The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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.
On Sunday, former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced a joint run for this year's Israeli elections.
Immediately, polling showed that the combined electoral slate, dubbed “Together,” would win a total of 26 seats if elections were held Monday, placing them ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud as the Knesset’s largest party, according to Channel 12.
Later in the week, Opposition Leader Lapid told Bennett that he was willing to take third place, rather than second, on their joint electoral slate if it would help secure a broader merger with Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot.
On this week's episode, in the spirit of the newly completed NFL draft, we play fantasy football and weigh the merits of the current parties and politicians vyying for the Knesset in this year's election.
And so this week, we ask Haviv Rettig Gur 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 Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: Haviv Rettig Gur (courtesy) / Green Bay Packers quarterback Taylor Elgersma (19) throws during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, August 16, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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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.
Environmental reporter Sue Surkes joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.
We open the episode with a recent annual national monitoring report, carried out on behalf of the Energy and Environmental Protection ministries, on the state of the Mediterranean Sea. Surkes describes how the sea is growing saltier, warmer and more polluted, and why it has become a home to invasive tropical fish. We discuss what that means for beachgoers and fish eaters as we head into the summer season.
We then move on to the latest updates in an unusual court case: The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday ordered the Interior Ministry to grant temporary Israeli status to a Syrian-born woman, the wife of a disabled IDF veteran, who converted to Judaism. The Syrian Alawite woman and her husband have faced a series of legal hurdles as they seek to build a life together in Israel. We hear about their saga.
In the second half of the program, Surkes walks through her recent op-ed on Israeli energy policy, which she describes as a growing security risk.
We end off the program with an account of her recent visit to the orangutans at the Jerusalem Zoo, who, 10 days ago, welcomed a new baby to their troop. This is not the first orangutan to be born in Israel, but it’s the first at the biblical zoo, and an important addition to the world’s shrinking orangutan population.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
The Mediterranean: Warmer, saltier, more acidic, and rising fast — report
After years in limbo, court lets Syrian convert live in Israel with husband, a disabled vet
True independence must include the air we breathe
Great excitement as first orangutan is born at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
It's no more Mr. Nice Guy for US President Donald Trump on Iran. At the same time, Trump said on Wednesday that talks with Iran have been taking place over the phone in recent days, after he canceled a trip over the weekend for US negotiators to travel to Pakistan to speak with Iranian officials. Berman brings us up to date on where things -- including the US military assets -- stand as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the US blockade of Iran continue.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a visit to troops posted in southern Lebanon on Wednesday that there “is no ceasefire,” as Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire despite a truce that’s been in place for almost two weeks. We hear how Israel is even more restrained today than it was prior to the Iran war in terms of its freedom of movement against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Israeli Navy late Wednesday began intercepting an activist flotilla sailing to the Gaza Strip in a bid to breach Israel’s naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled enclave, according to the activists and Israeli officials. As of Thursday morning, a third of the vessels were intercepted near Crete. How is Israel handling the PR stunt this year?
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar appointed veteran diplomat George Deek to a newly created role as special envoy to the Christian world last week. Berman is cautiously optimistic, but has major reservations.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
After rejecting Iran’s proposal to open Hormuz, Trump says talks ongoing over the phone
IDF chief says there’s ‘no ceasefire’ in south Lebanon amid continued fighting with Hezbollah
Navy begins intercepting Gaza flotilla hundreds of miles from the Strip
Israel appoints first special envoy to Christian world after scandals strain ties
Suspect arrested in attack on nun yesterday in Jerusalem Old City
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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
With the lack of progress in the negotiations between the United States and Iran, US intelligence agencies are studying how Iran would respond if US President Donald Trump were to declare a unilateral victory in the two-month-old war, according to a Reuters report. Magid weighs in on any potential schism within the Trump administration as Iran's newest proposal appears to shelve the issue of a nuclear program -- the very reason the war was launched.
Amid a growing diplomatic incident, Israel said Tuesday it had yet to receive evidence that a shipment of Russian grain had been “stolen” from occupied Ukrainian territory, while Kyiv said it was preparing sanctions against those involved in the transaction. Magid unravels this tangled issue, which played out live on social media.
A list backed by the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party won most races in the weekend’s Palestinian municipal elections, election officials said Sunday, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the Gaza Strip run by Hamas, the terror group that violently ousted Fatah from Gaza in 2007. We hear why this vote was significant -- and why it was not.
Last week, Wendy Sherman, who served as deputy secretary of state for much of former US president Joe Biden’s administration, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being responsible for the perpetration of a genocide in Gaza. Magid explains how this opinion, coming from a former Biden official, is being heard more as the Democratic Party looks ahead to the next election.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US intel agencies examining how Iran would react if Trump declares victory in war
Trump reportedly unhappy with Iran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz but shelve nuclear issue
Israel says no proof Russian grain shipment ‘stolen,’ as Ukraine threatens sanctions
Smotrich confirms Finance Ministry hasn’t transferred any tax revenues to PA for past year
PA leader Abbas’s loyalists win local elections, including in Gaza’s Deir al‑Balah
Biden’s deputy secretary of state: Netanyahu helped ‘create a genocide in Gaza’
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 and 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.
Mideast and Russia expert Ksenia Svetlova joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Former MK Svetlova is the executive director of ROPES (Regional Organization for Peace, Economics & Security) and a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
We open the program with an exploration of Iran's historic and current ties with Russia, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met yesterday with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Svetlova explores Russia's influence in the region -- specifically its direct ties to Hezbollah -- and assesses how much leverage Moscow may have in the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States.
In the second half of the program, we focus on Israel's relations with Arab Gulf states in the wake of the war in Iran. We hear how Israel deployed troops and the Iron Dome to its Abraham Accord partner, the United Arab Emirates. She discusses how the region is at a crossroads and the Gulf states are pragmatically discussing whether to deepen ties with Iran, or, potentially, with Israel.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump reportedly unhappy with Iran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz but shelve nuclear issue
In Saint Petersburg, Iran’s FM blames US for failure of Pakistan talks
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ari Schlacht edited this episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.