Lazar Focus

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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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.

It’s September 15, 2020, and on the South Lawn of the White House, a group of leaders from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain assembled to mark a once-unlikely normalization agreement.

Berman talks us through why these countries were originally included in the accords and which were on deck before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, that launched the Gaza War.

We hear what gains were made through these accords -- and what setbacks there have been since the Gaza War erupted.

We also discuss how Israel’s recent attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership this week in Qatar may affect relations with Gulf States moving forward.

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

IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo on the Blue Room Balcony after signing the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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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, Berman takes up the host role for an in-depth interview with author Yaakov Katz about his new book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East," which he co-wrote with Amir Bohbot.

A former military correspondent, Katz served as editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post from 2016-2023, leaving just before the war. Currently a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem, Katz is the author or co-author of four books.

Katz talks about the ignored "alarm bells" indicating that Hamas was about to launch a major attack prior to October 7, 2023. He speaks about the uncertainty whether Hamas was conducting a drill and how warning signs were disregarded because they didn't fit the paradigm built by Israel around the capabilities of Hamas.

"We were so infatuated, in love with the signal intelligence, the visual intelligence. We knew everything because we had the technology. But while we thought we knew, we did not know what their intentions were, we did not know what they were really planning," said Katz.

Katz delves into the goals of Hamas head Yahye Sinwar and how many he achieved, despite the terrorist group's degradation.

We hear an assessment of the war, almost two years in, as well as who should be running Gaza in the day after.

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

IMAGE: Yaakov Katz (courtesy)/ Israeli soldiers walk past houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, October 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

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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 for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe.

This Friday, we present a fourth and final installment of our August mini-series centering on the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza. We launched the series with a zoom-out conversation with public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman, followed by a personal account of life in Gush Katif by former Nezer Hazani resident Anita Tucker and last week, we heard from Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who shared the perspective of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip and the ripple effect felt after the Disengagement.

This week, we speak with author and thinker Yossi Klein Halevi from his Jerusalem home.

The Shalom Hartman Institute senior fellow begins by explaining why he and so many other Israelis supported Disengagement. He describes how the promises of security from the right and peace from the left failed, and so many Israelis were eager to try the "centrist" approach of unilateralism.

Klein Halevi describes the zeitgeist of the time and compares it with the renewed global interest in a Palestinian state -- despite the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, and the continued captivity of another 20 living hostages and 30 dead.

In the context of the ongoing war, when asked whether the two-state solution is dead, Klein Halevi's answer may surprise.

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

IMAGE: Yossi Klein Halevi (courtesy)/ Former prime minister Ariel Sharon speaking to students on the first day of classes in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, Sept. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

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