Daily Briefing August 30 — Golan Druze rethink their ties to Syria

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.

Health reporter Diana Bletter joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today’s episode.

WATCH the full episode here:

Following a recent reporting visit to Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, Bletter discusses the significant uptick in Druze applications for Israeli citizenship instead of permanent residency, due to the recent regime change in Syria.

Bletter turns to health issues, including the risks of UV tanning. Bletter reports that the UV index has gone viral on social media in Israel and around the world, used as a guide for when people can achieve the best bronzing.

And a new study conducted by scientists at Weizmann Institute of Science shows that the active ingredient in Viagra disrupts cancer cells’ metastasis, notes Bletter.

Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Courting cancer? Israelis increasingly use viral UV index hack to get ‘instant tan’

In world first, Israeli scientists find active ingredient in Viagra may stop cancer spread

Breakthrough Israeli cancer study finds mutations break DNA when it doesn’t bend

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and edited by Ari Schlacht.

Check out yesterday’s episode here: