Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, we're joined by Julien Lerisson, the head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and Occupied Territories.

Berman reviews the organization's troubling history of failures regarding Jews, specifically during the Holocaust, but also moving forward in its rejection of Israel's national Magen David Adom chapter until two decades ago.

We learn about the ICRC's work in Gaza during the hostage releases and Lerisson shares the humanitarian group's frustrations with its inability to access those held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.

Lerisson tells us about the group's core principle of neutrality and how a mission to serve humanity is at the center of its work in war-torn and disaster-prone regions.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Julien Lerisson (courtesy)/ A Red Cross vehicle carrying the remains of a deceased hostage handed over by Hamas militants heads toward the border crossing with Israel for transfer to Israeli authorities, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

Last week, US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in the White House, after which there were several announcements. Among them were a $1 trillion investment by the Saudis into the US economy, the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, advancements in critical minerals cooperation, and an AI Memorandum of Understanding.

Of course, the one announcement that Israel has been waiting for — Saudi normalization — did not come.

This week, we learn about the rise of the crown prince and how he's transformed his country.

We talk about how the gains in Washington correspond with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and whether normalization with Israel is even still on the table.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

Last week, the pair spoke with foremost urban warfare expert John Spencer and Borschel-Dan noted that a term -- “nation-building” -- was raised repeatedly.

In this week's episode, we explore this concept, starting with defining the term.

We hear about previous models of nation-building, starting from Japan and Germany, following their defeats in World War II. We learn how these attempts were successful -- and former enemies quickly turned into allies.

We then turn to more recent history with the West's attempts to reshape Afghanistan and Iraq. What were the differences between the two wars and their aftermaths?

And finally, Berman applies the lessons learned in these previous attempts at nation-building and conjectures how they could -- or could not -- be applied in Gaza.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / A general view shows a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters, September 23, 2025, at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, the duo is joined by military expert John Spencer, chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum and executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute.

As of recording time, some 100-200 Hamas terrorists are estimated to be holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. The US has pressured Israel to allow the terrorists safe passage back to Hamas-held areas of Gaza, though Israel has not agreed to such a solution as of yet.

For the first part of our conversation, we plumb the depths of the extensive Hamas tunnel network, speaking about its scope and how the IDF is able to destroy or at least neutralize its many tentacles.

In the second half, we speak about where the current ceasefire in Gaza may turn, as reports are circulated about a two-year mandate for an International Security Force that could be implemented to demilitarize Hamas.

Spencer gives bad -- and better -- examples of international forces and discusses why UNIFIL, the force deployed in southern Lebanon, was destined to failure.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: John Spencer (courtesy) / Hamas militants search for the bodies of Israeli hostages in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, November 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

On Thursday afternoon, the IDF launched a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. These come amid a marked uptick in IDF strikes in southern Lebanon over the past several weeks, as reports continue that the Hezbollah terror group is attempting to rearm and regroup.

A recent Reuters report reported for the first time that Lebanon's army has blown up so many Hezbollah arms caches that it has run out of explosives and a recent Wall Street Journal report cites experts stating that Hezbollah is rebuilding, raising the chances of renewed conflict with Israel.

It's almost a year into the ceasefire, which was struck on November 27, and we discuss the forces attempting to contain Hezbollah, including Israel, Lebanon and the US.

Where is the conflict headed even as Lebanon’s year-end deadline to disarm the terror group approaches?

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Mourners carry the coffins of five Hezbollah killed in Israeli strikes in recent days, during their funeral procession in the southern town of Nabatieh, Lebanon, November 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This week, amid pomp and circumstance at the Vatican, the Catholic Church marked 60 years to the Nostra Aetate, a document that — among other things — attempts to redefine the two-thousand-year-old relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.

Berman delves into the Nostra Aetate's long-standing significance, especially as the relationship between Israel and the Vatican has frayed during the two-year war in Gaza launched by Hamas's murderous onslaught on southern Israel.

We learn of the history behind the creation of the landmark document and the push-pull concerns from the Catholic communities in Mideast countries. We hear of the Jewish French historian Jules Isaac, who compiled Catholic anti-Jewish teachings and delivered them to Pope John XXIII, confirming the need to chart out a new path in the Church.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Pope Leo XIV attends a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate (In Our Time) in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, October 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

Since US President Donald Trump's whirlwind visit to the Jewish state on Monday of last week, Israel has welcomed a revolving roster of high-level officials visiting the country.

This week saw the arrival of Trump’s senior Middle East advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance — and his wife Usha — and also US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

As their visits spur accusations that Israel is becoming a "client" or vassal state of the US, controversial MK Avi Maoz brought a bill that passed in a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday. The bill would apply Israeli sovereignty to all West Bank settlements despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most, but not all, of his Likud party.

US officials quickly rebuked the annexation efforts in the Knesset, calling them "counterproductive" even as the Trump administration attempts to cement the recent ceasefire into a lasting peace deal.

If the US succeeds, it wouldn't be the first time that an Israeli war was ended through US efforts. This week, Berman takes a historical look at other examples and examines the question of whether Israel is, indeed, relying on its "partner" the US to wind down its wars.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy)/ From left: Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance sit before President Donald Trump holds a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

Israel awaits the release of the 48 hostages -- living and dead -- held by Hamas and other terrorist organizations since the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel that saw 1,200 slain and another 250 taken captive to the Strip.

Ahead of this release, scheduled for early next week, Berman explains the pressures on the Hamas terror group that brought them to give up on two of their three negotiating stances.

We then learn how Israel may operate after the IDF's drawdown to some 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. Berman explores three models: how the IDF operates in Lebanon versus in the West Bank or the idea of an external international peace-keeping force.

Stay tuned to discover which model Berman prefers on this week's Friday Focus.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Lazar Berman (Courtesy) / A Hamas terrorist fighter takes up a position ahead of a hostages release in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

On Sunday, the tally of the 193 UN members who recognize a State of Palestine grew to at least 145 as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal formally joined their ranks.

Several other countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta, followed suit during a summit on the future of the two-state solution chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday at United Nations headquarters in New York.

We discuss why these states believe that this recognition is an anti-Hamas gesture and may kick off negotiations to end the war in Gaza.

Israel, for its part, thinks that the recognition is a prize for terror: On this, Hamas appeared to agree, thanking the UK and Canada and calling their action a “victory.”

This week, Berman delves into the knotty issue of Palestinian statehood and potentially unforeseen ripple effects.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / A sticker on a desk reads 'State of Palestine' at the Palestinian mission to France, one day after France recognized Palestinian statehood, September 23, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

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Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus. Each Friday, join host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday this week that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.” However, later on Wednesday, an Israeli foreign ministry official told AFP that Syria will seal several security and military agreements with Israel by the end of the year.

Despite the discrepancy in timing, it is clear that both countries are interested and invested in completing a security pact in the near future.

On this week's Friday Focus, Berman reviews other previous pacts with Syria -- and attempts -- throughout Israel's history. We learn how the civil war in Syria and the fall of the Assad regime have recalibrated how Israel operates inside its neighbor to the north. And we hear about the conflicting Israeli feelings in losing a strong leader who kept the border relatively quiet.

Finally, Berman discusses what Israel may demand from Syria -- where it's willing to withdraw and where it decidedly will not.

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / Syria's President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Damascus, September 12, 2025. (SANA/AFP)

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