Daily Briefing Dec. 23 – Why are MKs and newsmakers on reality TV?

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.

Reporter Amy Spiro and senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur join host Jessica Steinberg on today’s podcast.

Spiro and Rettig Gur discuss Spiro’s recent piece about the nature of Israeli celebrity as portrayed by local reality TV shows — where well-known political and news figures often appear. Do they do it for the name recognition? Is it a way to let off steam? Or are there just not enough recognizable faces in this small country, forcing producers to include socialist politicians, economic commentators and COVID-19 experts on a recent season of “The Masked Singer.”

Rettig Gur also gives us a heads-up regarding his upcoming piece on the Webb telescope, launching this weekend, and the American Jew and onetime Israeli who helped launch the program at NASA.

Discussed articles include:

‘The Masked Singer’ and the curious nature of celebrity in Israel

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