Daily Briefing May 28: Biden gets serious about fighting antisemitism

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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid and environment reporter Sue Surkes join host Amanda Borschel-Dan in today’s episode.

On Thursday, the White House published a 60-page document outlining its plan to fight American antisemitism, including more than 100 recommendations. We hear about the plan’s genesis, some highlights, and the inevitable backlash.

Amid unseasonal weather, Israel experienced yesterday over 170 fires. Surkes sets the stage.

A bill that would limit Israeli nonprofits’ ability to accept donations from foreign governments will apparently be at least temporarily shelved after mountains of criticisms from Israeli allies — including the US, Germany and France. What essentially is their criticism and will this bill affect private foreign funding as well?

There is a current mass die-off of black sea urchins in the Red Sea, which one scientist compares to the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. What does he mean by that?

Finally, for a change, we’ll hear some good news about the environment: The Gaza wetlands are coming back to life. How did this come about?

Discussed articles include:

Biden plan to combat antisemitism calls for online reforms, more security funding

White House plan to fight antisemitism takes on centuries of hatred in America

White House raps Republican who said its antisemitism strategy targets conservatives

Homes and hikers evacuated as firefighters battle over 170 blazes amid heatwave

Likud bill targeting NGOs’ foreign funding set to be shelved amid uproar

Epidemic wipes out all Eilat Bay urchins; coral reefs face suffocation by algae

UN breathes life into once-polluted Gaza wetland

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