Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleWelcome 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.
Political reporter Ariela Karmel and religion and archaeology correspondent Rossella Tercatin join host Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
At the start of the Knesset’s winter session, says Karmel, the Knesset State Control Committee voted down a proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, to the dismay, anger, and tears of the bereaved families present, who expected it could be established now that the last 20 living hostages have been released from Gaza.
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She also describes how the cabinet voted to rename the war against Hamas the War of Revival, a proposal floated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over a year with much opposition, due to the failures that enabled the attack that led to the war.
A new bill advanced by coalition lawmakers calls for several religious practices to be enshrined in public spaces, Karmel reports, including requiring mezuzahs to be hung in public institutions and allowing public prayer according to the practices of the worshiper (including gender separation) — both major battleground issues between secular and religious communities.
Tercatin discusses how Israelis have changed religiously and spiritually since October 7 and the ensuing war, and whether those changes are more prevalent among those who were already religiously faithful beforehand.
She also talks about an unusual archaeological find near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — an Assyrian inscription with wording that appears to echo an episode described in the Bible.
Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Knesset panel rejects proposal to establish October 7 state commission of inquiry
‘War of Revival’: Cabinet approves Netanyahu’s controversial renaming of Gaza war
Coalition advances bill mandating mezuzahs, allowing Orthodox rituals in public spaces
What hath God wrought? After Oct. 7, many Israelis respond with turn to spirituality
Biblical tax notice: 1st-ever Assyrian inscription found near Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
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