Fateful day at Knesset as judicial overhaul set for 1st vote

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. Editor David Horovitz and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Potentially tens of thousands of Israelis are converging on Jerusalem for another mass demonstration outside the Knesset today. Some protestors have taken the step of blocking main roads and select MKs' homes to prevent them from voting on the pivotal legislation. We hear whether Horovitz thinks this a legit form of protest. Yesterday, President Isaac Herzog said he believed a compromise agreement for judicial reform based on the five-step proposals he made last Sunday could be achieved in a matter of days. Realistic? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to narrow her interpretation of his conflict of interest clause -- which lets him be prime minister during his active trials -- and allowed to directly deal with the judicial overhaul. Horovitz explains why this would be a severe conflict of interest. Surkes explains how the Knesset chaos has led to a power struggle over who gets to control Israel’s garbage between the Interior and Environment Ministries. Also in the halls of the parliament, a new infrastructure bill has activists stating it is “a declaration of war on environmental and climate governance in Israel.” What is so objectionable? Finally, Surkes tells us about Grace Breeding’s NFT Bio-Fertilizer that seeks to boost crop yields sustainably and strengthen the resilience of plants to climate change. Discussed articles include: Protesters block homes of MKs as mass protests set to descend on Jerusalem Herzog says compromise over judicial overhaul program achievable ‘within days’ Netanyahu said to ask AG to narrow conflict of interest deal on judicial legislation Environment group: Bill to limit objections to public works a ‘war declaration’ Israeli company touts nature-based alternative to toxic fertilizers for crops Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. IMAGE: Women protest against the government's planned judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv on February 20, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)See omny.fm/listener for privacy information.