Daily Briefing Aug. 16: Tweet leads to UN dismissal; UK soccer adopts survivor story

Welcome to The Times of Israel’s Daily Briefing, your 15-minute audio update on what’s happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, from Sunday through Thursday.

US correspondent Jacob Magid and environmental reporter Sue Surkes join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s podcast.

Magid discusses a tweet written by East Jerusalem-based UN official Sarah Muscroft about indiscriminate Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket fire and the backlash she received as a result.

He also tells us how former Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer is backing his former boss, Benjamin Netanyahu, with regard to a claim in Jared Kushner’s forthcoming book that said the then-prime minister went off-script by announcing plans to immediately annex large parts of the West Bank.

Surkes relates a personal story about her father-in-law, Rolf Friedland, later known as Ralph Freeman, who was saved from Nazi Germany by an English soccer player.

Steinberg notes that the Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball team is now known as Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv, thanks to its new sponsor.

Discussed articles include:

Senior UN official loses her post after tweet condemning PIJ rocket fire at Israel

Backing Netanyahu, Dermer pans Kushner claim ex-PM went rogue with annexation pledge

ToI tale about soccer hero saving German Jew will be studied by Premier League youth

How a Tottenham Hotspur soccer player saved my father-in-law’s life

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Check out yesterday’s Daily Briefing episode: