Lazar Focus

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...

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. Two weeks into the war against Iran, the Islamic Republic has made good on its threats and attacked all the Gulf Arab states. But while the focus on reporting has been on those countries, players on Iran's northern border are 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. We are one week into a stunning US-Israel bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic. Senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been eliminated, and Iran's ability to attack its neighbors...

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. There is a religious community in Israel dedicated to spreading peace throughout the country and beyond. Days after October 7, this community opened its doors for hundreds of Israelis from diverse backgrounds, stressing...

Israel has never been stronger. Since October 7, 2023, Israel has steadily rolled back its enemies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. A staunch friend of Israel is in the White House, and he might well launch a second wave of strikes on Israel's archenemy in Tehran. Or is Israel historically vulnerable? None of the adversaries it has taken on since the Hamas invasion are defeated. US President Donald Tru...

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 br...

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. Wh...

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 January 17, a statement from heads of Jerusalem churches touched off a firestorm. It blasted Christian Zionism, leading to an online fight over religious authority, divine promises, and ecclesial divisions. Christian...

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. Since October 7, 2023, there has been a focused and intense campaign to paint Zionism as a supremacist, racist, and inherently violent movement that has no place in academia, popular culture, or public life in the West....

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. Starting December 28, Iran's cities and towns filled with protesters, but its political elite continues to show cohesion and confidence. Additionally, there have been no signs that securit...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, catch diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, while Berman was in Florida to cover the summit between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, deputy editor Amanda Borschel-Dan invited senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to sit in the hot seat a...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, catch diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, we’re joined by Eran Ortal, a brigadier-general (res.) in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and a leading military theorist. Ortal commanded The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies, and wrote "The Bat...

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Lazar Focus . Each Friday, catch diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman for a deep dive into what's behind the news that spins the globe. This week, we’re joined by Danielle Pletka, distinguished senior fellow in Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on US foreign policy, the Middle East, and terrorism...

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, US bureau chief Jacob Magid fills in for Berman and goes in-depth into an exclusive report he published on just how close the Saudis were to normalization with Israel ahead of t...

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 tro...