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.
Iran and the US will start a new round of negotiations on Friday in Switzerland to reach a final agreement, after the official start of an interim agreement that day, Iran’s foreign minister says. This announcement comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a rare press conference last night, outlining his narrative of Israel's stance in Lebanon following the memorandum of understanding.
Israel was sidelined entirely throughout the negotiating process, a fact that was highlighted when Netanyahu informed a reporter that Israel does not yet know the details of the deal, which is to be formally signed in Switzerland on Friday after a digital signing on Sunday night. Berman unpicks this knotty issue.
US Vice President JD Vance and a pair of top officials in Trump’s administration shed some light on how the deal will be implemented and what it contains. Berman discusses how their version differs from the narrative being pushed out by Iran.
And finally, after Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar opened Somaliland’s embassy in Jerusalem on Monday -- the eighth top-level diplomatic mission in the capital -- Berman assesses Israel's standing on the global diplomatic stage.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Netanyahu avoids criticizing US-Iran deal, claims war’s main goals have been achieved
Ministers say Israel won’t be bound by Iran deal, as opposition castigates Netanyahu’s ‘absolute failure’
US says Trump, Vance and Iran’s Ghalibaf ‘digitally’ signed Iran deal on Sunday
Visiting Somaliland president opens embassy in Jerusalem
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.
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday that the Israeli military will remain in southern Lebanon and warned that if Iran strikes, it will be hit “with full force,” promising that Israel will resist any pressure after the US and Iran agreed a deal to end the war that also reportedly includes a commitment to end hostilities in Lebanon. We hear about where the IDF is currently holding in southern Lebanon and the strike on Beirut that almost derailed the Iran-US memorandum of understanding last night.
Late last week, senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq, mastermind of a January 2007 attack that killed five US troops in Iraq, was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced Sunday. Who was this terror architect and what else was he responsible for?
The IDF seeks to erect, for the first time, a permanent post in an area meant to be fully controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The post is set to be built in the northern West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp. What is the purpose of this first permanent post in Area A?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Israel vows to stay in south Lebanon; if Iran strikes, we’ll hit it ‘with full force’
IDF says over 70 Hezbollah sites hit as troops advance near south Lebanon’s Nabatieh
Israel braces for Iranian missile fire after strike on Hezbollah target in Beirut
IDF says it killed key Hezbollah official responsible for deadly 2007 attack on US troops
As IDF prepares to build post in Jenin, 2 soldiers hurt, 1 seriously, in blast
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.
Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the framework for a peace deal with Iran that would end the months-long conflict was scheduled to be signed on Sunday and that the key Strait of Hormuz waterway would then be immediately “open to all.” Iran has denied the signing will take place so soon. Berman breaks down what could be part of any potential deal and assesses the feasibility of it being signed soon.
As fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in south Lebanon continues, the government has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to avoid actions that could endanger the emerging deal between the US and Iran, Kan news reported Friday. Berman explores how else Israel is being restrained in light of the ongoing negotiations with Iran -- and how any deal may cement those fetters.
Some international media is discussing the theory that Israel will soon turn its gaze to Syria -- where it holds a buffer zone -- and fight a proxy war there with Turkey -- which also holds territory. Berman weighs in.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump says US-Iran deal to be signed Sunday, contradicting Tehran
Government reported to restrain IDF action in Lebanon to avoid derailing US-Iran talks
Iran MOU would cap self-defeating ceasefire for Trump, marks huge problem for Israel
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 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.
The duo sat down to record early this week during the confluence of three major events: Iran again struck Israel, the Tonys were awarded, and RUSH played in Los Angeles.
Movie maven Hoffman gives us the Jangles from the awards recognizing the best Broadway productions during the 2025–26 season and follows up with all that is Jewish about RUSH.
The main feature this week is Joseph Cedar's 2007 "Beaufort," which became all too relevant again when the IDF recaptured the medieval castle early last week.
Set in 2000, the blockbuster Israeli film depicts the (then) final week of the IDF's occupation of the famed UNESCO site in southern Lebanon. In the grisly Oscar-nominated movie, we meet -- and lose -- soldier after soldier who are stuck on the besieged rock.
As it hits all too close to home for mother-of-soldiers Borschel-Dan, she decides to grade the film according to two scales. Let's hear who gave it an "oy," "meh" or the prized "not bad" this week on The Reel Schmooze.
The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
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 Amanda Borschel-Dan speaking with Israel Democracy Institute senior fellow Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler.
Shwartz Altshuler, the head of the IDI's Democracy in the Digital Age Program, weighs in on the nefarious ways in which AI is being used to manipulate hearts and minds -- from elections to smear campaigns.
She breaks down in practical terms how AI is now able to flood the public sphere with noise and confusion. We discuss the ripple effects of increased reliance on chatbots versus Google-type searches and how information can easily be poisoned by bad actors.
The technology law and policy expert gives an overview of the potential possibilities for regulation -- and the chaotic Wild West reality we're living in.
Turning to Israel's upcoming elections, we learn how the delegitimization of the results has already begun.
And so, this week, we ask Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, 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 edited by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.