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 Jessica Steinberg speaking with celebrated writer Etgar Keret.
Etgar Keret, a leading voice in Israeli literature, with books published in over four dozen languages, talks about how his perception of writing has changed since the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught.
Using typical Keret metaphors and description, he explains the challenges of the times, how he once wrote about ethics and ideas and community, and finds that those more abstract ideas have evaporated.
Keret speaks at length about the disadvantages of being an Israeli artist in the public sphere, as audiences wait to hear something they don't like.
He also discusses social media in this time period and the shifts in the artist-audience relationship. Keret's Substack newsletter, Alphabet Soup, has become a more amenable space in which to share his short stories and ideas.
Keret, who teaches creative writing at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, now directs a new MFA program at the Jewish Theological Seminary and he speaks about his students and his desire to make a small but important change by leading the group of nascent writers.
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: Acclaimed author Etgar Keret speaks to What Matters Now host Jessica Steinberg for this week's podcast (Courtesy)
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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.
ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
With US President Donald Trump desperately attempting to end the war with Iran, Horovitz reviews the mixed messaging delivered by the US leader as he fawns over the Tehran regime's "nice, new" leaders and signs a "peace" deal that doesn't achieve any war goals but that he may think will keep alive his dream of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Horovitz notes that the US readiness to authorize an Iranian role in Lebanon is undermining the unique readiness of the Beirut government to work with Israel toward a diplomatic, long-term arrangement. Rather than disconnecting Iran from Hezbollah -- an explicit war goal -- the US is essentially partnering with Iran regarding Lebanon's future, dooming the Israel-Lebanon talks it is currently hosting in Washington, DC.
Our discussion moves on to Tuesday's New York City primaries, in which two virulently anti-Israel Democratic Socialists of America candidates and one progressive Democrat won elections against more established candidates, further bolstering Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his anti-Zionist politics in the rapidly changing city.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
In Trump’s delusions of peace with Iran and efforts to bully Israel, dark echoes of appeasement
Trump’s deal is a catastrophic capitulation to Iran’s aggressors, leaves Israel vulnerable and constrained
American pro-Israel activists may have just had their worst week ever
Mamdani-backed primary sweep further cements anti-Zionist politics in NYC
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.
IMAGE: ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg on today's Daily Briefing podcast (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
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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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Following the first of three days of talks between Jerusalem and Beirut, Magid discusses the sharp critique issued by Israel's US Ambassador Yechiel Leiter regarding the connection being made between the Lebanon track and the US-Iran deal, and the notion that Iran is being allowed to demand a ceasefire in a separate country.
There is a battle of narratives in US President Donald Trump's administration over the US-Iran deal, notes Magid, extending into the Israel-Lebanon talks. US Vice President JD Vance, who is currently leading the US-Iran talks, supports having Hezbollah as part of the conversation regarding deconfliction in Lebanon and views it as the only way forward for the embattled country, reports Magid.
It appears that Secretary of State Marc Rubio, currently on a regional tour in the United Arab Emirates, isn't as supportive of the terms of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, says Magid -- or of Iranian influence in Lebanon -- and is keeping some distance, perhaps to protect his place as a possible Republican Party candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Finally, Magid discusses Gaza's Board of Peace, as various members head to Cyprus for a retreat to figure out how to move forward while insisting that it will take time to make headway on Hamas disarmament and Gaza reconstruction.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘A train wreck’: As Jerusalem and Beirut hold talks, Israeli envoy pans linkage to US-Iran deal
Rubio: Iran will not be allowed to charge tolls in Strait of Hormuz under any final deal
Board of Peace members to ‘recalibrate’ at Cyprus resort after rocky first six months
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: US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast (ToI/Israeli Embassy)
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 Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Following an IDF press tour of a Hezbollah underground military base, Fabian describes the massive space created with Iranian planning and funds, used as a staging ground for car-sized UAV drones that can travel the length and width of Israel.
Fabian notes that the underground base is similar to what has been found in Iran, missile sites built into a mountain to hold and launch assets, and constructed during the last decade.
With Israel and Lebanon slated to start talks in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Fabian discusses the IDF's positioning in Lebanon and the army's ceasefire limitations from acting against all but the most immediate threats.
Several Hamas terrorists in Gaza -- known to have been involved in taking hostages on October 7, 2023 -- were recently targeted and killed by IDF strikes. Fabian reports that while the operations violate the ongoing ceasefire, the IDF claims the terrorists were planning on carrying out strikes on Israeli forces.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
IDF captures Hezbollah drone factory and launch site hidden inside south Lebanon mountain
On eve of direct Jerusalem-Beirut talks, Israel vows to maintain presence in Lebanon
IDF: Oct. 7 terrorist who held Omer Shem Tov hostage killed in recent Gaza strike
IDF says it killed Hamas sniper who moonlighted as Al Jazeera cameraman
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: Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast (ToI/Emanuel Fabian)
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.
Health reporter Diana Bletter joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.
Bletter joins us from her home near Nahariya after speaking with residents across Israel's north about life during an uneasy, on-again-off-again ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
She describes a region unable to move forward. Residents are exhausted after another disrupted school year, uncertain about what the coming months will bring, yet determined to remain in the communities they call home. She shares stories of hardship and resilience from communities living just kilometers from the Lebanese border.
Later in the episode, we move on to discuss a breakthrough in cancer therapy developed by scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, who have engineered nanoparticles that treat aggressive “triple-negative” breast cancer tumors without chemotherapy or drugs.
We conclude by diving into a revolutionary method of identifying life beyond Earth by analyzing the diversity of molecular groups, pioneered by Israeli researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Bletter explains how scientists plan to use this method on Eureka, an Israeli spacecraft concept currently in planning.
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.