Lazar Focus

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 D...

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 third installment of our August mini-series centering on the 2005 Disengagement from Gaza, following a zoom-out conversation with public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman and a person...

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 week, as Israel marks the beginning of the Disengagement from Gaza 20 years ago, we speak with former Brooklynite Anita Tucker, 79, who helped settle Nezer Hazani in 1977 and was forcibly removed from...

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 week, as Israel stands poised to re-occupy the entire Gaza Strip, public intellectual and author Dr. Micah Goodman takes us through the Disengagement from Gaza 20 years ago. Goodman, the author of infl...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. The vast majority of the Zionists in the world are Christian. Israel’s closest allies are majority-Christian or officially Christian countries, and the world&rsquo...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, as violence between Syria's Druze and Bedouin communities reached a boiling point in the southern city of Sweida, hundreds of Druze rushed across the border f...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . This Friday, join former hostage Keith Siegel and host Jessica Steinberg for a deep dive into what life is like for Siegel, five months after his release home from captivity in Gaza. Siegel discusses his need to do everything he can for the remaining hostages, including those with whom he was held hostage during periods of his...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, we're joined by John Spencer , the chief of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point, a research center dedicated to the study of war a...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. We're still sifting through the facts and figuring out the results of the 12-day Israel-Iran war. But after every earthquake, there are aftershocks. Today, we’ll l...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Israel has experience in attempting to stop a nuclear weapons program. Twice before striking Iran on June 13, 2025, Israel attempted to thwart two neighboring nations' n...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. It came out late last week that Israel has been arming a criminal gang in the Gaza Strip as part of an effort to strengthen opposition to Hamas in the enclave. Prime Min...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Just back from reserve duty, Berman has written an in-depth look at the war in Gaza and the questions it raises in Israeli society. For today's episode, we take a look a...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. In this episode, American Jewish Committee head Ted Deutch fills in for Berman, who is on reserve duty. On May 21, Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, wer...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, political correspondent Sam Sokol steps in for Berman. This week, we learned that only 1,212, or five percent, of the 24,000 ultra-Orthodox men who have recei...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, political correspondent Tal Schneider steps in for Berman. Unforgettable images of the Caracal's female tank unit crushing Hamas terrorists infiltrating south...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Tens of thousands of IDF reservists are again being called up — Berman among them — and Israel appears to be standing at a crossroads in the Gaza War. In the...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, we look at Israel's long history of hostage release negotiations and how the price per captive has become increasingly inflated over the decades. To begin our...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Over the Passover holiday, some 6,315 Jews visited the Temple Mount, a 37% rise over last year. Among them, Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot, where he participated in a p...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. In today's episode, environment reporter Sue Surkes makes a guest appearance, stepping in for Berman. This is a week of spring holidays, and so we are dedicating the pro...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. In today's episode, military reporter Emanuel Fabian makes a guest appearance, stepping in for Berman. We take a deep look into the IDF probes into the failures leading...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Berman is currently in Budapest covering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meetings with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Just before Berman packed his ba...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Much of the Christian world is currently observing the period of Lent, which leads up to Easter, a very busy time in Jerusalem's Old City. However, along with the celebr...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Last week, Berman reported that Israel is aiming to establish full diplomatic relations with Lebanon in talks that could open as early as next month. After the military-...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. Today, as the Jewish world celebrates the holiday of Purim, we delve into the State of Israel's turbulent history with modern Iran. We begin with a quick recap of the st...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday Focus . Each Friday, join diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman and host deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. The "Peace Agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel" was signed on March 26, 1979, following three wars and decades of bloodshed. In today's...