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.
US reporter Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Following the arrest of defendant Mohammad Al-Saadi, who allegedly orchestrated a string of attacks on Jewish targets in Europe and the US on behalf of Iran, Tress tracks the details shared by the suspect, who spoke freely with investigators, emphasizing his use of social media to recruit operatives and noting that all Iranian proxies are related to one another.
Marking one year since the Colorado firebombing attack of a rally for Israeli hostages that killed one elderly woman, Tress explores patterns of support among anti-Israel groups for perpetrators of violent hate crimes.
After a bogus Miss Israel appeared at the Israel Day Parade in New York, Tress discovers that the Miss Universe franchise is now privately owned by a Florida enterprise and has little relation to Israel or Israeli culture.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
NY case sheds light on alleged Iran-linked terror campaign targeting Diaspora Jews
US anti-Zionist groups keep backing activists who are incarcerated for violence
Miss Israel says this year’s contest will be bogus, sparking break with organizers
For further reading:
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: New York correspondent Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI/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.
Political correspondent Tal Schneider joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
The US military carried out strikes in Iran early Wednesday following the downing of an Apache helicopter that US President Donald Trump accused Iran of shooting down and vowed retaliation for. Schneider describes uncertainty in Israel this morning as US bases housed by its neighbors are being targeted.
During an interview about the Iran war with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump claimed Tuesday that it was an “open question” whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 76, wants to continue his political career, while a poll showed that over 60 percent of Israelis don’t want the longtime premier to run in the upcoming Knesset election. Schneider weighs in.
Legislation enshrining Torah study as a Basic Law is set to be brought to a vote today. The proposed law, backed by Haredi parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, would establish Torah study as a foundational national value and define long-term Torah study as “meaningful service” to the state, equivalent to army service, with implications for the rights and obligations of those engaged in it. What could this mean for the country?
Italian prosecutors have put Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir under investigation over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists seen in a video he published last month. This comes as France has barred Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers from entering the country, as several countries introduced fresh sanctions against settlers and organizations deemed to be responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Even as the Israeli ministers brush off the sanctions, Schneider explains why this matters.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US strikes Iran after Trump vows retaliation for downing of US helicopter over Hormuz
Trump says Netanyahu may quit politics, as poll shows 61% of Israelis want him out
Italy investigating Ben Gvir for alleged torture, kidnapping over Gaza flotilla video
Smotrich banned from France as 4 countries introduce new sanctions against settler violence
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.
Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called off a further major strike on Iran on Monday following Israel's initial retaliation to Iran's ballistic missile barrages overnight Sunday. With IAF fighter jets on the runway, Trump instructed the premier to deescalate Israel’s fight with the Islamic Republic. Later, the president explained to a BBC reporter, "If I tell him to do something, he does it."
On today's episode, we unwind the political ripple effect of Trump's assertion and ask whether Israel is truly still operating as a sovereign nation even as its hands are increasingly tied when combating the terror threat on its northern border.
Additionally, as Iran appears to consider Lebanon its own vassal state that is intrinsically embedded in the Trump ceasefire negotiations, we talk through the initial goals of the war launched on February 28 and assess the Jewish state's current standing.
In the second half of the program, Horovitz gives a broad-strokes picture of where political parties lie in recent polling -- while it's still anyone's game -- as Israel gears up for elections a few months away.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump seeks to tie Netanyahu’s hands, as the partnership that went to war 100 days ago collapses
Netanyahu called off major Iran strike after Trump warned Israel would be on its own — reports
Vance: Iran deal a ‘home run for the American people,’ whether Israel likes it or not
IDF downs drone over Eilat launched by Yemen’s Houthis
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.
Iran fired a volley of missiles at northern Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all-out war after two months of a shaky ceasefire, with Israel initially vowing to respond before US President Donald Trump attempted to limit the fallout and keep truce negotiations with Tehran on track. Israel responded overnight and we're recording on Monday morning.
We roll back time and give the background and context for the IDF's strikes on Beirut -- ostensibly Iran's trigger for sending some dozen ballistic missiles to Israel last night.
Fabian fills us in on a massive subterranean bunker that Hezbollah -- with Iran's help -- carved into a mountain near the iconic Beaufort Castle that sits close to the border with Israel. We learn there are more such sites in southern Israel that the IDF has not yet reached.
Hours before the renewed Iran strikes, an Arab Israeli terrorist opened fire in several locations in a shooting spree in central Israel on Sunday, killing an IDF reservist who served as a civil defense squad member, and wounding five other people, before he was shot dead by security forces. Fabian gives us a recap.
And finally, we close the program with a look inside news that broke late last week: For the first time, a female combat soldier completed training in the Israeli military’s Sayeret Matkal commando unit. What does this mean for the elite unit?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Iran fires missiles at Israel for first time in two months; Trump tells Netanyahu not to retaliate
IDF strikes Beirut’s Dahiyeh after Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel
Israeli man killed, five hurt in central Israel terror shooting spree by Arab Israeli
In first, female IDF combat soldier completes training for elite Sayeret Matkal unit
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 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, we're joined by our first guest, Isaac Zablocki.
For over 20 years, Zablocki, the director of film programs at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, has been developing film programs at the JCC, including The Israel Film Center and its annual film festival, a festival focusing on disabilities, ReelAbilities, and the Other Israel Film Festival about Arab and minority populations in Israel.
Before turning to the two feature films on the menu this week, we ask Zablocki about the status of boycotts against Israeli films at international festivals and whether his festivals have ever been protested.
This year's Israel Film Center Festival is taking place June 9–16 at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (MMJCCM) and expanding to 10 additional venues across the New York Metro Area, including Manhattan, Westchester, Long Island, and New Jersey.
The first movie on our bill this week is festival opener, "Love, Statistically Speaking." Directed by Amichai Greenberg, the dark comedy stars actor Yehoram Gaon and Meshi Kleinstein as a grandfather-granddaughter duo on a bizarre whodunnit mission.
Next, we review the surrealistic and all-too-realistic film "Oxygen" by Netalie Braun. Set in an Israel beset by war in the north, mother Anat decides how much she is willing to sacrifice to keep her soldier son Ido from fighting in Lebanon.
The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.