Mediterranean meltdown: Energy policy in hot water
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2026
⏱️ 25 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.
Environmental reporter Sue Surkes joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode.
We open the episode with a recent annual national monitoring report, carried out on behalf of the Energy and Environmental Protection ministries, on the state of the Mediterranean Sea. Surkes describes how the sea is growing saltier, warmer and more polluted, and why it has become a home to invasive tropical fish. We discuss what that means for beachgoers and fish eaters as we head into the summer season.
We then move on to the latest updates in an unusual court case: The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday ordered the Interior Ministry to grant temporary Israeli status to a Syrian-born woman, the wife of a disabled IDF veteran, who converted to Judaism. The Syrian Alawite woman and her husband have faced a series of legal hurdles as they seek to build a life together in Israel. We hear about their saga.
In the second half of the program, Surkes walks through her recent op-ed on Israeli energy policy, which she describes as a growing security risk.
We end off the program with an account of her recent visit to the orangutans at the Jerusalem Zoo, who, 10 days ago, welcomed a new baby to their troop. This is not the first orangutan to be born in Israel, but it’s the first at the biblical zoo, and an important addition to the world’s shrinking orangutan population.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
The Mediterranean: Warmer, saltier, more acidic, and rising fast — report
After years in limbo, court lets Syrian convert live in Israel with husband, a disabled vet
True independence must include the air we breathe
Great excitement as first orangutan is born at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing. |
| 0:07.0 | It is Friday, May 1st, and I am your host, Gabriella Jacobs, here from our Jerusalem studio |
| 0:13.2 | with environmental reporter Sue Sirks. |
| 0:15.4 | Welcome, Sue. |
| 0:16.4 | Thank you. |
| 0:17.2 | Today we are going to be discussing a recent report about the dire situation in the Mediterranean Sea. |
| 0:23.1 | We are going to talk about a recent court case regarding a Syrian-Aloite woman and an injured IDF veteran who got married and would like to live in Israel. |
| 0:33.1 | And we are going to be discussing your recent op-ed, Sue, about how clean energy is vital to Israel's |
| 0:39.6 | continued security. All that and more after the break. |
| 0:49.2 | When were the two of you the closest? |
| 0:51.2 | If you asked her, she was very young. |
| 0:55.0 | Before she could talk. |
| 0:57.2 | The slightly bossy, big sister there is my mother. |
| 1:01.3 | And sitting right beside her. |
| 1:03.5 | I'm Carol's sister, Mitch's aunt from New York. |
| 1:07.1 | Despite their occasional visits, phone calls, and birthday cards, the number of days we've spent |
| 1:12.0 | together can probably be counted on two hands. |
| 1:14.9 | Is it keeping the house clean? |
| 1:15.9 | I'm trying. |
| 1:17.5 | Until now. |
| 1:18.4 | And now we're kind of stranded here. |
| 1:20.4 | Until this war. |
... |
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