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 author Yossi Klein Halevi.
The Hartman Institute senior fellow, writer and thinker joins us in our Jerusalem studio for a probing conversation about Jewish extremism.
Klein Halevi is the author of the 1995 "Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist," based on his time spent as a disciple of far-right racist firebrand Meir Kahane. He is uniquely poised to delve into the psyche of the violent fringe terrorizing West Bank Palestinian and shaking members of the settler movement.
We discuss the throughline between the era that spawned Kahane and his followers and today's national traumas that are spurring extremists to believe Kahane was right all along.
Through Kahane's vanities and human frailties, Klein Halevi realized that the cult of personality was dangerous and unhealthy. We ask, what happens if adherents believe their racist violence is actually in the service of God?
Klein Halevi, optimistic that these youth can be awoken, sets out conditions that could, slowly, allow for their transformation.
And so this week, we ask Yossi Klein Halevi, 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 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.
ToI founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
After Israel struck a military base in Syria, where Turkey was apparently ready to deploy forces, Horovitz reviews the ensuing diplomatic ruckus between Israel, Turkey and Syria, with a US envoy castigating Israel but the White House silent.
Following this week's meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump aide Jared Kushner regarding the Board of Peace plan for Gaza, Horovitz explains the shared goal but differing approaches of the US and Israel, and highlights the need to not only disarm Hamas but also drain its coffers.
Horovitz examines the results of Monday's Likud primary and the options still available for Netanyahu to parachute a few of his own selected candidates to high slots on the party's final Knesset slate. He also updates us on the emergence of yet another small party, and a renewed alliance between three established ones.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
‘Don’t’: Netanyahu says he warned Turkey before Israel struck Syrian base
PM, Kushner clashed over continued Israeli strikes on Oct. 7 terrorists — officials
Hamas must be drained of its money as well as its weapons
Arab-majority Hadash, Ta’al and Balad parties agree on joint run after striking deal
Hawkish ex-general Ofer Winter expected to launch new party next week, shaking up the right
Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz appears on Daily Briefing podcast with host Jessica Steinberg (Flash 90)
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.
Culture editor Jessica Steinberg joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Former hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen took to the stage last week to sing nine songs he composed in his head during 498 days of Hamas captivity in Gaza. Steinberg was there and sets the scene ahead of a broader discussion on what other creative efforts are produced by former hostages, now thrust into a strange celebrity status.
Director Avi Nesher’s latest film, “Our Loves,” will be screened at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, featured in the Centrepiece program that highlights feature films from established directors. This piece of news, once unsurprising, is noteworthy during a de facto boycott of most Israeli artists around the world. Steinberg takes us into how some filmmakers and musicians, including Noga Erez, are handling this boycott.
To close the program, we hear about other new films on the horizon that cover the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught on southern Israel -- and its aftermath -- from several different angles.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Former hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen returns home to perform songs he composed in Hamas captivity
Avi Nesher’s Oct. 7 retelling, ‘Our Loves,’ to screen at Toronto Film Festival
Noga Erez and Ori Rousso share intimate details in new documentary ‘Noga’
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.
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner met with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday before meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday. We discuss the normalization of the US conducting direct talks with Hamas and a potential new way forward being floated by the Board of Peace.
As the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran has run out, in a wide-ranging phone interview with Fox News, US President Donald Trump said he had “no time schedule” for the conflict. Magid also delves into the visible mixed messaging between the president and Vice President J.D. Vance over the war's goals.
And finally, we turn to the ongoing saga taking place at the Palestinian village of Qusra, near Nablus. International media attention has been spotlighting the location for over a week after settlers began surrounding several new houses built on its outskirts, trapping residents inside in an apparent effort to force them out. The IDF’s actions — and inactions — have generated condemnation around the world.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Kushner meets Hamas chief in Egypt in push for Gaza disarmament; IDF continues strikes
Meeting with Kushner, PM doubles down on IDF remaining in Gaza until Hamas disarmed
Amid Israeli pushback, source reveals Board of Peace weighing new disarmament framework
Trump threatens to bomb Oman over its deal with Iran on Hormuz, as 60-day MOU expires
Palestinian-American raises US flag upon return to Qusra home besieged by settlers
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.
US reporter Luke Tress joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
A man disrupted Shabbat services and attacked a guard and a congregant at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Friday night. The violent disturbance comes days after rabbis from a swath of Jewish denominations met with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, warning him that his repeated broadsides against the Jewish state were harmful to the Jewish community. Tress weighs in, explaining that Jews were targeted in 70% of all hate crimes in New York City in July.
On Thursday, Tress attended part of a course that Israeli first responders from Magen David Adom (MDA) taught to members of the US-based volunteer synagogue security group, the Community Security Service (CSS) to train them how to respond in mass casualty events. He reports back about this new, too-realistic threat.
In the second half of the program, we learn about an in-depth report Tress wrote about three recent federal US terrorism cases that investigated humanitarian crowdfunding campaigns out of, or relating to, Gaza. The cases highlight potential abuse of the loosely regulated platforms and the intersection of terror financing, social media and cryptocurrency.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Assailant disrupts Shabbat service at NYC synagogue, attacks congregant and guard
Jews targeted in 70% of all NYC hate crimes last month, NYPD data shows
Gazan sham charities’ crowdfunding funneled cash to alleged terrorists, US probes show
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.