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.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned to carry out strikes against Iran earlier this month, but President Donald Trump opposed reigniting the fighting before the US midterms, the Financial Times reports. This comes as Israel Air Force planes reportedly have been conducting drills in preparation for a renewed attack. What could be in the offing?
Britain will fly Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions to help protect Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure from Houthi aerial attacks, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday. As the UK joins Egypt in coming to Saudi Arabia's aid, is there increased pressure on the United States?
In a searing piece, Berman writes, "Attacks by Jewish extremists and a mealy-mouthed response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undermine Israel’s ability to prevent new sanctions against settlements, to restore relations with key partners, and to show Israel cares about Christians. Instead of denouncing and combating the attacks, he has consistently downplayed them, even before last weekend." We ask, "What could Netanyahu be thinking?"
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
A renewed Iran war is only a matter of time, Israeli experts warn
Iran security chief rejects moving enriched uranium abroad, as Netanyahu vows to topple regime
Houthis strike besieged city in Yemen that UN warns is at ‘grave risk’
Settler violence harms Israel’s interests. But for PM, halting it could spell political trouble
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.

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.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly held a secret meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday night. Horovitz speculates about what may have been on the table. Hegseth's lightning visit comes a day after US President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu as his choice for Israel's next prime minister. Is that such a gift to Bibi?
Jonatan Urich, a current senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a key suspect in the Qatargate scandal, has admitted to investigators that he received “hundreds of thousands of shekels” from Qatar, and that he had no moral qualms working for Doha both before and after the Hamas-led October 7 attack. These revelations were reported by Channel 12 on Monday, citing police interrogation transcripts. Horovitz reviews the saga and delves into the possibility that Qatar followed a time-tested spymaster's handbook and was using Urich as a mole.
Turning to the October 27 election, Benny Gantz, the former IDF chief who was once in line to become prime minister, and whose Blue and White party topped polls in previous elections, announced Monday that the party was withdrawing from the current race. What was the response from supporters and detractors alike -- and could other smaller parties follow?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Hegseth reportedly meets Netanyahu during secret visit to Israel
Report: PM’s aide Urich admitted he kept working for Qatar after Oct. 7, saw no moral problem
Blue and White’s Benny Gantz pulls out of race, sealing precipitous political fall
Everything you need to know: ToI’s guide to the 37 parties that Israelis can choose from
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.

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.
Israel announced the arrest of 10 suspected settler extremists on Monday morning, after days of international pressure to take action following weekend attacks on Palestinians, foreign diplomats and Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine in the West Bank. Fabian explains what is the responsibility of the police versus the IDF and Shin Bet is in preventing these attacks.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Wednesday warned of a possible security escalation “across all fronts” ahead of the October 27 elections, saying, "The IDF is at a high level of readiness to launch extensive offensive operations against anyone who attempts to harm Israeli civilians.” What does this heightened alert mean in practice?
Israel’s military is set to begin early voting for soldiers, with at least 850 polling stations set to be deployed next week at military bases and outposts across the country and beyond Israel’s borders. Soldiers will begin voting early Tuesday evening, due to “operational considerations.” Fabian unveils this very complicated process.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Police say 10 suspects arrested for West Bank settler attacks on journalist, EU diplomats
Settlers beat Palestinians, US journalist in West Bank attacks: ‘They kept kicking me and kicking me’
European diplomats attacked amid settler raids on West Bank olive harvest
IDF chief warns of ‘potential for escalation’ across all fronts, decries settler violence
First Knesset election ballots cast as voting opens at Israel’s missions abroad
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.

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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
With the final barrage of election polls before the October 27 election, Sales notes that the canvassing can't accurately predict who will win, and explains why, including the issue of the smaller parties on both sides of the political spectrum that are hovering around the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Sales also discusses rising tensions among members of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's political base and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as they call for her to be fired after police officers clashed with protesters following the shooting of a man in the Bronx by ICE agents.
The shooting, and the NYPD’s response to it, had no direct connection to Israel or antisemitism in the city. But the protest against pro-Israel Tisch relates to her role as a pro-Israel presence in City Hall and the implications if she were no longer in that job.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
3 experts on how you’re reading election polls wrong — and why they can’t predict the result
Threats to NYPD’s pro-Israel commissioner are an inflection point for New York Jews
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.
IMAGE: News editor Ben Sales appears on the Daily Briefing with host Jessica Steinberg (Flash 90)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to "A Mandatory Listen," a new weekly podcast in which The Times of Israel deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan asks the big questions facing Israel and the Jewish people.
For this fourth episode in the new series, we speak with Prof. Nechumi Yaffe, an ultra-Orthodox woman running for Knesset for the Charedi Public Party (HaTzibur HaCharedi).
A faculty member at Tel Aviv University since 2019, Yaffe is currently a tenured senior lecturer at the School of Public Policy and co-director of the Haredi Research Group at UCLA.
Among other fields of interest, Yaffe delves into the issues of poverty and identity in Haredi society.
We hear how the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel made Yaffe rethink the ideas of civil obligations and rights. While she believes that youths who are not fit for yeshiva can -- and should -- be conscripted into the IDF, she is deeply concerned with allowing the ultra-Orthodox community to remain strictly observant.
How can a delicate balance between religious observance and national burden be forged? Only through education, says Yaffe.
Over time, she relates, her friends and neighbors in the ultra-Orthodox world stopped accusing her of airing their dirty laundry in the secular public and began understanding the dire situation their community is in.
But will this increased awareness lead to a gain in the polls? Perhaps through the Haredi world's overlooked weapon -- women.
A Mandatory Listen podcast episodes are available for download 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.