Day 822 - Media decry digitally altered official photos of PM's wife
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
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 reporter Ariela Karmel and religion and archaeology correspondent Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
As the Prime Minister's Office comes under fire for releasing official photos in which images of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, have been heavily retouched, Karmel discusses the distortion of the historical record and possible breach of important ethical guidelines, and the involvement of the Government Press Office, which is seeking to resolve the issue.
A new version of a bill whose purpose is to extend Israeli authority over antiquities and heritage sites in the West Bank, and aims to include Areas A and B — where the Palestinian Authority has civilian control — has the local archaeology world in an uproar, reports Tercatin. The bill aims to extend the powers of the Israel Antiquities Authority, while some archaeologists say the bill would politicize archaeology and create professional problems for them globally.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Sara Netanyahu touches up official photos of herself, distorting archival record
New West Bank antiquity bill seeks to extend Israeli authority over Areas A and B
Archaeologists dig in against antiquities bill aiming to deepen Israel’s hold on West Bank
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IMAGE: An image distributed by the Prime Minister's Office and apparently manipulated by Sara Netanyahu, showing her, center, and Benjamin Netanyahu at the Shul of Bal Harbour, Florida, on December 31, 2025. (Amos Ben-Gershom / GPO / Sara Netanyahu)
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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, January 5th, and I'm Jessica Steinberg. |
| 0:09.3 | I'm speaking today with political reporter Aurella Carmel and archaeology reporter Rosela Turcateen. |
| 0:15.3 | Hi, Ariela. We're starting with you this morning. Hi, Jessica. Hi there. It is day 822 of the war. Just to give a brief |
| 0:24.9 | round up of the headlines this morning, the fifth round of talks between Israel and Syria |
| 0:29.1 | will reportedly start today in Paris. Those are the first meetings in some two months |
| 0:34.4 | after progress toward a security arrangement between the two countries stalled. |
| 0:38.9 | The talks were one of the topics, one of the several topics discussed between |
| 0:42.6 | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump last week in Mar-a-Lago and Florida. |
| 0:49.3 | The two leaders also appear aligned on their Iran messaging that came out yesterday as a second week of |
| 0:56.4 | demonstrations began in Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the Iranian |
| 1:01.6 | people could be or perhaps are taking their fate into their own hands. Meanwhile, President |
| 1:08.2 | Trump warned that Iran could get hit very hard if more protesters die. |
| 1:13.5 | Reports are that some 16 protesters have been killed in the protest in Iran. |
| 1:18.9 | The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party threatened the stability of the coalition government yesterday, |
| 1:24.3 | saying it would not vote for the 2026 state budget without the prior passage of the |
| 1:29.1 | coalition's bill regulating Haredi conscription and exemptions. We will talk about some politics |
| 1:36.0 | with Ariela, but the latest issue out of the prime minister's office, which has to do with |
| 1:41.4 | photos being touched up with AI. Ariela will take us through that. |
| 1:45.6 | And when Rossella joins us later, |
| 1:48.0 | she will take us through the latest version of another government bill, |
| 1:51.5 | whose purpose is to extend Israeli authority over antiquities and heritage sites in the West Bank. |
| 1:58.5 | So stay with us. We'll be back in a moment. |
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