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.
Political correspondent Sam Sokol joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Following an interim High Court order allowing a larger gathering despite wartime restrictions for Saturday night's antiwar protest in Tel Aviv, Sokol reports on the backlash from the Knesset coalition and religious parties demanding similar treatment for the traditional Passover mass prayers at the Western Wall.
Sokol also discusses the passage of the 2026 budget, the government's largest budget to date, due to increased defense spending and billions of shekels in ultra-Orthodox educational expenditures following an unexpected political maneuver during a long night of voting.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Cops violently disperse protesters at Tel Aviv anti-war rally, after court raised attendance cap
Flouting wartime restrictions, over 1,000 men gather for address by top Haredi rabbi
High Court raises wartime limit on Western Wall, Temple Mount access from 50 to 100
Levin says government should ignore High Court ruling allowing wartime protests
AG halts transfer of budget funds for Haredi institutions after contentious vote
Opposition MKs voted to allocate NIS 800 million for Haredi schools. How did that happen?
Knesset approves 2026 budget, Israel’s largest ever, sending billions to Haredi institutions
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: Israelis attending anti-war protest take shelter in Tel Aviv's Habima parking lot as alert for Iranian missile sounds on April 4, 2026 (Miriam Alster/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.
Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
US intelligence has assessed that around half of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers are still intact despite over a month of US and Israeli bombardment across the country. Fabian explains why this is not the measure to take of the campaign's success.
We learn about the frequency of Iranian missiles shot at Israel and the damage that is being wrought, even as the IDF says it is turning to a new phase in its operations -- Iran's economy.
Turning to Lebanon, Fabian describes the massive build-up of soldiers there, and an operation that saw the death of Sgt. First Class Guy Ludar, 21, and seriously wounded another from the Commando Brigade’s Maglan Unit. We hear what the war goals are for Lebanon, even as leaked statements from a high-ranking IDF officer indicate that it is not a total disarmament of the terrorist organization.
All is somewhat quiet on the Gaza front, says Fabian, even as many soldiers are still stationed there, as well as the West Bank. The issue of a lack of manpower in the IDF was addressed over the holiday weekend with a surprise announcement that reservists will now be required to serve nine weeks instead of six.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US intelligence said to assess around half of Iran’s missile launchers still intact
Iran said restoring bombed missile bunkers within hours after being struck
6 wounded as Iran cluster bombs smash homes in central Israel; IDF hits Iran infrastructure
IDF says soldier killed, another seriously hurt by ‘friendly-fire’ in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah attacks damage homes in north; IDF said to destroy east Lebanon bridge
IDF official says disarming Hezbollah unrealistic, not a goal of Lebanon operation
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.
IMAGE: IDF reservists of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued by the military on April 5, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl.
Buchdahl speaks about being a rabbinic figure and representative of the mainstream American Jewry, particularly while on book tour for her recently published memoir, "Heart of a Stranger, An Unlikely Rabbi's Story of Faith, Identity and Belonging."
Buchdahl weighs in on the current rise in antisemitism entering the workplace and discourse, and how it has made Jewish identity rise to the fore as a kind of primary identity.
Speaking to the Times of Israel right before Passover, Buchdahl discusses the master narrative of Passover and the need to have faith in Jewish continuity and to hold on to resilience and grit in the face of oppression.
Buchdahl speaks about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the conversations she's held with people deeply connected to the mayor about her concerns.
The Central Synagogue rabbi talks about her congregation's Zionism, their reactions after the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, and their deep connections to hostage families over the course of the two years of the war in Gaza.
She also speaks about her own connection to Israel as a second home, even when she takes issue with some of its policies and actions of the government.
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.
IMAGE: The sanctuary of Central Synagogue in Manhattan, New York, photographed in 2010, and where Rabbi Angela Buchdahl is senior rabbi (Courtesy)
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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 US and Israel are trying to drastically weaken Iran, and maybe even bring down the regime, entirely from the air. They are certainly not the first combatants to strive for far-reaching goals through air power.
In fact, countries have tried to win wars from the air for over a century.
Airpower has a tendency to capture the imagination of civilian and military planners, leading them to believe that this time, new technology will give them the edge needed to transform warfare and avoid long, costly ground campaigns.
But strategic air campaigns almost always fall short of their goals. They do not topple regimes, do not cause the public to rise up (and often create solidarity among the enemy public), and achieve results that are anything but decisive.
Airpower certainly has its place, especially in destroying specific targets and supporting ground forces. Israel has taken that further, eliminating layers of Iranian, Hezbollah, and Hamas leadership from the air.
Can the two most capable air forces in the world win the war against Iran from the air? Or will this be the latest case study that shows how difficult it is to achieve strategic goals from the air?
Joined by diplomatic reporter Nava Freiberg, Lazar walks the listener from the 18th century, through the world wars, Vietnam, and Kosovo to explain what air power can accomplish -- and what mistakes overoptimistic planners continue to make.
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.
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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.
Religion and archaeology correspondent Rossella Tercatin joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Tercatin discusses the efforts of Queen Farah Phalavi, the third wife of the former Shah of Iran, who used her art degree and wealth from soaring oil prices before the Islamic revolution, to assemble an art collection of masterpieces for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, now hidden for much of the last 47 years.
She also reports on a new haggadah by Bar-Ilan University biblical scholar Prof. Joshua Berman that examines what the Torah and Haggadah tell us about Egypt and Egyptian culture, and their influence on the story of Passover and the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
One of the most inaccessible art collections in the world awaits liberation in Tehran
How the Exodus story subverts pharaonic texts to mock ancient Egypt
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.
IMAGE: A visitor walks past China's late leader, Mao Zedong painting series by American artist Andy Warhol at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, Iran on October 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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