For further reading:
 
Knesset officially disperses, after coalition completes its drastic legislative blitz
 
Coalition passes media overhaul law, giving government greater regulatory control
 
Coalition’s ‘legislative blitz’ is designed to shore-up, unshackle right-wing power
 
Coalition passes law gutting attorney general’s powers, removing key check on government
 
Iran said to tell Hezbollah, allies to prepare for wider conflict, which could rope in Israel
 
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Knesset disbands with bangs and whimpers

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Israel Democracy Institute senior fellow Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler.
 
Shwartz Altshuler, the head of the IDI's Democracy in the Digital Age Program, weighs in on the nefarious ways in which AI is being used to manipulate hearts and minds -- from elections to smear campaigns.
 
She breaks down in practical terms how AI is now able to flood the public sphere with noise and confusion. We discuss the ripple effects of increased reliance on chatbots versus Google-type searches and how information can easily be poisoned by bad actors.
 
The technology law and policy expert gives an overview of the potential possibilities for regulation -- and the chaotic Wild West reality we're living in.
 
Turning to Israel's upcoming elections, we learn how the delegitimization of the results has already begun.
 
And so, this week, we ask Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, 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 edited by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler: How AI is poisoning the information well

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