With Knesset chaos, Israel may lose out on US visa waivers

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. Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman and United States correspondent Jacob Magid join host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's episode. Yesterday, US Ambassador Tom Nides implored Israeli lawmakers to support legislation that is critical for Israel to be able to join the program. Before we talk about recent developments, Magid gives us a little background on why Israel is not in the program already. The Negev Summit this spring brought a whole lot of headlines and some questions about whether the cooperation would continue to move forward. A meeting this week of the newly minted "Negev Forum" is indicating that it will. What is the forum working on? And how is the upcoming visit of US President Joe Biden playing a role? On the heels of potentially neutralized threats of Iranian terror against Israelis in Turkey, yesterday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid brought the travel warning level down significantly. We hear about the significance of the recent cooperation between the two countries as they broker a warmer diplomatic relationship. Discussed articles include: In rare plea, US ambassador urges MKs to back bills needed for Visa Waiver Program US warns Israeli election wrangling will hold up visa exemption program Israel, Arab allies agree to tighten cooperation ahead of Biden visit Israel eases Istanbul travel warning, but says threat remains throughout Turkey TICKETS HERE for the LIVE EVENT: Hi-tech archaeology reveals secrets of ancient Jerusalem’s destructions Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on iTunes, Spotify, PlayerFM, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: Israeli supporters of Donald Trump wave United States and Israeli flags to support his candidacy outside the US embassy in Jerusalem on October 27, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.