Welcome 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.

Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's Daily Briefing, which will be followed by a full episode of ToI's newest series, the Friday Focus with Lazar Berman.

For the first time in Israeli history, the government has fired the head of the domestic security agency.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously in the early hours of Friday morning to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. If no other replacement is sworn in first, Bar's final day will be April 10.

Among others, Israeli opposition parties Yesh Atid, National Unity, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats have petitioned the High Court of Justice to intervene in the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Berman breaks down Netanyahu's stated reasons for Bar's dismissal, Bar's responses and how Israelis feel about it all.

Please see today's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Cabinet fires Shin Bet chief; PM claims lack of trust in Bar, who calls move invalid

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security services, May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

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