The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

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

Only 16 days before the October 7, 2023, attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to the podium at the United Nations. As a Saudi diplomat listened intently, he said, "We are on the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”

The war that erupted with the Hamas invasion has, not surprisingly, pushed off normalization, but it was still seen as likely once the hostages came back and Hamas was beaten.

That prognosis has been replaced by alarm in recent months. The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- a close Israeli ally -- spilled out into the open in Yemen, and continues to simmer in Sudan and Libya.

Meanwhile, Riyadh's relations with Ankara and Doha continue to improve. In parallel, Saudi media and clerics launched a bitter war of words on the UAE, Israel, and even Jews.

Berman drills down into the economic, strategic, and military roots of the UAE-Saudi regional rivalry, and whether the idea of blocs in the Middle East is even accurate.

He then gives his assessment of whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is really realigning the kingdom's foreign policy, and what it means for a peace deal with Israel.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

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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.

US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

US President Donald Trump met privately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, and later said he had insisted to the Israeli leader that American negotiations with Iran continue. We unravel Trump's Truth Social statement and learn what Netanyahu released following the meeting.

The inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace is set for next week in DC. Who is confirmed to attend -- and who is still on the fence?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas received a draft constitution last week that aims to transition the PA to a full-fledged state. Magid weighs in on whether or not it may be ratified and delves into Israel's security cabinet announcement on Sunday that details new areas under Israeli control in the West Bank. 

Finally, we turn to a curious AIPAC campaign that thwarted a candidate who perceives himself as "pro-Israel."

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Trump says he ‘insisted’ to Netanyahu that Iran talks go on, as PM stresses ‘security needs’

US aims to fundraise for Gaza reconstruction amid fog over Hamas disarmament

Abbas receives draft constitution that aims to transition PA to full-fledged state

AIPAC defends spending $2.3m to thwart ‘pro-Israel’ NJ congressional candidate

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves and Ari Schlacht.

IMAGE: A member of the Revolutionary Guard flashes a victory sign while taking position as a man holds an Iranian flag under the Azadi, or freedom, monument tower during an annual rally marking 1979 Islamic Revolution at the Azadi square in Tehran, Iran, February 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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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.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he planned to convey Israel’s position on US nuclear talks with Tehran during his meeting with US President Donald Trump today. Horovitz weighs in on what that position may be.

Even as Hamas continues to refuse to lay down its arms, Indonesia is preparing for the potential deployment of 5,000 to 8,000 troops to Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, according to the country’s army chief of staff, Maruli Simanjuntak. We hear why the largest Muslim nation in the world is ready to step into the Strip.

After Israel's security cabinet announced unprecedented steps to regulate the settlement of the West Bank, the Trump administration reiterated its opposition to Israel annexing the territory. What are among the series of measures aimed at expanding Jerusalem’s grip in the areas Palestinians hope will make up their future state?

On Monday night, Netanyahu shared a post on social media accusing former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of falsifying the intelligence agency’s probe into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault and positioning himself as “de facto prime minister” after the attack. Why lies behind this most recent social media storm?

President Isaac Herzog continues his solidarity tour of Australia this week and is greeted with pro-Palestinian protesters at every stop. Horovitz expresses his shock and dismay.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Trump: Netanyahu ‘wants a good deal’ with Iran, nuclear talks this time ‘are different’

Jetting to DC, Netanyahu says he’ll present Trump with ‘our approach’ to Iran talks

Trump stresses opposition to annexation after Israel takes steps to expand West Bank grip

Security cabinet okays deepened Israeli control of West Bank; Hamas urges ‘escalation’

Netanyahu shares post accusing ex-Shin Bet chief of appointing himself ‘de facto PM’

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

IMAGE: An Israeli soldier stands guard during the inauguration ceremony for the newly legalized Jewish settlement of Yatziv, near the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, in the West Bank, January 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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.

Australia correspondent Nomi Kaltmann joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

Thousands gathered across Australia on Monday to protest the arrival of President Isaac Herzog, who is on a multi-city trip aimed at expressing solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

Herzog is visiting Australia this week at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15.

The visit has attracted the ire of some people in Australia, who accuse Herzog of being complicit in civilian deaths in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel groups organized protests in cities and towns across the country on Monday evening.

We hear how the Australian Jewish community is welcoming the president's visit, what Herzog's goals may be in Canberra and whether there could be unintended negative consequences in light of the allegations of police brutality from Monday's explosive anti-Israel protest.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Will Herzog’s Australia visit and new legislation assuage Jews’ fears after Bondi attack?

Australia urges calm after violent clashes in Sydney over Herzog visit

Protests in Sydney against Herzog’s visit turn violent amid scuffles with police

Arriving in Australia, Herzog pays tribute to Bondi terror victims: ‘We shall overcome’

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

IMAGE: Pro-Palestinian protesters take part in a demonstration against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Australia in Sydney on February 9, 2026. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)

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What happens when Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” is no longer read as a civic creed, but as a provocation about who belongs—and what a democracy owes the vulnerable? 

In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer reflects on what he perceives as the normalization of cruelty toward immigrants in America, the present state violence being carried out in Minneapolis, and the uneasy silence of Jewish institutions when civil rights are clearly under assault. He then turns his lens toward Israel—asking what it means for Jews in both democracies to draw the line not between “us” and “them,” but between cruelty and compassion.

Learn more here and join our mailing list for more Hartman ideas.

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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.

Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

The Israel Defense Forces captured a “senior” member of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization during an overnight raid in southern Lebanon. We hear how, according to the IDF, the operative was nabbed late Sunday from a building in the Mount Dov area near the border by a special forces unit operating with troops of the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division. 

We then turn to a tour of Israel's borders and learn where are the hot spots and where things are (smuggling) business as usual.

In light of Hamas's continued refusal to lay down its arms, the IDF is preparing plans for a larger ground operation. Fabian fills us in.

And to close out the program, we learn about a new, all-female combat intelligence unit and how the IDF is happy for all the woman-power it can get.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

IDF nabs top terror group figure from Lebanon, targets Hezbollah operative

IDF says it hit Hamas arms depot after issuing evacuation warning for Gaza City building

Hamas terrorist who murdered IDF surveillance soldier Noa Marciano killed in strike

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

IMAGE: Hezbollah supporters raise their group's flags during a protest condemning recent Israeli military actions in Lebanon in Beirut, Lebanon, February 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

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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 correspondent Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

We begin the program by speaking about Matti Caspi, a beloved composer, singer, and lyricist who produced some 1,000 songs, who died overnight between Saturday and Sunday. He was 76 and had suffered from cancer in recent years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fly to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss Iran, his office announced Saturday night, a day after US-Iranian talks were held in Oman. Netanyahu will depart for Washington on Tuesday and depart the US on Thursday, landing back in Israel on Friday morning local time. Berman weighs in on the Oman talks and what is likely on the agenda for DC.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

Matti Caspi, singer and composer who helped mold Israeli culture, dead at 76

PM to meet Trump in DC this week, says Iran talks must deal with missiles, proxies

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves and Ari Schlacht.

IMAGE: The presidential seal is seen in the newly renovated Rose Garden of the White House, August 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with Unholy podcast hosts Yonit Levi and Jonathan Freedland.

In this episode, Channel 12 news anchor Levi and Guardian columnist and BBC Radio 4's Jonathan Freedland look back on five years of podcasting together on "Unholy: Two Jews on the News," their weekly show that offers the perspectives of a Jewish Israeli and a Diaspora Jew.

Freedland and Levi discuss their intention to foster dialogue between Israel and the diaspora at a time when those conversations have become increasingly difficult.

They delve into the types of conversations carried out on "Unholy"  following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, and how the podcast became a lifeline for them as much as their listeners, as the Jewish community worldwide has grappled with the massacre, bereavement, hostage crisis, and the war in Gaza.

The two hosts discuss their own approaches as Levi is a Jewish Israeli who spent a portion of her childhood in the US, and Freedland is a British Jew who views Judaism and Israel through his own lens.

They also chew over the intimacy of the podcast medium for them, particularly given Levi's usual role as a popular news anchor, with her face and voice familiar to most of the Israeli public. The podcast has created a setting that offers a different kind of opportunity for Levi and Freedland, their guests, and their listeners, with the capacity to foment real conversation and debate.

Levi and Freedland reminisce about earlier, favorite episodes and the years when the podcast tackled other subjects, such as musicals or literature, and with different kinds of guests, including Etgar Keret, Howard Jacobson, and Helen Mirren.

They talk about the books they each published this past year, including Freedland's 14th, a non-fiction historical thriller, "The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany—and the Spy Who Betrayed Them."

Levi's book, her first, was written with her friend and CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga. "Don't Feed the Lion" is for middle-grade readers and Levi talks about how young people grapple with antisemitism.

What Matters Now podcasts are available for download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: Jonathan Freedland, left, and Yonit Levi are the hosts of podcast 'Unholy: Two Jews on the News' (Courtesy)

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Welcome to The Reel Schmooze with ToI film reviewer Jordan Hoffman and host Amanda Borschel-Dan, where we bring you all the entertainment news and film reviews a Jew can use.

Hoffman delights with his New Jersey quest for the best cottage cheese in the world -- Israeli -- much to the utter scorn of Borschel-Dan before turning to his scathing review of the new Amazon "documentary" charting the life of First Lady Melania Trump prior to the inauguration. 

We hear a theory that producer Melania Trump attempted to recapture the Eastern European propaganda look of her youth in the MAGA vehicle probing her napkin choices and Hoffman rates her success.

In the same genre of mockumentary, we take a new look at the masterful 1983 "Zelig" by Woody Allen.

Check out the one "oy" and one "not baaaaad" film (our highest mark) in this week's The Reel Schmooze.

The Reel Schmooze is produced by Ari Schlacht and can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

IMAGE: First Lady Melania Trump and US President Donald Trump before the premiere of her movie 'Melania' at The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, January 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)

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

American Jews have plenty to fret about. Facing rising antisemitism even before October 7, 2023, the community has had to deal with a massive spike in threats, defamation, and outright violence since the Hamas attack.

While Israel was fighting to defeat Hamas and get the hostages home, US Jews were contending with anti-Zionist attacks from both the left and the right.

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has been a central player in the US Jewish communities' responses to October 7 and the subsequent two years of war.

He lays out his explanation for the spike in antisemitism in the US, and argues that with domestic focus on ICE, Israel has an opening to restart reconnecting with Democrats and young Americans.

He recounts his conversations with the Biden Administration at the start of the war, and explains why the relationship with Netanyahu became so strained.

Turning to the White House, Daroff offers insights into Trump's relationships with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar. He argues that one should take Trump's threats seriously, both against Hamas if they don't disarm and Iran if they don't concede to US demands.

Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.