Day 811 - Initial vote on controversial Oct. 7 probe bill in Knesset sparks anger
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 December 2025
⏱️ 28 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 reporters Ariela Karmel and Sam Sokol join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
After lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of a preliminary reading of a highly controversial bill to establish a politically appointed probe into the October 7, 2023, failures, rather than a state commission of inquiry, Sokol discusses the bill, created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political allies to satisfy critics demanding an investigative commission but with membership that the governing coalition can control.
Another one of Netanyahu's allies, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, infuriated the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition, reports Karmel, when he voted in favor of a civil marriage bill, further destabilizing the already shaky coalition.
Karmel also discusses statements made by Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, one of the first members of the prime minister's coalition to comment on the explosive allegations against Netanyahu in the Qatargate affair, in a major departure from the usual rhetoric of the Netanyahu government.
Sokol wraps up the podcast with a report about a gathering of the English-speaking Haredi community in Ramat Beit Shemesh, as they attended an event run by leading rabbis about dodging the IDF draft.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Contentious law for politically appointed Oct. 7 probe passes preliminary Knesset reading
Knesset Speaker Ohana votes for civil marriage bill, enraging ultra-Orthodox parties
Chikli backs probe of Qatargate allegations, in first such comment from a minister
Haredi rabbis push English-speakers to dodge IDF draft, worried they might join up
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IMAGE: Bereaved October 7, 2023 families during a plenum session at the Knesset on December 24, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, welcome to the Times of Israel's Daily Briefing. It's Thursday, December 25th, and I'm Jessica |
| 0:08.3 | Steinberg. I'm speaking today with political reporters Sam Sokol and Ariela Carmel. Hello, |
| 0:14.2 | good morning to you both. Morning. Hi, Jessica. Hi there. It is day 811 of the war. We will be covering different aspects of the Knesset today, |
| 0:24.7 | mostly things that happened literally in the last 24 hours. We'll start with yesterday's vote |
| 0:31.2 | in favor of the highly controversial bill to establish a politically appointed probe into the October 7, 23 failures, |
| 0:39.5 | rather than a state commission of inquiry. Sam will take us through that. |
| 0:44.2 | Ariela will also talk us through Diaspora Affairs Minister Abichikli's comments statements yesterday |
| 0:50.9 | regarding the Qatar Gate affair, as well as a vote from the coalition's |
| 0:56.5 | Knesset Speaker Amir O'Hanna in favor of a civil marriage bill. And Sam finally will talk us |
| 1:02.8 | through an event, an anti-Garady draft event in the very Anglo-Saxon community in Ramaph Bechamish. So stay with us for all of that. |
| 1:14.3 | We'll be back in a moment. |
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