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.

Legal reporter Jeremy Sharon and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Last night, some 150 right-wing activists rally outside the Tel Aviv home of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to demand her ouster. These protesters arrived after roughly twice as many people began protesting in support of the attorney general. Baharav-Miara has frequently clashed with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, and disagreements have increased amid ongoing investigations into the premier’s staff. Sharon explains what the most recent controversies include.

Surkes returned earlier this week from Baku, Azerbaijan, where she attended a large chunk of the annual United Nations COP (Conference of the Parties) confab — better known as COP29. It kicked off on November 11 and will end on Friday. We discuss what the conference is meant to accomplish versus the cognitive dissonance she found on the ground.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Ministers rage at ‘anarchist’ AG, with one implying she’s trying to ‘kill’ Netanyahu

Cabinet okays forced retirement for government legal advisers, ignoring AG criticism

Labor minister agrees to court-proposed compromise on Haredi daycare subsidies

At the third UN climate confab to be held in a petrostate, fact and fantasy collide

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Activists participate in a demonstration for transforming food systems at the COP29 UN Climate Summit, November 19, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The UN Security Council is slated to vote on a resolution demanding “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza. This time, there is also the demand for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” Rettig Gur weighs in on what the chances are of its passage — and whether it is of any significance.

After a meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, Special Envoy Amos Hochstein said, “I came back [to Lebanon] because we have a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end,” adding that gaps between the sides had been “significantly narrowed” in the talks Tuesday. Berri said the “situation is good in principle,” though some unresolved technical details remain. Why aren't we hearing such optimism from Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited an Israeli military position in the Gaza Strip and reiterated an offer to lavishly pay Gazans who turn over Israeli hostages, upping the reward to $5 million for each captive, after previously suggesting Israel would pay “several million” for their recovery. Rettig Gur dives into what else the premier was setting out to accomplish.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

UNSC to vote on resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire, freeing of hostages

US envoy says Lebanon ceasefire ‘within grasp’ as soldier killed in drone strike

Touring Gaza, PM vows Hamas won’t return to power, offers $5 million for hostages

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

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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.

Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Horovitz reviews Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's critical comments about US President Joe Biden that he made during a Knesset speech on Monday. The prime minister sometimes strayed from his prepared remarks and commented more widely on Israel's retaliative attacks against Iran and the ongoing war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He also discusses Netanyahu's remarks about the leaks from his office over the course of the last year of the war and refers to the prime minister's fury over being probed for illegal activities.

Finally, Horovitz talks about Netanyahu's comments regarding the remaining hostages and the fraught aspects of the internal negotiations, on a day when hostage family members and supporters were kicked out of the Knesset gallery.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Lebanese official says Hezbollah agrees to US ceasefire proposal with ‘comments’

Netanyahu says Biden’s counsel throughout the war was repeatedly off-mark

Eli Feldstein, Netanyahu aide jailed in leaks case, placed under suicide watch

Hostage families barred from showing videos of loved ones in Knesset committee meeting

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Hostage families hold up photos of their loved ones in the gallery of the Knesset on November 18, 2024. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)

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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.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US envoy Amos Hochstein will travel to the Lebanese capital Beirut tomorrow for talks on a ceasefire between the Hezbollah terror group and Israel. We’ll hear Berman's assessment of the chances of success in these talks.

Last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted an emergency meeting on efforts to free hostages held in Gaza with a select group of ministers and the top security brass, who had reportedly planned to tell the forum that agreeing to end the war with Hamas was the only way to reach a deal to free the captives. Berman describes a few "wild card" ideas that could potentially force some movement in the negotiations.

Even as senior members of Hamas’s leadership abroad left Qatar last week for Turkey, President Isaac Herzog reportedly canceled his planned visit to the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, because Turkey refused to allow the Israeli state airplane, Wing of Zion, to fly though its airspace. We speak about how unusual it is for Turkey to deny passage to a figure of Herzog's stature.

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year. It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. How seriously should Israel take these comments in light of the some 1.3 billion baptized Catholics around the world?

Senator John Thune said Sunday that the US must pass legislation threatening the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it seeks arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other Israeli officials, noting that the House has already passed sanctions legislation on a bipartisan basis. With the clock ticking at the ICC, could these efforts have an effect?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Hezbollah media chief killed in IDF strike on central Beirut

Stance on ending war must soften for hostage deal, security chiefs said to tell PM

Hamas officials booted by Qatar last week, now hosted in Turkey, diplomat says

Herzog canceled trip to climate confab because Turkey barred him from airspace — report

Pope calls for probe into whether Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Incoming Senate majority leader threatens ICC with sanctions over case against Israelis

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, November 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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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.

Military reporter Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

A barrage of some 20 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee and Haifa Bay area just ahead of this conversation. Yesterday also saw some 80 rockets fired at the same areas. At the same time, the IDF has reportedly removed roadblocks on the northern border which were to prevent civilians from driving on roads that were exposed to anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon. Is this a sign that northern residents may soon return home?

This morning, the IDF has issued additional evacuation orders for four more buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs ahead of a second wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah assets. We hear what is happening with this increased daytime strikes and learn about how Hezbollah fights differently from Hamas on the ground.

In recent weeks, the turnout rate in the reservist units currently fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip has varied between 75% and 85%, according to defense sources. But today, some 7,000 enlistment orders to ultra-Orthodox Israelis will begin to be delivered and, as Fabian reported last week, we’ve already seen some signs that this year already represents a larger turnout than years past. Fabian weighs in.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

IDF said to remove roadblocks near northern border ahead of possible return of displaced residents

Soldier killed in Lebanon as IDF pounds Hezbollah; rocket hits Haifa synagogue

Reservist killed in northern Gaza Strip; hostage holders said incommunicado

Sharp drop seen in reservist response rate due to burnout amid long war

Angering coalition ally, new Defense Minister Katz okays 7,000 more Haredi draft orders

IDF sees increase in draft of Haredi troops, but is still far off from goals

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Damage caused to vehicles and buildings from a missile fired from Lebanon on November 16, 2024, in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, photographed on November 17, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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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.

Today, we bring you a special conversation held this week between three women bearing the name Rachel in honor of the traditional annual observance of the death of the biblical Rachel: ToI blogger Rachel Sharansky Danziger, war widow Rachel Goldberg and bereaved mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

Rachel Goldberg and Rachel Goldberg-Polin share a name, a neighborhood, and a history. Rachel Goldberg’s father was Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s teacher at one time, and her husband, Rav Avi Goldberg, taught Rachel’s son Hersh. Tragically, they now share the intolerable pain of loss.

Rachel’s son, Hersh Goldberg Polin, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival. Rachel and her husband Jon advocated relentlessly for his release and continue to ask the world to push for the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza. Hersh was murdered in Gaza in late August with five other hostages. Rachel’s husband, Rav Avi Goldberg, served in the reserves for over 250 days since October 7, before falling in battle in Lebanon three weeks ago.

As part of the ongoing efforts to continue Rav Avi’s legacy and efforts (including his dream of building a shul for his community, Beorcha), Rabbi David Ansbacher, Rav Avi’s brother-in-law, invited Rachel and Rachel to come together in honor of the anniversary of the death of Rachel the matriarch and share their experiences and insights.

This conversation was facilitated by a third Rachel – Beorcha member and Times of Israel blogger Rachel Sharansky Danziger. The conversation, titled "Rachel weeping for her children," is available on video online and is now generously shared by Beorcha here in podcast form.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Rachel Goldberg-Polin -- Limping toward the light: A letter from me in this moment

Rachel Sharansky Danziger -- Rabbi Avi Goldberg: A man who lit up the world

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

Image: L-R: Bereaved mother Rachel Goldberg Polin and war widow Rachel Goldberg. (Youtube screenshot)

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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.

Arab affairs correspondent Gianluca Pacchiani and reporter Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Pacchiani offers a brief update regarding the latest in the US-brokered ceasefire proposal to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as Bletter speaks about the randomness of rockets that kill and cause damage in the north, including Jewish and Arab towns and villages.

Pacchiani discusses the latest lineup of Hamas leadership in Gaza, with most of the leaders located out of the country and one possibly still in Gaza, and how they control the ongoing war from afar.

He also looks at reactions from European leaders regarding Palestinian educational textbooks that radicalize younger generations.

Finally, Bletter talks about scientific research from Tel Aviv University that could help in fighting cancerous tumors.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Though ham-handed, report on Gazan anger at Hamas appears to reflect waning support

As calls to deradicalize Palestinian textbooks get louder, some urge a broader focus

‘History repeats itself’ as South Lebanon Army veteran, Israeli killed side-by-side

In Arab town where 2 were killed by Hezbollah rockets, leaders demand shelters

Annual festival includes an oud ode to a Jewish Tunisian diva

Israeli researchers identify protein that stops immune cells from attacking tumors

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: In Kiryat Ata, northern Israel, where a missile fired from Lebanon hit and caused damage on November 11, 2024 (Photo by Flash90)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Six Israeli soldiers were killed in a clash with Hezbollah forces, the IDF announced Wednesday, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into southern Lebanon amid an intensification of violence, even as officials expressed cautious optimism on ceasefire talks. It was one of the heaviest single-day losses in the operation that began in late September against Hezbollah. Horovitz updates on efforts to reach a ceasefire in the north and the key player not included in the talks.

Tzachi Braverman, who serves as chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is being questioned under caution today by the police’s Lahav 443 serious crimes unit. We hear more about the two -- or three -- issues under investigation with links to the Prime Minister's Office.

Authorities in Paris announced that more than 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff would be deployed for the game and only French and Israeli flags will be allowed inside the stadium. Horovitz weighs in to why accusations that what happened in Amsterdam was mere soccer hooliganism just missed the mark.

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem District Court rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a 10-week delay to the start of his testimony in his criminal trial, saying that he already had five months to prepare.

And finally, we discuss Israeli media's complicated relationship with the military censor and the censor's sometimes baffling rulings.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

6 Israeli soldiers killed in fighting with Hezbollah as IDF pushes deeper into Lebanon

Court extends by one day remand of key suspect in PMO secret documents leak case

Paris protesters target pro-Israel, far-right linked gala ahead of tense soccer match

Court rejects Netanyahu’s request to delay testimony in criminal trial

The ultra-divisive Netanyahu and the consequences for an Israel fighting for survival

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A man flashes a portrait of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in front of the rubble of a building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

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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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel acknowledged during a press briefing on Tuesday that Israel implemented some — but not all — of the steps demanded by the US in an October 13 letter giving Jerusalem a month to act or risk being deemed out of compliance with US law, which bars offensive weapons from being transferred to countries that block aid from reaching civilians. We hear what Israel did accomplish and why the US may have overlooked some shortcomings.

In a flurry of announcements, President-elect Donald Trump said he had chosen former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. We hear what Rettig Gur sees taking shape in terms of Trump's predicted approach to Israel.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich paid a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the Israeli communities hit the worst in Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, and met families of local hostages as well as former captives. It is Smotrich’s first visit to Nir Oz, more than 13 months after Palestinian terrorists rampaged there, killing or kidnapping 117 out of its 400 residents. There are still 29 hostages from Nir Oz held captive in Gaza. Why now?

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

US says it won’t withhold weapons to Israel, as deadline to address aid crisis passes

Trump taps Fox News host who said US must ‘stand by strong ally’ Israel to head Pentagon

US slams Smotrich’s vow to annex parts of West Bank following Trump’s win

In first, Smotrich visits Oct. 7-ravaged Nir Oz, says he feels ‘responsibility, guilt’

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A handout picture released by the official Jordanian news agency Petra shows an airdrop of humanitarian and relief aid to the southern Gaza Strip carried out by members of the Jordanian army on November 12, 2024. (PETRA News Agency / AFP)

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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.

Magid looks at why it was announced following the US election that Qatar is leaving its negotiating role in the Israel-Hamas hostage talks, the back-and-forth of its decision-making process and whether the US or Qatar were making this decision.

Magid discusses the positive report from a phone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the help Trump has received from his daughter's father-in-law, Lebanese billionaire, Massad Boulos, with regard to Arab voters in the US.

Magid looks at recent messaging from Trump aides warning giddy right-wing Israeli ministers that their hopes to annex West Bank settlements during a Trump administration would only be under the right conditions and may never happen.

Magid reviews some of the names bandied about for Trump's cabinet, the battle between the more isolationist members and neo-Conservatives, the ousting of former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who both served during the previous Trump administration.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Diplomat says Qatar quitting Gaza mediation role, Hamas to be booted from country

At US behest, Qatar has ordered Hamas to leave Doha — Biden officials

PA says Trump, in phone call with Abbas, vowed he ‘will work to stop the war’

Ex-Trump aides warn Israeli ministers not to assume he’ll back annexation in 2nd term

IMAGE: An IDF soldier passes by a sign that displays a photo of US President-elect Donald Trump that reads "Congratulations! Trump, make Israel great!" two days after the US election, in Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

President-elect Donald Trump has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants the war in Lebanon to end before his inauguration and has also signaled to the Biden administration that it needs to step up efforts to shut down the Gaza front. How could ceasefire negotiations be affected now that Qatar has stepped away from the negotiator role?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump see “eye-to-eye” on the Iranian threat, the premier said in a video statement on Sunday, also revealing that he and Trump had spoken three times since the latter’s American presidential election triumph last week. Berman weighs in.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer secretly visited Russia last week, Army Radio reported Sunday, in what appeared to be part of Israel’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon where it is battling the terror group Hezbollah. Why Russia?

Dutch police arrested dozens of anti-Israel demonstrators on Sunday, after they defied a temporary ban on protests, imposed after mass violence against Israeli tourists following a Thursday night soccer game in Amsterdam. On Thursday, Israeli officials said 10 people were injured in the overnight violence by local Arab and Muslim gangs against Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans. Hundreds more Israelis huddled in their hotels for hours, fearing they could be attacked. Berman describes what he sees is Israel's responsibility in such situations.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Discussed articles include:

Diplomat says Qatar quitting Gaza mediation role, Hamas to be booted from country

Trump looms over Saudi-hosted meeting of Arab, Muslim leaders on Mideast war

Netanyahu says he and Trump see ‘eye to eye’ on Iran after holding 3 calls within days

Top Netanyahu confidant visited Russia last week amid Lebanon ceasefire efforts — report

Dutch police arrest dozens who defy protest ban after antisemitic riots in Amsterdam

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon in this picture released for publication on November 11, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

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