Lazar Focus

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, join host and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. The African-American and Jewish communities were once allies in the civil rights struggle in the US. Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish businessman and head of retailing giant Sears, Roebuck, with Booker T. Washington to help fu...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, join host and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. The midterms were a disaster for US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, including in traditionally deep-red states like Texas, South...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, join host and diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. On Tuesday, Israelis went to the polls for the first time since the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023. One might think the massacre and the subsequent wars would result in a massive political shake-up. But they did not. Is...

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. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did something rare -- he convened a group of Israeli journalists to give a briefing on his new national security concept. A national security concept is no trivial matter. It af...

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. Israel is doing well on the battlefield since October 7, but has lost significant ground in the information war. Much of that discourse is rooted in legal language -- war crimes, arrest warrants, illegal settlements, cha...

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. Israel and Jews around the world marked three years since the October 7 attacks this week. It was a time to remember the fallen and the survivors. It was also an opportunity to take stock of Israel's conflicts and what I...

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. It was a stormy week politically in Ireland. It wasn't over an attempted terrorist attack like we had here in Israel this week. It wasn't over the rising cost of energy or immigration, like elsewhere in Europe. It was a so...

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. Benny Gantz was in the headlines in Israel and often across the globe for the better part of two decades. He was the 20th IDF chief of staff during two major operations against Hamas, was opposition leader, served as defen...

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. Israel's relationship with the West, especially Europe, took an unhappy turn this week, as UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced that his country would be imposing widespread sanctions on Israel's settlements. Franc...

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. The US-Israeli war against Iran was initially about military capabilities -- Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its armed proxies -- but very quickly became a war about energy. It was Iran's ability to choke...

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. On the three major fronts with which Israel is contending, there has been some progress on the diplomatic front -- with the caveat that not everyone believes that is a good thing. Lazar and Gabriella Jacobs look at the lat...

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. This week, we want to take a broad look at the direction of US foreign policy. How does domestic politics affect America's ability to wage war? Is a moderate bump in gas prices enough to keep US President Donald Trump fr...

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. Even for Israeli standards, it's been a pretty wild week in Israel's neighborhood. The ceasefire war between the US and Iran continues to escalate. The threats from US President Donald Trump against Iran grow ever more b...

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. The ceasefire war between the US and Iran continues to expand. Instead of making do with a wildly favorable memorandum of understanding signed by US President Donald Trump, Iranian leaders want more -- especially recogni...

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. A few short weeks ago, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran that was widely panned, especially in Israel. The bizarre agreement met none of the US or Israel war aims, extracted no conc...

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. Israelis and many Americans -- not to mention Gulf Arabs -- were stunned by the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Trump administration and the Iranians last month. There was much to criticize in the MOU, but...

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. Last week, Germany failed to secure a temporary seat on the powerful United Nations Security Council. There were several theories about the reason for Berlin's failure, but Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul offered a stri...

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. The New York Times printed a bombshell accusation against Israel this week. An op-ed by columnist Nicholas Kristof alleged widespread sexual abuse and rape against Palestinian prisoners. The column alleged “a pattern of w...

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. Israel has had a rough time of it on the international stage since the Hamas invasion of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent wars. Allegations of collective punishment, genocide, and targeting of religious sites have been made b...

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. The world, and most Israelis, were horrified this week as a photo of an IDF soldier smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon spread across social media. The act was roundly condemned by the army and by Israel's leaders. Yet, it h...

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. The shorthand term "Gulf states" doesn't describe a monolith. The Arab states along the Persian Gulf -- Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain -- all have unique internal dynamics, and approach their relations...

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. The fledgling ceasefire between the US and Israel on the one hand, and Iran on the other, is holding. Even before it went into effect, a pointed debate began over who won, and whether US President Donald Trump and Prime...

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. The US and Israel are trying to drastically weaken Iran, and maybe even bring down the regime, entirely from the air. They are certainly not the first combatants to strive for far-reaching goals through air power. In fact, coun...

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. The war in Iran has reached a new, somewhat odd, phase. After hammering the Islamic Republic for four weeks, US President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell announcement this week -- that he was in talks with Tehran over a...

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. Almost three weeks of the US-Israeli war on Iran have gone by. There are undoubtedly important achievements. This week, Israel assassinated Ali Larijani, perhaps the most important leader left in the Islamic Republic. It...