Day 521 - Israeli banks gain in war, El Al's competition on NY route

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

News

4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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.

Tech Israel editor Sharon Wrobel and health editor Diana Bletter join host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing.

As Israel's two largest banks, Bank Hapoalim and Discount Bank, posted massive financial gains for 2023, Wrobel discusses how Israel's banks achieved increases during months of war. She notes that Israelis may have ignored banking issues and statements while serving prolonged reserve duty and dealing with more heightened personal issues during the height of the war.

Bletter delves into her investigative piece of the allegations pointed at Israel, regarding whether IDF troops targeted Gazan children during the war. She looks in particular at the allegations made in two essays printed in The New York Times and The Guardian, discussing her interview with an American urban warfare expert, the lack of forensic evidence and the long history of Hamas of exploiting and harming minors and adult civilians to advance its political goals.

As Israir becomes the third Israeli airline to join the Tel Aviv-New York route, offering more competition to carriers El Al and Arkia, Wrobel discusses what it will take for Israir to gain customers, as travelers seek better deals. Wrobel also talks about Israelis booking cruises, as they seek some relief from war and October 7 trauma, and a secure vacation given anti-Israel sentiment worldwide and the high prices of airline tickets.

With thousands of residents of the Western Galilee heading home last week, Bletter visited Arab al-Aramshe — the only non-Jewish community evacuated in Israel for the war, a Bedouin village whose residents were holed up in hotels and other communities for the last months.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Israeli banks rake in record profits as their war-battered customers drown in debt

After doctors accuse Israel of shooting Gazan kids, experts see need for a second opinion

Israir set to become third Israeli carrier serving New York route, with lower airfare

As war brings spikes in airfare and antisemitism, cruise ships see a new wave of Israelis

Bedouin and Jewish residents who evacuated from north return home to mourn and rebuild

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: Illustrative: Parked airplanes belonging to Israir and El Al at the Ben Gurion International Airport, August 8, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It is Monday, March 10th, and I'm Jessica Steinberg.
0:08.5	I'm speaking today with tech editor Sharon Roble and health editor and reporter Diana Bleder. Hi, good
0:14.1	morning to you both. Good morning. Hi there. It is day 521 of the war. As Israeli negotiators head to Qatar for the latest hostage deal and ceasefire talks, U.S. envoy, Trump envoy, Adam Boller, appeared in several Israeli interviews last night, defending his direct talks with Hamas and commenting that the U.S. is not, quote, an agent of
0:40.3	Israel, unquote. Meanwhile, the U.S. Hamas talks appear to be focused on the last living American
0:46.9	hostage, Idan Alexander, the American born and raised lone soldier with Israeli parents
0:53.7	and lots of family here in Israel.
0:56.1	We'll look at some other headlines this morning, including the latest figures from Israel's
0:59.7	two largest banks, the causes of Gaza civilians who have been killed in the crossfire in the
1:07.2	ongoing war in Gaza, as well as the third Israeli airline to offer nonstop flights
1:14.2	between Tel Aviv and New York and Israelis turning to cruises as flight prices have gone up.
1:20.5	And finally, Diana's trip into Arab al-Ramshah, the only non-Jewish community that was evacuated in Israel for the
1:28.8	16 months of the war. We'll talk about all of that in just a moment.
1:36.6	You know, a lot of people stopped following the news lately because it's just so serious and
1:40.6	worrying. Is that everyone or just you, Mr. Anxiety? Might just be me.
1:45.9	There is a way to get the news without needing...
1:49.0	What, Prozac?
1:50.2	Prozac. Who uses Prozac?
1:52.0	Lexa Proloff, the Fexer. I've tried all of them.
1:55.5	There is a way to actually get your news and enjoy it at the same time and maybe even get
2:00.0	some laughs.
2:01.1	We cover all the major news with an emphasis on how it affects Jews and Israel.
2:05.0	And we guarantee that the only heartburn you're going to have is from the homos.
	...

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