Daily Briefing Sept 29: Solomon's mines ruin environment and the fate of a rebel MK

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.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan.

Yesterday we heard the news that the Central Elections Committee had disqualified former lawmaker and Yamina rebel Amichai Chikli from running on Likud’s candidate slate in the upcoming election. At the same time, fellow former Yamina MK Idit Silman is able to retain her spot. What’s going on here?

There are also petitions to disqualify two Arab parties from the upcoming elections: Islamist Ra’am and nationalist Balad. What are the chances they will be barred?

New research suggests that the extensive use of Arava desert vegetation to fuel the famous King Solomon’s copper mines at Timna caused both the industry and the local environment, to eventually collapse. Surkes fills us in.

According to Israeli research, planting forests in drylands all over the world is unlikely to help in the fight against global warming and climate change. How does this affect Israeli reforestation?

Just four months after arriving in Israel, former Greenpeace Russia media director Violetta Ryabko has penned a brochure for Israelis on ways to reduce plastic waste over the High Holidays. We hear some of her tips.