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. Tech editor Sharon Wrobel and archaeology reporter Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. After Israel signed a $35 billion gas deal with Egypt this month, Wrobel discusses the geopolitical and business pressures that brought about the agreement, including pressure to lower domestic electricity prices during the upcoming election year, with the possibility that the deal will bring about a shortage of natural gas and eventually, higher prices within a decade. Tercatin discusses an archaeological finding of a mold used to manufacture tiny flasks 1,500 years ago, the first time a mold of that kind has been found in Israel. She also discusses scholarly research regarding whether there was an Israelite kingdom, combining archaeological discoveries with biblical scholarship. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: As major Egypt gas deal burns through reserves, public will end up paying the price Forget keychains, Byzantine pilgrims took home ‘souvenir’ flasks, newly found mold shows Despite academic battle royal, a new book returns David’s kingdom to its place in history Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Israel's Leviathan gas field gas processing rig as seen from Dor Habonim Beach Nature Reserve, on January 1, 2020. (Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, we hear amazing Jangles (entertainment news a Jew can use) from Hoffman, including the contentious NY launch of "Marty Supreme" and the inside scoop into actor Jack Black's superwoman of a mother. We hear a full-throated recommendation from Borschel-Dan for a multi-media performance she caught that is touring Israel. Based on journalist and author Matti Friedman's "Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai," the Beit Avichai production will announce its schedule of future shows in April. The pair hunker down to review the Schmoovie of the week, "The Sure Thing," a 1985 film of teen love -- and lust. Rob Reiner's second directorial outing gets mixed reviews from our hosts. Hear who gave "The Sure Thing" a middling "meh" and who gave it our top mark of "not bad" on this week's The Reel Schmooze. The Reel Schmooze is produced by the PodWaves and can be found wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: US actor Jack Black attends the premiere of Columbia Pictures' "Anaconda" at The United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 2025. (Robyn Beck / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This week, we dive into the five likely scenarios that could play out in Gaza during 2026, which Alkhatib recently proposed on his social media channels. According to Alkhatib, the five proposals all "undermine Hamas severely and massively change the calculus and geostrategic landscape following the Trump-sponsored ceasefire in October, which has temporarily halted the war." The five proposals include: A mutiny from Hamas’s ranks within Gaza due to economic and cost-of-living pressures; a significant rise and empowerment of anti-Hamas militias in different areas of the Gaza Strip; mass protests and large-scale uprisings against Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip by civilians; a mass exodus of civilians, from the Red Zone controlled by Hamas behind the "yellow line" into the Israeli-controlled Green Zone; and a successful international stabilization force (ISF) deployment with the mandate of battling and demilitarizing Hamas. We go through each scenario point-by-point throughout the conversation, leaving time for a reader's question or two. 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 the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Palestinians walk along a street past a tent camp in Gaza City, December 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, catch diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, we’re joined by Eran Ortal, a brigadier-general (res.) in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a leading military theorist. Ortal commanded The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies, and wrote "The Battle Before the War: The Inside Story of the IDF's Transformation," which came in second place for the Institute for National Security Studies's 2025 Tshetshik Prize. Months before the October 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas, Ortal warned in an interview with The Times of Israel that the country's "military situation is eroding, not improving," and that “time is not on our side." Ortal explains what glaring problems he saw in the military in which he served for decades. He says that the IDF concept in its initial decades enabled it to win its famous victories over far more numerous foes. He then lays out why the IDF's center of gravity moved from the armored corps to the Air Force and intelligence services. Over time, says Ortal, Israel also moved away from its focus on decisive victory, and pursued a series of indecisive deterrence operations against non-state enemies like Hamas and Hezbollah. While there were efforts underway in the IDF to implement a wide-ranging series of reforms in the years before October 7, the Hamas attack took place before they had the desired effect. Israel, he says, went to war with an army that had not been properly trained and resourced, which affected the course of the war in Gaza. Looking forward, the IDF must go through another transformation, Ortal argues. Those who argue for continuing to prioritize airpower are mistaken, as are those who call for a return to a focus on mass ground maneuver. Instead, there must not only be investment in AI, drones, and a network that brings them to the troops on the battlefield; Israel also needs a new strategy that employs cutting-edge technology to achieve decisive victory over its enemies. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht. IMAGE: Israeli soldiers are seen during an army raid in the West Bank town of Tubas, November 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 reporters Ariela Karmel and Sam Sokol join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. After lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of a preliminary reading of a highly controversial bill to establish a politically appointed probe into the October 7, 2023, failures, rather than a state commission of inquiry, Sokol discusses the bill, created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political allies to satisfy critics demanding an investigative commission but with membership that the governing coalition can control. Another one of Netanyahu's allies, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, infuriated the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, reports Karmel, when he voted in favor of a civil marriage bill, further destabilizing the already shaky coalition. Karmel also discusses statements made by Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, one of the first members of the prime minister's coalition to comment on the explosive allegations against Netanyahu in the Qatargate affair, in a major departure from the usual rhetoric of the Netanyahu government. Sokol wraps up the podcast with a report about a gathering of the English-speaking Haredi community in Ramat Beit Shemesh, as they attended an event run by leading rabbis about dodging the IDF draft. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Contentious law for politically appointed Oct. 7 probe passes preliminary Knesset reading Knesset Speaker Ohana votes for civil marriage bill, enraging ultra-Orthodox parties Chikli backs probe of Qatargate allegations, in first such comment from a minister Haredi rabbis push English-speakers to dodge IDF draft, worried they might join up Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves. IMAGE: Bereaved October 7, 2023 families during a plenum session at the Knesset on December 24, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.