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.
It is day 199 of the war with Hamas. Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Following days of unrest and anti-Israel action at Columbia University in New York City, the university’s Orthodox rabbi sent a message to Jewish students urging them to stay away from campus until it is deemed safe again. The situation has spiraled so out of control that President Isaac Herzog and President Joe Biden are publicly denouncing the situation. Berman weighs in.
Two US sources told The Times of Israel yesterday that in addition to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion -- which the Biden administration is reportedly slated to sanction this week -- Washington is reportedly considering sanctions against other Israeli military and police units alleged to have committed human rights violations against Palestinians. Berman explains the 1997 Leahy law that is being enacted and how it was applied in the past on other countries' militaries.
In a pre-Passover video, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would “land additional and painful blows” on Hamas over the holiday to increase pressure on the terror group to free the hostages it has held in the Gaza Strip for over six months. Berman explores what is missing today versus in November when the sides successfully freed over 100 hostages. What would it take for Sinwar to unharden his heart and let our people go?
For the latest updates, please see The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.
Discussed articles include:
Biden blasts ‘alarming surge of antisemitism’ amid anti-Israel protests at Columbia
Columbia rabbi urges Jewish students to stay home until campus deemed safe
US mulling sanctions against other IDF units for alleged rights violations – sources
Netanyahu vows imminent ‘painful blows,’ diplomatic pressure on Hamas to free hostages
THOSE WE HAVE LOST: Civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel
THOSE WE ARE MISSING: The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown
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IMAGE: File - Yahia al-Sinwar, the Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, greets supporters as he arrives to attend a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed / AFP)
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Day 227 - The butcher Raisi is dead. What now for Iran?
Day 226 - Bold IDF op recovers bodies of 4 hostages from Gaza
Day 225 - US explores sanctions for extremists blocking Gaza aid
Day 224: PM crisis looms with post-Gaza plans, Haredi draft
Day 223 - Gallant (again) delivers an explosive speech. Now what?
Day 222 - Gaza heats up as Independence Day marked alternatively
Day 221 - Why a 43-year-old rabbi joined the IDF post-Oct. 7
Day 220 - A day of reckoning as Israel observes Memorial Day
Day 219 - IDF preps more Rafah ops while fighting in Gaza's north
IDF expands Rafah operation, US okay with it so far
Day 217 - Blinken report to exonerate Israel; will US arms follow?
Day 216 - Biden drops bombshell, Hamas’s duplicitous ‘deal’
Day 215 - What is Israelis' top priority: War or hostages?
Day 214 - Has the IDF crossed the Rubicon into Rafah?
Day 213: War at a crossroads as IDF orders partial Rafah evacuation
Day 212 - Oct. 7 victims' graves reopened to ID more burnt corpses
Day 211 - Are US high schools the next Gaza war battleground?
Day 210 - Turkey halts all trade with Israel after 75 years of commerce
Day 209 - Blinken delivers bear hug while warning against Rafah op
Day 208 - Strong political reactions to proposed hostage deal
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