The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

Available Episodes

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Day 781 - Thunderous response after PM hints at outlawing Arab party
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 English), on the grounds that it is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood. We learn about the American context for Netanyahu's statement and hear how pivotal the Arab parties could be during this election year. The public squabbling between IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz continued yesterday, drawing some in the defense echelons to worry that it is affecting Israel's deterrence. Horovitz weighs in. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: US backs Israel’s right to defend itself after IDF strike on Hezbollah army chief Body of hostage recovered in central Gaza, says Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ra’am leader says PM ‘trying to steal elections’ after apparent hint at barring Arab party Trump launches process aimed at potentially sanctioning Muslim Brotherhood In escalating clash, IDF chief accuses Katz of harming military’s preparedness 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: Ra'am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 24, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 780 - After killing of Hezbollah #2, IDF preps for retaliation
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 collecting sensitive intelligence on IDF bases and equipment, especially tanks and their operations, from soldiers’ social media activity, allowing the terror group to disable tanks and raid army bases during its October 7, 2023, onslaught in southern Israel. What new steps are being taken to prevent this? As Zamir begins a round of official dismissals of high-ranking staff for their roles leading up to the October 7, 2023, failures, Defense Minister Israel Katz continues to clash with the IDF Chief of Staff, saying that he has ordered the defense establishment comptroller to re-evaluate the findings made by an external panel of former senior officers that looked into the IDF's October 7 investigations. Fabian attempts to make sense of this power struggle. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: In escalation, IDF kills Hezbollah military chief in targeted Beirut strike IDF on alert as Hezbollah weighs response to military chief’s killing Hamas spent years mining IDF troops’ social media for intel on bases, tanks – report IDF chief officially dimisses Oct. 7’s heads of intel, operations, Southern Command 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: This undated photo, released by Hezbollah Military Media, November 23, 2025, shows Hezbollah's military chief of staff Haytham Tabtabai. (Hezbollah Military Media vía AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 779 - Hamas needs a ceasefire, but doesn't want to disarm
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 Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses several questions in an interview with Abu Ali Express, a popular local Telegram channel, says Berman, including ruling out a Palestinian state, while also discussing the possibility of Saudi normalization and continued talks with Turkey. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Top Hamas team said in Cairo to discuss escalation in Gaza, transition to 2nd stage of Trump plan Optimism abounds at Gaza coordination center, but violence puts truce at risk As US dives into remaking Gaza, shades of nation-building come into focus Netanyahu: ‘There will not be a Palestinian state,’ even at cost of ties with Saudis 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: Islamic Jihad militants search for the bodies of hostages north of Nuseirat, Gaza strip, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 778 - Movie maven Jordan Hoffman reviews 'Bad Shabbos'
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. And then, we move to the classic, "History of the World, Part I," which Borschel-Dan buckled down and watched for the first time. 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Day 777 - Lazar Berman: Is Trump's 'pathway to a Palestinian state' code for nation-building?
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 conjectures how they could -- or could not -- be applied in Gaza. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / A general view shows a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters, September 23, 2025, at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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