Day 564 - Politics heat up over Shin Bet chief statement

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

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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.

Political correspondent Sam Sokol and archaeology reporter Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.

Sokol delves into comments made by leaders of the Knesset’s opposition parties, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of placing Israel in existential danger, after Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar alleged that the premier demanded his loyalty. Sokol notes that the opposition is exploring legal avenues against Netanyahu's actions, as political rhetoric in Israel becomes increasingly heated.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made it clear in an interview Monday morning that the hostages are not the priority of the government, which Sokol calls a clarifying statement of the coalition government, bringing tremendous criticism from hostage families and one ultra-Orthodox member of the coalition.

Following the death of Pope Francis, Tercatin shares insights on the Jewish community in Rome, its relationship with the late pope and the community's deep historical connection to the Vatican.

She also reports on archaeological findings related to the production of biblical purple dye, confirming an industrial-scale production of purple dye that took place in the region several thousand years ago.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog for more updates.

For further reading:

Opposition leaders say Netanyahu’s conduct, as described by Bar, endangers Israel

Smotrich slammed for willingness to ‘sacrifice’ hostages

Smotrich says returning hostages ‘not the most important thing,’ sparking fierce backlash

For Rome’s Jews, ties with ailing pope are personal. And increasingly complicated

Made from snails and fit for kings: First biblical-era dye factory found on Israel’s coast

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 and video edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: A protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in support of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, as a protestor carries a sign that says, 'Save the country from itself,' at Habima Square, April 21, 2025 (Photo by Avshalom Sassoni//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 Tuesday, April 22nd, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. I'm speaking today with political correspondent Sam Sokol and archaeology reporter Rosela Turkotin. Hi, good morning to you both. Morning. Good morning, Jessica. Hi there. It is day 564 of the war.
0:23.8	The Israeli delegation in Cairo there for hostage negotiations met with senior Egyptian officials yesterday.
0:30.9	Media outside of Israel is currently reporting a long-term truce proposal.
0:37.0	That would include a ceasefire of five to seven years,
0:40.4	a formal end to the war, and a complete IDF pullout from Gaza, as well as the release of all
0:46.5	Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
0:52.2	Meanwhile, here in Israel, Sinnbet Chief Ronan Bar filed a public statement on
0:57.5	Monday via the state attorney's office. And reacting to that statement, leaders of Knesset's opposition
1:04.3	parties accused Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu of placing Israel in existential danger. Sam will take us through that.
1:12.3	And we'll talk about that as well as comments made by Finance Minister Patelos Motritch
1:17.2	regarding the hostages. With the death of Pope Francis, Rosela will talk to us about Jews in Rome
1:25.3	and the biblical color purple. Stay with us.
1:34.1	Tolkien's trilogy was a perfect book to send to a POW. Very well-defined good and evil,
1:43.1	and it was a great escape from the physical environment that
1:46.9	we were in. It's November 16, 1973, and we're at the military section of the Lode Airport. A red-and-white,
1:54.4	DC-6 passenger plane lands, and out of it comes a stream of young men. Ten men known collectively
2:00.7	as Shvueh Milcham It Atasha,
2:03.8	the POWs of the War of Attrition.
2:06.3	All of them had been held, most of the time together,
2:09.2	in an Egyptian prison for more than three and a half years.
2:12.5	So it was very much a kibbutz.
2:15.7	I want to draw your attention to a small, tattered bag, Menachem Eini is holding.
	...

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