Daily Briefing May 18: The Jerusalem Day Flag March -- celebration or provocation?

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.

Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur and health reporter Renee Ghert-Zand join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today’s episode.

The Flag March commemorating the unification of Jerusalem in 1967 is set to take place this afternoon, with tens of thousands of mostly right-wing youth parading through Jerusalem’s Old City. Rettig Gur gives background and perspective to the flashpoint march.

We speak about new ultra-Orthodox demands regarding the budget ahead of the May 29 deadline, as well as blowback from secular Israel.

Ghert-Zand brings us news that proton therapy for cancer treatment has arrived in Israel. What is this therapy and what are its advantages?

She also discusses new Israeli research that combines molecular and computational neuroscience has uncovered a molecular basis for why women living with Alzheimer’s disease experience more rapid cognitive deterioration than men.

We close the program by hearing about American-Israeli filmmaker Laura Bialis’s new film “Vishniac,” which explores photographer Roman Vishniac’s life from the perspective of his daughter Mara Vishniac Kohn.

Discussed articles include:

Tensions ahead of contentious Flag March through Jerusalem Old City’s Muslim Quarter

Haredi faction threatens to oppose state budget if NIS 600 million demand not met

Thousands march through Bnei Brak against Haredi ‘pillaging of the public coffers’

Proton therapy, touted as cancer killer without side effects, set for Israel debut

Israeli study reveals molecular basis for female Alzheimer’s patients’ rapid decline

Daughter helps turn lens on pioneering photographer father Roman Vishniac in new film

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