The Times of Israel
Day 786 - Hamas operatives trapped in tunnel had slain IDF soldier's gun
- Title
- Day 786 - Hamas operatives trapped in tunnel had slain IDF soldier's gun
- Runtime
- 30:17
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
The commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were confirmed by the military to have been killed early this morning after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. The soldiers there recovered the weapon of a slain IDF soldier, Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi, a Nahal fighter who was killed while battling terrorists on the Gaza border during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. Fabian updates on the Hamas operatives trapped in the tunnels.
The IDF said it killed three Palestinians who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in two separate incidents in the Strip’s south on Saturday, with two of them identified as young children. Fabian was in the Gaza Strip last week: We lea...
- Title
- Lazar Focus: As US and Saudi Arabia shore up ties, is Israel left out?
- Runtime
- 33:24
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
Last week, US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in the White House, after which there were several announcements. Among them were a $1 trillion investment by the Saudis into the US economy, the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, advancements in critical minerals cooperation, and an AI Memorandum of Understanding.
Of course, the one announcement that Israel has been waiting for — Saudi normalization — did not come.
This week, we learn about the rise of the crown prince and how he's transformed his country.
We talk about how the gains in Washington correspond with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and whether normalization with Israel is even still on the table.
Lazar Focus can ...
- Title
- Chewing over the 1990 Thanksgiving classic 'Avalon'
- Runtime
- 48:47
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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, the pair speaks about two films, a feminist independent Iranian documentary called "Cutting Through Rocks," which won an international documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and the 1990 Thanksgiving classic, "Avalon."
But first, in the entertainment news section we call the "Jangle," Borschel-Dan tells Hoffman about the rise and fall of the Israeli rock opera, "Shaul," by Israeli musician Shlomo Artzi.
We also hear a listener's feedback on a point of Jewish law raised in last week's discussion over "Bad Shabbos."
Hear who gave both films a seal of approval and which was a split decision on this week's The Reel Schmooze.
The Reel Schmooze is produced by the PodWaves and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
- Title
- Day 783 - US mulls Muslim Brotherhood sanctions, excludes allies Turkey, Qatar
- Runtime
- 21:44
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
As US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to examine Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon to see whether those branches should be designated as terror organizations, Magid discusses that other countries were not included, including Turkey and Qatar, which have close ties to the US.
The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is wrapping up five months of operations in Gaza, saying that its model is being adopted by the Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, while Magid notes that it appears the original UN-backed model is back in place in Gaza.
The US is trying to get construction efforts underway in Gaza, on the Israeli side of the yellow ceasefire line, with ...
- Title
- Day 782 - NY Jews' mayoral fears realized at synagogue protest. What now?
- Runtime
- 30:27
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
New York correspondent Luke Tress joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Last Wednesday, roughly 200 rowdy protesters disrupted an Israel-immigration event outside the Park East Synagogue. Tress was there and paints a picture of the events and the evolving responses from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
Days after US pro-Palestinian protesters shouted chants including “Globalize the Intifada” and “Death to the IDF” outside the Upper East Side synagogue, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is Jewish, apologized to the congregation during Shabbat services. Is this allaying the community's fears?
We then dive into the question several lawfare groups are now asking: Can a US law protecting abortion clinics push back against protests at synagogues?
This week, anti-...
- Title
- Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Hamas iron grip restores order, but Gazans aim to throw off shackles
- Runtime
- 49:38
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, the head of Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse.
This summer, Alkhatib flew over Gaza as part of the last days of the United Arab Emirates's aid drop missions. It was the first time since he had seen his former home since leaving the enclave in 2005 for what was meant to have been a high school year abroad. To begin the program, Alkhatib relates how he felt viewing the swaths of destruction two years of war had left in its wake.
An outspoken anti-Hamas voice, Alkhatib promotes what he calls “radical pragmatism” through his work with the Atlantic Council and his speaking engagements around the world. No short on considered criticism for Israel's prosecution of the war sparked by Hamas's murd...
- Title
- Day 781 - Thunderous response after PM hints at outlawing Arab party
- Runtime
- 31:35
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 episode.
Since the ceasefire in Lebanon on November 28, 2024, there have been 331 killed and 945 wounded in Lebanon according to its Health Ministry.
Yesterday, the White House expressed its support for Israel’s right to defend itself following an IDF strike over the weekend that killed Hezbollah chief of staff Haytham Ali Tabatabai. Horovitz discusses the differences in the mechanisms upholding the ceasefires in Lebanon and in Gaza, even as Hamas takes deeper root in the Strip.
The United Arab List party leader, Mansour Abbas, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “trying to steal the election” on Monday, after the premier appeared to threaten to outlaw the Arab political party (Ra’am in Hebrew, or "thunder," in Engl...
- Title
- Day 780 - After killing of Hezbollah #2, IDF preps for retaliation
- Runtime
- 30:35
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Hezbollah’s military chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, was killed in a Beirut suburb yesterday in a targeted strike that also killed another four Hezbollah operatives. We learn about Tabatabai and his previous roles in the terror organization, as well as his Iranian roots. And as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir launched a snap readiness drill on the northern border, Fabian weighs in on the likelihood of Hezbollah retaliation.
Over the past several days, there has been an uptick in IDF airstrikes after Palestinian gunman have opened fire on Israeli troops or risen from the tunnels they were trapped in. We also hear about military investigations that have reportedly revealed that Hamas spent years colle...
- Title
- Day 779 - Hamas needs a ceasefire, but doesn't want to disarm
- Runtime
- 17:47
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
As Hamas leaders meet in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officers to discuss the ceasefire, Berman says that the terrorist group wants to limit the ability of Israel to strike, and wants to deepen their control over 40% of the Gaza Strip, making it more inevitable that Hamas will be seen as the rulers of Gaza.
Berman discusses his second visit to the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, focusing on the American tone of the center and the civil governance and nation-building efforts underway at the site. He notes that the CMCC won't be the body that will force Hamas to disarm, which will only happen through Israel's military pressure or diplomatic pressure from Turkey and Egypt.
Prime...
- Title
- Lazar Focus: Is Trump's 'pathway to a Palestinian state' code for nation-building?
- Runtime
- 35:33
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
Last week, the pair spoke with foremost urban warfare expert John Spencer and Borschel-Dan noted that a term -- “nation-building” -- was raised repeatedly.
In this week's episode, we explore this concept, starting with defining the term.
We hear about previous models of nation-building, starting from Japan and Germany, following their defeats in World War II. We learn how these attempts were successful -- and former enemies quickly turned into allies.
We then turn to more recent history with the West's attempts to reshape Afghanistan and Iraq. What were the differences between the two wars and their aftermaths?
And finally, Berman applies the lessons learned in these previous attempts at nation-building and con...
- Title
- How everything going wrong makes 'Bad Shabbos' so right
- Runtime
- 47:54
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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, the pair speaks about two films -- the new-ish, Jewish, "Bad Shabbos," and the classic Mel Brooks's "History of the World, Part I."
But first, we turn to the segment, "What's the Jangle," in which we discuss two tidbits of Jewish entertainment news.
Hoffman gives a tiny peek at the upcoming super Jewy film starring Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme," which he saw in previews this week.
And then we hear Pope Leo's top four films of all time. (Spoiler: three of them are very Jewy.) And, which questionable film personality was quoted by the pope at a Vatican event?
Next, we get to "The Main Screening," in which the duo first discusses "Bad Shabbos," which one half of the team absolutely loved and the other gave a pretty warm review.
- Title
- Day 776 -- Court butts heads with government on Oct. 7 probe, draft dodgers
- Runtime
- 15:59
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
As Israel’s Supreme Court demanded the government justify its reasons for not establishing a state commission of inquiry into the events that led to the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacres in southern Israel, Horovitz discusses how the government’s current approach will not uncover what went wrong, creating a dangerous precedent for the country.
The High Court also ordered the government to create effective enforcement measures against ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, and Horovitz discusses the ruling written by High Court justice Noam Sohlberg, who rebuked the Haredi community and its assertion that Torah study outweighs army service, citing the ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik.
Subscr...
- Title
- Prof. Asher Cohen: Academic boycott of Israel is 'catastrophic'
- Runtime
- 43:10
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 the past president of The Hebrew University, Prof. Asher Cohen.
During the eight years Cohen served as university president, Israel encountered numerous challenges, including the coronavirus epidemic from February 2020, the uproar over the Judicial overhaul and, most seriously, of course, the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel that left 1,200 murdered and 250 taken hostage to the Gaza Strip. It also meant a major call-up of reserves, which greatly impacted the pool of students over the past two years.
Even more threatening to Israel's future, argues Cohen, is that following the beginning of the war, Israeli academics began facing boycotts and funding drops. Without collaborations with institutions abroad, the Ivory Tower will quickly crumble, we hear.
But we’re also going t...
- Title
- Day 775 - MBS meeting with Trump elevates Saudi Arabia's ally status
- Runtime
- 21:37
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
During the White House visit of Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, US President Donald Trump elevates the status of Saudi Arabia in the eyes of the US, says Magid, along with several defense guarantees and sales of weapons.
Israel hoped those gestures would be conditioned upon the Saudis normalizing conditions with the Jewish state, but went along with the announcement, discusses Magid.
The recent UN Security Council vote gives the Board of Peace the mandate to redevelop Gaza over the next two years, says Magid, as well as a vague pathway toward a Palestinian state after that period.
A resolution to establish the International Stabilization Force and the agreement on the demilit...
- Title
- Day 774 - Can a governmental probe into Oct. 7 be independent?
- Runtime
- 23:39
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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 and settlements correspondent Jeremy Sharon joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin of the ruling Likud party will head a ministerial panel to determine the mandate of the government’s commission of inquiry into failures surrounding the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023. Since the murders and atrocities, the government has resisted establishing an investigative body to thoroughly examine how such a disastrous military calamity could befall the country. We discuss first why the change of heart and ask whether the commission will be independent.
Security forces and Civil Administration personnel on Monday conducted an evacuation and demolition operation against an illegal settlement outpost in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, in an apparent respon...
- Title
- Day 773 - IDF head readies military to retake Hamas-controlled Gaza
- Runtime
- 21:19
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Hamas has begun amassing advanced weapons and stockpiling them abroad in hopes of smuggling them into Gaza in the future, according to a report on Sunday on KAN television. Fabian brings in background pointing to the likelihood of the report's veracity. We then hear about what is happening on the ground in Gaza, get an update on the Hamas gunmen trapped in tunnels in the Israeli-held area, and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir's warning that he is readying the military to retake parts of Hamas-controlled Gaza if the 20-point peace plan doesn't move into phase two -- the demilitarization of the terror group.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon reported that the Israeli military fired on its observers from an IDF...
- Title
- Day 772 - Hamas still rules in Gaza. Can a UN resolution topple it?
- Runtime
- 19:35
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Last week, the US officially launched negotiations within the 15-member United Nations Security Council on a draft resolution that would follow up on Israel and Hamas’s October 9 ceasefire-hostage agreement. Tomorrow, the Security Council is set to vote on the resolution, which would deliver Gaza to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) and an apolitical Palestinian administration overseen by a Trump-chaired Board of Peace. In the first half of the program, Berman gives an analysis of some of the implications for Israel -- and questions the world's appetite for seeing through in the demilitarization of Hamas.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he was considering agreeing to a deal to supply Saudi...
- Title
- Friday Focus with John Spencer: Hamas can be demilitarized. Here's how
- Runtime
- 40:55
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
This week, the duo is joined by military expert John Spencer, chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum and executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute.
As of recording time, some 100-200 Hamas terrorists are estimated to be holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. The US has pressured Israel to allow the terrorists safe passage back to Hamas-held areas of Gaza, though Israel has not agreed to such a solution as of yet.
For the first part of our conversation, we plumb the depths of the extensive Hamas tunnel network, speaking about its scope and how the IDF is able to destroy or at least neutralize its many tentacles.
In the second half, we speak about where the current ceasefir...
- Title
- Natalie Portman's 'Arco': An art film for kids
- Runtime
- 37:53
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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, the pair introduces the concept of the new show, including the segment, "What's the Jangle," in which they discuss two tidbits of Jewish entertainment news.
We hear how "The Real Pain" creator Jesse Eisenberg is willing to go under the knife to donate a kidney to a perfect stranger. And we learn about two brave Hollywood actresses -- Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver -- who haven't joined the boycott Israel movement and are signed on to work with Israeli director Joseph Ceder in his upcoming thriller.
Next, we get to "The Main Screening," a segment in which the duo discusses two films: the newly released Natalie Portman project, "Arco," and 2024's "Thelma" starring 96-year-old June Squibb.
Hear which films get the seal of approval from our team a...
- Title
- Haviv Rettig Gur: The case for pardoning Netanyahu
- Runtime
- 43:45
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 The Times of Israel's senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur.
BBC director-general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, stepped down this week after being in the firing line for months over allegations of bias — including the national broadcaster’s coverage of antisemitism, the war in Gaza, and Israel more generally. Rettig Gur is just back from London and we hear his disheartening impressions of how that corner of the Jewish Diaspora is faring.
US President Donald Trump sent a letter to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday formally asking Israel’s head of state to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption. Herzog's office issued a statement that a pardon request must go through the proper channels.
We first ask whether a pardon is eve...
- Title
- Day 769 - Trump pushes to end Netanyahu trial with 'free Bibi' letter
- Runtime
- 24:46
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
President Isaac Herzog announced Wednesday that US President Donald Trump had written him to ask him to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently standing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Magid brings other instances in which the US president has pushed for the end of Netanyahu's trial and describes the contents of this new “Free Bibi” letter.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said “there’s some concern” about events in the West Bank undermining efforts to maintain the ceasefire in Gaza, in his first remarks on the latest spate of settler violence. This comes after a week in which dozens of Israelis launched a large-scale arson attack on Palestinians in the West ...
- Title
- Day 768 - Knesset debates death penalty for terrorists
- Runtime
- 31:48
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 tech editor Sharon Wrobel join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once again declined to form a state commission of inquiry into the events that led up to October 7 in a Knesset debate, Sokol discusses that members of the prime minister's own Likud party have argued in favor of the commission process.
A death penalty policy against terrorist acts passed its first reading in the plenum after many delays. Sokol notes that the bill is unlikely to pass the High Court test, as it applies to those who kill Israelis, but not to Jewish terrorists.
Remilk, non-cow-based milk, is about to reach the Israeli market and Wrobel describes the makeup of the milk and its development process.
As the Israeli te...
- Title
- Day 767 - IDF preps for 'days of fighting' in Lebanon
- Runtime
- 31:48
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 and Jewish world reporter Zev Stub join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
In an indication of the uptick of events along Israel’s northern border, IDF troops conducted an overnight raid in southern Lebanon and destroyed several buildings that were being used by Hezbollah, the military says. This is the second ground operation inside Lebanon in the past several days, conducted outside of the five points Israel now holds inside its neighbor. We learn about the IDF's outlook for a stepped-up conflict.
Upon assuming office, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir appointed a panel of former senior military officers to conduct an external investigation into the series of the IDF's internal probes in its failures on and ahead of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught...
- Title
- Day 766 - Goldins receive son's body after 11 years of diplomatic struggle
- Runtime
- 22:15
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 and diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As US special envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the state of the ceasefire, Berman reports on the diplomatic push and pull with Hamas and the delayed release of hostage bodies, in violation of said ceasefire.
Berman notes that the US and Turkey are currently pressuring Israel to allow the safe release of some 100 Hamas fighters holed up in Gaza tunnels located on the Israeli-controlled side of the Yellow ceasefire line in southern Gaza's Rafah in exchange for yesterday's release of Hadar Goldin's body, although that release was part of the initial hostage deal.
Berman discusses the lack of IAEA investi...
- Title
- Day 765 - Quid pro no: Why 200 Hamas fighters are trapped in Gaza tunnels
- Runtime
- 29:25
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Hamas announced that the body of IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin, held by the terror organization since 2014, will be returned to Israel at 2 p.m. We learn about Operation Protective Edge, the Hamas operation to ostensibly recover Goldin’s body that occurred yesterday, as well as what’s happening with the 150-odd Hamas gunmen who are trapped in a tunnel in the same part of the southern Gaza strip in an IDF-controlled area.
Military representatives on Saturday morning notified the family of Lior Rudaeff that his body was returned to Israel by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Friday night, after forensic experts completed their identification. Fabian describes what we know of Rudaeff's killing on October 7, ...
- Title
- Friday Focus with Lazar Berman: Is Israel heading back to war with Hezbollah?
- Runtime
- 29:49
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
On Thursday afternoon, the IDF launched a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. These come amid a marked uptick in IDF strikes in southern Lebanon over the past several weeks, as reports continue that the Hezbollah terror group is attempting to rearm and regroup.
A recent Reuters report reported for the first time that Lebanon's army has blown up so many Hezbollah arms caches that it has run out of explosives and a recent Wall Street Journal report cites experts stating that Hezbollah is rebuilding, raising the chances of renewed conflict with Israel.
It's almost a year into the ceasefire, which was struck on November 27, and we discuss the forces attempting to contain Hezbollah, including Is...
- Title
- Day 762 - US plans for 'new Gaza' are win for Israel
- Runtime
- 23:39
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
As discussions continue about Jared Kushner's concept of 'new Gaza,' residential neighborhoods constructed for Gazans on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line, Magid discusses the lack of support for the plans from some of the Gulf donor countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Those countries have concerns that the plan maintains the status quo of Israeli control and leaves Hamas entrenched in Gaza.
There are also questions as to which countries are ultimately willing to send troops to guard borders and help deliver aid, and whether those troops will be involved in peacekeeping missions or peace-enforcing missions, says Magid, noting that the US wants the missions to demilitarize Gaza.
The US is pushing I...
- Title
- Day 761 - Avowedly anti-Zionist, NYC's new Mayor Mamdani has Jews on edge
- Runtime
- 22:15
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
NY correspondent Luke Tress joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The far-left anti-Israel activist, a state assemblymember, is, at 34, the city’s youngest mayor in over a century.
We talk about concerns among some of New York’s large Jewish community and early reactions from communal organizations.
Mamdani has previously stated his intention not to invest city funds in Israel bonds, in keeping with the current comptroller’s decision not to reinvest when $39 million in bonds matured in 2023. In May 2023, Mamdani, then a member of the New York State Assembly, introduced a bill called “Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settle...
- Title
- Jordan Hoffman: The new Hollywood buddy film, 'Nuremberg'
- Runtime
- 44:13
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman.
The duo beta-tests their soon-to-be-launched podcast series — so new it does not yet have a name — in which they will deliver entertainment news from a Jewish angle (aka Jangle) and review one new or noteworthy film.
This week, in episode zero, the pair first discusses the growing boycott of Israeli filmmakers at international festivals. Hoffman weighs in on how this is misfiring when it comes to some of the more prominent -- and very left-wing -- Israeli artists.
Next, we hear about "Nuremberg," the Hollywood treatment of the Nuremberg Trials, which began in November 1945, launching the field of international law.
In the film, psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) is ordered to evaluate whether Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) is fit to st...
- Title
- Day 760 - Are the US and allies readying to rule Gaza?
- Runtime
- 28:00
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 episode.
The intrigue surrounding the leaked surveillance camera footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility is unabating as a search continues at Hatzuk Beach in Tel Aviv for the phone of the former military advocate general, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, whom police reportedly suspect of intentionally tossing it into the sea when she briefly disappeared Sunday evening. Horovitz updates us on the complicated case implicating the Military Advocate General’s Office and its many dramatic moments in the past few days.
The Trump administration’s draft UN Security Council resolution to establish an international force in Gaza would reportedly give the US and other participating countries a broad two-year mandate to govern Gaza and b...
- Title
- Day 759 - Israel marks 30 years since Rabin's death
- Runtime
- 16:26
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As Israel marks 30 years since the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Schneider reflects on the Saturday night rally held near the square where he was shot and why the annual event commemorating him wasn't held for the last five years.
After the frenzied hours on Sunday evening when police searched for and then found IDF legal chief Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi alive and well -- the advocate general who resigned last week after admitting to leaking an abuse video at the Sde Teiman military detention facility -- Schneider discusses the complexities of the case, as Tomer-Yerushalmi was often blamed by liberal politicians for not prosecuting enough and conservative la...
- Title
- Day 758 - Scandal rocks IDF even as Hamas reroots in Gaza
- Runtime
- 26:43
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
As pressure mounts for the Hamas terror group to lay down its arms, we take a minute to focus on the terrorists' military capabilities and current activities.
Hamas has still not returned all the bodies of the hostages. Before the weekend, Israel returned the bodies of 30 more Palestinians to Gaza as part of an ongoing exchange deal after Hamas handed over the bodies of two hostages, 84-year-old Amiram Cooper and 25-year-old Sahar Baruch. The subsequent Hamas transfer, however, did not proceed smoothly. Fabian fills us in.
Four members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Isra...
- Title
- Friday Focus with Lazar Berman: New hope for Catholic-Jewish ties
- Runtime
- 27:10
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
This week, amid pomp and circumstance at the Vatican, the Catholic Church marked 60 years to the Nostra Aetate, a document that — among other things — attempts to redefine the two-thousand-year-old relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.
Berman delves into the Nostra Aetate's long-standing significance, especially as the relationship between Israel and the Vatican has frayed during the two-year war in Gaza launched by Hamas's murderous onslaught on southern Israel.
We learn of the history behind the creation of the landmark document and the push-pull concerns from the Catholic communities in Mideast countries. We hear of the Jewish French historian Jules Isaac, who compiled Catholic anti-J...
- Title
- Ultra-Orthodox fight against IDF service
- Runtime
- 1:18
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- On October 30, 2025, some 200,000 ultra-Orthodox men blocked the entrance to Jerusalem to protest against military conscription.
Billed as a prayer rally, portions of the crowd climbed cranes and unfinished buildings, clashed with some of the 2,000 police officers deployed in the capital and harassed female journalists reporting from the scene.
The IDF says it needs 12,000 additional combat soldiers due to the deaths and injuries of thousands of soldiers over the two years of war.
A Times of Israel Original Video
Created by Eli Katzoff
- Title
- Day 755 - Law and politics clash in Haredi anti-draft rally
- Runtime
- 21:02
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 legal reporter Jeremy Sharon join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
With hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox men expected to rally at the entrance to Jerusalem Thursday afternoon, a protest originally scheduled to coincide with the revised Haredi conscription bill, Sokol discusses the significance of all ultra-Orthodox sects and factions uniting to protest conscription.
The event will follow Wednesday's Supreme Court criticism of the government for its failure to take effective enforcement measures against Haredi draft evaders, says Sharon.
Sharon discusses the timing of the legal and political processes in the Haredi conscription bill, noting the number of Supreme Court justices from the religious Zionist world, a community with a signifi...
- Title
- Day 754 - Faking 'discovery' of a body, depraved Hamas plays to type
- Runtime
- 28:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 episode.
The IDF announced this morning that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is now once again in effect, following “a series of significant strikes” targeting dozens of Hamas targets and operatives. The strikes came after Palestinian operatives carried out an attack on troops stationed in the Rafah area of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing soldier Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum.
This strike on IDF soldiers, along with Hamas’s failure to return the deceased Israeli hostages -- even faking the recovery of one slain hostage -- led to Israel's retaliation, which, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, killed over 100.
Horovitz weighs in on the nature of Hamas and the White House's recognition of Isr...
- Title
- Day 753 - US and ceasefire partners debate what's next in Gaza
- Runtime
- 16:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
With phase one of the ceasefire deal still in process, given the 13 bodies of hostages still in Gaza, Magid discusses the US desire to move into phase two of the 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war. The US is trying to create facts on the ground, says Magid, but there are concerns from the other partners regarding some of the decisions, including whether the focus should be on Hamas disarmament or postwar management of Gaza.
Following last week's vote in the Knesset on a West Bank annexation bill, and the angry reaction from the US administration over the vote, Magid discusses how the Trump government has shifted its tone since February, when it announced it would back Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and floated the id...
- Title
- Eli Sharabi: Life after trauma and mourning
- Runtime
- 17:49
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with former hostage Eli Sharabi.
Sharabi, whose bestselling book, "Hostage," was recently translated into English, spoke to What Matters Now a few days before burying his brother, Yossi Sharabi, whose body was recently released home to Israel after he was taken hostage on October 7 from Kibbutz Bee'eri, the community where both brothers lived with their families.
Sharabi speaks about reuniting with recently released hostage Alon Ohel, his fellow captive from months in a Gaza tunnel, and the joy of realizing that reunion.
He talks about how work, the book, and public speaking have been therapeutic acts for him, after his wife and daughters were killed on October 7.
Sharabi speaks about Kibbutz Be’eri, where he lived for 35 years, his chosen community that can no longer be a home for hi...
- Title
- Day 752 - Can Hamas be forced into stage two of the Trump plan?
- Runtime
- 17:48
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Israel does not know the location of four of the remaining 13 bodies of hostages held in Gaza, even as Egypt is reportedly bringing 12 additional heavy vehicles into the enclave this morning to clear roads and assist in efforts to locate the deceased. Berman weighs in on the stability of the ceasefire as the US increases its rhetoric, pushing Hamas to release the bodies to begin the transition to phase two of the 20-point Trump peace plan.
A transnational terror network run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is behind a string of recent attacks on Jewish sites in Western countries, the Mossad intelligence agency said on Sunday. We learn about senior IRGC-Quds Force commander Sardar Ammar, who h...
- Title
- Day 751 - Egyptians enter Gaza as US drones fly above Strip
- Runtime
- 22:56
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
Last night Egyptian forces and heavy equipment entered the Gaza Strip to help search for the 13 bodies of hostages still not returned to Israel after US President Donald Trump issued fresh threats to Hamas on Saturday, saying the terror group would be to blame if the ceasefire collapsed. We learn about where the IDF is still deployed and how things stand on the ground.
The United States has reportedly begun deploying surveillance drones over the Gaza Strip to ensure that Israel and Hamas are complying with the ceasefire, The New York Times reported Saturday. Fabian plays down the significance of these reports and reminds us that, among other nations, Britain has previously flown drones over Gaza during the war.<...
- Title
- Friday Focus with Lazar Berman: Does Israel rely on the US to end its wars?
- Runtime
- 28:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
Since US President Donald Trump's whirlwind visit to the Jewish state on Monday of last week, Israel has welcomed a revolving roster of high-level officials visiting the country.
This week saw the arrival of Trump’s senior Middle East advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance — and his wife Usha — and also US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
As their visits spur accusations that Israel is becoming a "client" or vassal state of the US, controversial MK Avi Maoz brought a bill that passed in a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday. The bill would apply Israeli sovereignty to all West Bank settlements despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most, but not all, ...
- Title
- Day 748 - Bereaved fume as Knesset panel says no to state inquiry into Oct. 7
- Runtime
- 27:03
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 reporter Ariela Karmel and religion and archaeology correspondent Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
At the start of the Knesset's winter session, the Knesset State Control Committee voted down a proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attack, says Karmel, to the dismay, anger, and tears of the bereaved families present, who expected it could happen now that the 20 living hostages have been released home.
The government cabinet voted to rename the war against Hamas as the War of Revival, says Karmel, a proposal floated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over a year, and with much opposition, given the October 7, 2023, failures that led to the war.
A new bill advanced by coalition lawmakers call...
- Title
- Day 747 - US officials 'Bibi-sitting' the PM to keep ceasefire
- Runtime
- 18:12
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
As US Vice President JD Vance spends his first day in Israel, Magid discusses Vance's comments about the ceasefire, the continued focus on getting all of the remaining hostages' bodies back, and the question of a possible timeline regarding Hamas disarmament.
Magid also delves into Vance's statements at a press conference in the new Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat. The CMCC is a new hub inside Israel where participating countries will try and monitor the ceasefire, says Magid, adjudicating violations and handling the movement of goods into Gaza, including aid and security forces, in the future.
Vance discussed what role other countries could play, including the question of Turkey and Israe...
- Title
- Orna and Ronen Neutra: Their son is still in Gaza
- Runtime
- 28:05
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of Omer Neutra, a tank platoon commander who was killed on October 7, 2023, his body taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.
The Neutras, Israeli-born Americans who have been living in the US for the last 20 years, talk about the last days since the start of the ceasefire, the joyous return home of 20 living hostages, as the bodies of 13 hostages are still held in Gaza.
Orna Neutra discusses how they knew they would never hug their son again, but how difficult it is to reconcile his death until they can bury his body.
Ronen Neutra offers more details about October 7, 2023, his son's heroic final moments as a commander on the so-called White House IDF post near the Gaza border.
The Neutras discuss their alliance with both the Biden and Trump administrations...
- Title
- Day 746 - Vance flies in to help keep Trump's Gaza plan moving
- Runtime
- 20:44
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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.
ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
With the body of hostage Tal Haimi returned to Israel, Horovitz discusses the resilience of and emotional toll on the remaining 15 hostages' families awaiting their loved ones, and whether Hamas is playing games in the slowed process of returning the bodies.
As US Vice President JD Vance arrives in Israel, Horovitz talks about his presence in Israel alongside US special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House advisor Jared Kushner, all part of the overt American role in seeing the ceasefire carried out to its conclusion.
The Knesset's raucous opening session on Monday reveals deep divisions, says Horovitz, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech aimed to frame the conflict as a victory for Israel, alongs...
- Title
- Day 745 - Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Israel to keep ceasefire going
- Runtime
- 18:06
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 and diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and fellow advisor Jared Kushner arrive in Israel, Berman discusses that Israel has fulfilled its first steps in the ceasefire involving Palestinian prisoners and the 'Yellow Line' to which the IDF has withdrawn in the Gaza Strip, but that Hamas has not kept its part of the bargain, with the remaining 16 hostages' bodies still held in Gaza, and the Hamas attack in Gaza Sunday that killed two soldiers.
Witkoff and Kushner will meet with Israel's high-ranking officials and cabinet, says Berman, as two US advisors aim to safeguard the tenuous ceasefire that is one week old.
The two US advisors appeared on "60 Minutes"...
- Title
- Day 744 - As skirmishes continue in Gaza, when is the war over?
- Runtime
- 18:03
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As two more hostages' bodies are released to Israel, leaving 16 captives' bodies in Gaza, Fabian discusses the moment when Hamas will not be able to locate additional bodies and will require the help of other countries, creating a longer process.
With terror operatives attacking Israeli troops in Gaza on a nearly daily basis, Fabian talks about reaching the end of war, with IDF troops still operating in more than half of the Gaza Strip's territory, demolishing tunnels, and enforcing the yellow line of withdrawal.
After two soldiers were wounded by an explosive device in the West Bank, Fabian discusses whether this denotes a significant increase in activity in the area, given that incidents have been o...
- Title
- Day 744 - As skirmishes continue in Gaza, when is the war over?
- Runtime
- 18:03
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- 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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As two more hostages' bodies are released to Israel, leaving 16 captives' bodies in Gaza, Fabian discusses the moment when Hamas will not be able to locate additional bodies and will require the help of other countries, creating a longer process.
With terror operatives attacking Israeli troops in Gaza on a nearly daily basis, Fabian talks about reaching the end of war, with IDF troops still operating in more than half of the Gaza Strip's territory, demolishing tunnels, and enforcing the yellow line of withdrawal.
After two soldiers were wounded by an explosive device in the West Bank, Fabian discusses whether this denotes a significant increase in activity in the area, given that incidents have been o...
- Title
- Day 742 - Trump raises alarm about public executions in Gaza
- Runtime
- 25:43
- Date posted
- 8 months ago
- Description
- 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 for today's episode.
The US doesn't believe Hamas is dragging its feet in finding the remaining hostage bodies, says Magid, and believes it will take time, and perhaps the help of other countries. The Trump administration is determined to reach phase two of the ceasefire, including demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and moving into the next stages of rebuilding Gaza, but Israel is nervous to begin that process without completing the hostage phase of the deal.
The public executions in Gaza have raised alarm and prompted a shift in US rhetoric, according to Magid. At first, US President Donald Trump appeared to greenlight what he considered to be the warfare between Hamas and Gazan gangs or clans, likening them to situations in the US, but then said if...
- Title
- Day 741 - Is Hamas playing games with remaining hostage bodies?
- Runtime
- 14:36
- Date posted
- 8 months ago
- Description
- 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.
As Hamas announced it has handed over to Israel all the bodies of hostages it can find, Berman asks whether Hamas is playing games or whether it really can't locate the remaining 19 bodies. The prevailing thought in the cabinet is that Hamas could access more if it wanted to, and therefore Israel will slowly ramp up the pressure on Hamas -- for now, blocking the entry of reconstruction materials.
Berman also discusses the question of whether the war against Hamas has ended; Israel hasn’t declared an end and wants to keep the military threat hanging over Hamas’s head unless it moves forward with its obligations under the peace plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was diagnosed with bronchitis on...
