The Times of Israel Daily Briefing The Times of Israel

Welcome to our inaugural episode of What Matters Now, a new weekly podcast exploration into one key issue shaping Israel and the Jewish World -- right now.

Now, I don't know about you, but even for newshounds like me, sometimes the 24/7 headline barrage zooms by so fast that I feel like I don't catch all the nuance. There are so many hot-button issues that understanding the arguments for and against them feels like a Herculean task.

So each week, we'll sit for an in-depth conversation and find out what matters now to one journalist, thinker or newsmaker.

For this first episode, I turned to philosopher and author Dr. Micah Goodman. While his books are read by the country's leaders, he's made a career of explaining Israel and all her nuances -- even to Israelis themselves.

Goodman is the author of the best-selling "Catch-67," as well as "The Wondering Jew" and several surprising bestsellers on canonical Jewish texts, including works on Maimonides.

For this perplexed journalist, understanding this moment in Israel meant having tea with my friendly neighborhood philosopher.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on iTunes, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, PlayerFM or wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: Dr. Micah Goodman, February 1, 2023. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

United States correspondent Jacob Magid and New York correspondent Luke Tress join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

We begin with an update on Israel Air Force warplanes that carried out overnight sorties in the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket attack on southern Israel, as a new round of rocket alarms sounded in Sderot and nearby towns.

Tress updates on the COI Elimination Act that is being reintroduced to the US Congress. The COI stands for the Commission of Inquiry that the United Nations is carrying out against Israel. Who brought the bill this time?

Magid updates on the last leg of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to the region and what came out of his meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Tress attended an event with former prime minister Naftali Bennett recently in New York where Bennett officially put his yarmulke back into the circus ring of Israeli politics.

Magid explains how Israel is one step closer to joining the US’s visa waiver program. But celebrations may be premature.

And finally, Tress spoke with former KISS frontman Gene Simmons at a United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day event last week. The glam rockstar had some advice.

Discussed articles include:

Israel bombs Hamas sites in retaliatory Gaza strikes; rocket sirens sound in Sderot

Bill calling to end UN probe into Israel reintroduced to US Congress

US pushing Abbas on plan to boost PA security presence in northern West Bank

In meeting with Abbas, Blinken laments deaths of ‘innocent Palestinian civilians’

Bennett vows return to politics; urges US Jews: ‘Don’t give up on Israel’

Israel clears major hurdle in bid to qualify for US Visa Waiver Program

Kiss frontman Simmons wants to rock Holocaust memorials with Never Again concert

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IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards the plane to leave Israel on January 31, 2023, stating, 'Concluded another productive trip to Israel and the West Bank, where I met with Israeli and Palestinian counterparts and leaders from civil society. We will continue to support the parties and all efforts to deescalate tensions.' (Twitter) 
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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Legal correspondent Jeremy Sharon and investigative reporter Inna Lazareva join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

We discuss three of the cases described in Sharon's recent article on eight massive court interventions. We first focus on a case in which the court broadened legislation in the February 2005 Disengagement Law.

The second case we discuss is when the High Court annulled an amendment passed by the Knesset passed an amendment to the 1954 anti-infiltration law that allowed the state to detain asylum seekers and migrants for a minimum of three years. What was the basis of the High Court’s intervention?

The third High Court intervention took place in 2014 and surrounds the construction of a mikveh or ritual bath for residents of Kfar Vradim. Why did the court compel the municipality to construct one there?

Finally, Lazareva discusses her lengthy investigation into the world of illegal broker fees for foreign workers, a multi-million dollar scandal.

Discussed articles include:

From a rogue MK to Haredi subsidies, 8 times High Court struck down laws, decisions

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IMAGE: Settler in the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim argues with soldiers who have come to evacuate him from his home, accusing them of betraying Jewish values, during the disengagement from Gaza, August 22, 2005. (Flash90)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Editor David Horovitz and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today's episode.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now in Israel. We begin by discussing his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blinken's advice for Israel's leader.

Both during Blinken’s meeting with Netanyahu and with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Blinken also seemed to urge Israel to expand its security support for Kyiv. Is it possible that Israel will begin providing security support to Ukraine?

Blinken arrived to the region on Sunday, with a first stop in Egypt where he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. Could the US see Egypt as playing a potentially larger role in brokering the increasing armed conflict in the West Bank?

Yesterday, in a resounding 89-8 vote, a bill to revoke the Israeli citizenship or residency of terror convicts who receive financial support for their acts from the Palestinian Authority passed its first reading. At the same time, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Monday he would advance legislation allowing Israel to impose the death penalty for certain terror offenses. Do either of these measures counter Israel’s founding principles?

For the past several weeks, The Times of Israel has played host to an animated series called “Whispered in Gaza.” Horovitz reminds listeners what this project is and where they can find it.

Discussed articles include:

As Netanyahu talks Iran, Blinken makes US concerns over judicial shakeup clear

Diplomatically but firmly, Blinken advises Netanyahu not to harm Israeli democracy

Bill to strip Israeli citizenship from terror convicts paid by PA passes 1st reading

Ben Gvir to push for death penalty bill in wake of Jerusalem attack

Darkest tragedy, unrealized dreams: ‘Whispered in Gaza,’ the final interviews

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IMAGE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, meets with Israeli emerging leaders at 'Feel Beit,' an Israeli-Palestinian art and culture collective in Jerusalem, January 31, 2023. (Ronaldo Schemidt/Pool via AP)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian and political correspondent Tal Schneider join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Fabian offers update on aftermath of Friday night terrorist attack that killed seven, following press conference Sunday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said the police had sealed the terrorist's family home and that Israel would revoke rights of family members and deport them, if needed.

Schneider discusses the latest in the government’s planned overhaul of the legal system, as attorney Gur Bligh, legal advisor of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, pushes back at Knesset law panel chair MK Simcha Rothman, suggesting holding off on the judicial reform package until the next election cycle.

Fabian speaks about the Saturday night drone attack that struck a defense facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan, and was carried out by Israel, according to reports from The New York Times. Fabian discusses the purpose behind the reported attack, ostensibly to protect Israel's own security interests.

Discussed articles include:

Defense minister: Every terrorist will either go to court or the cemetery

Knesset law panel chair seeks to expedite judicial upheaval, with some changes

Knesset legal adviser: Judicial overhaul should take effect only after next election

Report: Israel carried out drone attack on Iranian defense facility

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IMAGE: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks to reporters after an assessment at the IDF's West Bank headquarters, January 29, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
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Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and political analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Jessica Steinberg for today's podcast.

Steinberg reviews the Friday night terror attack outside a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood that killed seven, as well as a spate of shootings and attempted attacks over the course of Saturday.

Rettig Gur discusses the reactions of Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the terror attacks and how his responses are worrying for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the government moves forward with its response to the situation.

Rettig Gur also examines the Palestinian discourse with regard to the terror attacks, and Palestinian reactions to the changes in Israel's government.

Berman talks about the official diplomatic condemnations of the Friday night attack, including from the Gulf and UAE, and with many diplomats highlighting that it took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Berman discusses Netanyahu's meeting last week with Jordanian King Abdullah II, their first in four years and the issue of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount, which is under the administration of the Jordanians, and has been a source of tension between the two governments, given the increase in visits from Jewish religious nationalists, including Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

He also speaks about President Isaac Herzog's trip last week to Brussels, which included an address to the European Parliament to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day and time spent with the local Jewish community.

Discussed articles include:

‘His soul is eternal’: Funerals held for 3 victims of Jerusalem terror attack

Washington, UN, UAE, many others condemn ‘heinous, tragic’ Jerusalem terror shooting

Netanyahu and Abdullah meet in Jordan, signaling they want to move past tensions

Netanyahu vows to maintain Temple Mount status quo in meeting with Jordanian king

Herzog welcomed by Belgian king ahead of meetings with EU, NATO chiefs

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IMAGE: National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks to the press at Jerusalem's Shaare Tzedek hospital on January 28, 2023 (Courtesy Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
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