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.
US forces struck Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Monday as the number of confirmed American military deaths in the renewed fighting rose to three, and concerns grew over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which the Trump administration accused the Islamic Republic of seeking to control “as leverage against the world.”
Yesterday, Israel launched interceptors after fragments from Iranian missiles fired at Jordan’s southern city of Aqaba potentially threatened the nearby city of Eilat. We discuss why the Iranians are trying to keep Israel out of the fray and why US President Donald Trump has not asked the Jewish state to join in the fight.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is in Washington, DC, this week in the first trip to the US capital by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009. Aoun is slated to meet with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. We learn what is on the agenda and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not invited.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US strikes Iran for 9th night, confirms American servicemember killed in Iraq
IDF fires interceptors over Eilat as Iranian missiles target nearby Aqaba in Jordan
At meeting in DC, Rubio lauds Lebanon president’s ongoing push to disarm Hezbollah
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.
Political correspondent Tal Schneider joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
The Knesset voted early Friday morning to disband itself ahead of the October 27 election, heading into a recess after the coalition’s last-ditch blitz succeeded in passing a spate of controversial legislation into law.
Addressing the plenum, Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called the 25th Knesset the “most challenging” in Israeli history, encompassing Israel's longest war and widespread social upheaval.
Schneider takes us back to the beginning of the Knesset session and explains which aspects of the judicial overhaul package have passed -- and what moves the Supreme Court has made to counter some of them.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Knesset officially disperses, after coalition completes its drastic legislative blitz
Coalition passes media overhaul law, giving government greater regulatory control
Coalition’s ‘legislative blitz’ is designed to shore-up, unshackle right-wing power
Coalition passes law gutting attorney general’s powers, removing key check on government
Iran said to tell Hezbollah, allies to prepare for wider conflict, which could rope in Israel
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 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.
With the sudden death of US Sen. Lindsey Graham this week, Rettig Gur is asked to expound on the loss of this staunchly pro-Israel politician who was able to rally both sides of the aisle.
We then turn to the recent visits of two Democratic wannabe presidential candidates -- Rahm Emanuel, most recently the US ambassador to Japan, and US Rep. Ro Khanna.
We hear how both politicians came with distinct messages and very different goals.
And finally, as America turns 250, we learn about Anglo Jewry's inability to foresee the new phenomenon of antisemitism hitting the US's teeming shores. Does the vilification of Israel change their hypothetical plans for escape?
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.
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, Borschel-Dan begins the episode with her impressions of the United States after not having visited for eight years. We hear how American cottage cheese stacks up after all this time.
We devote the rest of the program to "Tuner," the first narrative full-length feature by young Canadian filmmaker Daniel Roher and co-written by Robert Ramsey. Roher's 2022 film "Navalny," about the Russian political prisoner Alexei Navalny, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
But "Tuner" is a huge departure for the 33-year-old filmmaker and Hoffman explains how he manages to punch high while keeping his budget low.
The plot surrounds a young piano tuner played by Leo Woodall who must make a quick buck after his mentor, played by Dustin Hoffman, falls on hard times. Tuner Niki White meets a team of thuggish Israelis, headed by Uri (Lior Raz), who exploit the tuner's highly sensitive hearing for nefarious means.
Let's hear who gave these this film 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 The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.
The ceasefire war between the US and Iran continues to expand.
Instead of making do with a wildly favorable memorandum of understanding signed by US President Donald Trump, Iranian leaders want more -- especially recognition of their control over the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Nicholas Carl, assistant director for the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, said that the current fighting should be understood as the next stage in the US-Iran war -- namely, the Battle of Hormuz.
Carl noted that the US and Israel achieved extensive military success in their campaign against Iran's ballistic missiles, nuclear program, conventional forces, defense industry, and leadership. But that military success has not been translated into enduring strategic success.
"We haven't compelled the Iranians to accept a positive political outcome for us yet," said Carl. "They're still willing to fight."
The Iranians came dangerously close to imposing their will on Trump, and winning the war, he argued, as the president halted the campaign and signed an MOU that came under withering criticism even from his allies.
Iran is now trying to make its victory permanent, said Carl, and is working to press its advantage and end the war with its maximalist demands met.
Iran is seeking to destabilize energy markets sufficiently to convince Trump that ongoing war is too costly, both economically as well as politically, and that he should accept a permanent agreement that is even more advantageous to Iran.
If the war ends with Iran receiving significant financial relief and in formal control of Hormuz, he said, it will have won the war.
That would certainly contribute to regime stability, but it is impossible to predict how long it will last. Something must give, argued Carl -- either the regime or the people.
The regime might fall under ongoing cycles of mass protest. But it could also become even more repressive, turning into a Middle Eastern North Korea.
Alternatively, it might fracture into ethnic enclaves, much like Syria.
Carl said the reported Mossad plan to install former Iranian president Ahmadinejad as the leader of a new Iran is a bit far-fetched in terms of its chances for success.
On the US-Israel partnership, there are certainly new forces in American politics challenging the relationship, but both countries must recognize that they're stronger together against actors like Iran.
In the meantime, he said, the war between the US and Iran "is going to keep on going until one side has outlasted the other."
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.