Friday Focus – Details, episodes & analysis

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 official end of phase one of the current hostage release-ceasefire deal is set for March 1. We currently don't know if phase two will be implemented or whether, potentially, a lengthened phase one may be negotiated.

Since the start of the war in Gaza following Hamas's October 7, 2023, murderous onslaught on southern Israel, a range of efforts have been made to free the over 250 hostages in terrorists' hands.

As we hear in today's in-depth conversation, the most effective way to get out as many hostages as possible has been through a pair of negotiated hostage release-ceasefire deals.

Among the questions asked and answered are: Who are the major players behind these negotiations? What have been the obstacles? Is paying ransom a Jewish value?

Finally, we hear which of Israel's allies does not traditionally negotiate with terrorists.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: A former Palestinian prisoner, released as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange, is carried on a person's shoulders upon arrival in Ramallah on February 27, 2025. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

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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.

Ahead of the three-year mark of the ongoing Ukraine war, Berman assesses how the potential winding down of the conflict is stirring up all sorts of other battles on the international stage.

We discuss the origins of the current Russo-Ukraine war and the competing narratives surrounding it, even as Israel attempts to trod on semi-neutral ground.

Finally, we hear how US President Donald Trump views the conflict that is occurring far from his borders, and his country's "obligation" to fund it.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower, September 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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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, Berman assesses how the current Trump administration's foreign policy seems to be shaping up. From the US president's bombshell February 4, 2025, proposal to transfer Gaza's population from the Strip to reset the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to efforts to end the Ukraine War, Trump's gaze appears to be as global as it is domestic.

So how does that square with his promise to "Make America Great Again"?

Berman zooms out and in 30 minutes illustrates how the president appears to be adopting a new motto: "Speak brashly and carry a big stick."

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump takes questions during a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)

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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 Friday Focus, we delve into the history of bad blood between the two ancient nations and how a handful of pragmatic leaders curtailed further violence.

We also learn about Egypt's role as a mediator between Israel and the armed Palestinian terrorist groups that have ruled Gaza for the past two decades.

Likewise, even as reports accumulate that Egypt is building up its military forces on the border with Israel, Berman weighs in on whether, if pressed, the Jewish state could still handily defeat the Muslim giant next door.

And finally, we hear whether the peace with Egypt -- as cold as it is -- could be a blueprint for similar future truces with the nations on Israel's north.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, left, US president Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. (AP Photo/ Bob Daugherty)

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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 story of Purim, which takes place in Ancient Persia in the 4th century BCE. Jerusalem's First Temple had been destroyed over 50 years earlier, and the dispersed Jews were subjects of the Persian empire, which extended over some 127 nations.

The Book of Esther, an extra-biblical book, relates that evil Haman, an advisor to King Ahasuerus, convinced the king to agree to the execution of Jews of his empire. His plot is thwarted by the secret Jew Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai.

Fast forward to 1948 and the relations between the Iranian and Jewish peoples are cordial and flourishing. We hear about cooperative efforts and even a massive oil pipe line that still exists in Israel, which was initially constructed to bring Iranian oil to Europe.

We hear how since the rise of the current regime in 1979, relations between the two countries have progressively soured, leading to nihilistic rhetoric by the early 2000s.

Berman weighs in on the crossroads that Israel faces regarding Iran: Will the US succeed in negotiating a nuclear deal? Or will Israel need to take to the skies -- presumably with its closest ally -- to bring the nuclear program to a halt?

And finally, to cap off the program, we learn about a special Purim in Jerusalem this year, which is celebrated from Friday through sundown on Sunday.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 12, 2025, during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran. (IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE / AFP)

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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 celebrations, Israeli Christians and foreign pilgrims often experience harassment and even sometimes attacks.

This week, a second annual report from the Israel-based Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue documented 111 attacks against Christians, including 46 physical attacks, 35 attacks against church properties, and 13 cases of harassment.

Last year’s inaugural report documented 89 cases, including 32 attacks on church properties, 30 formally reported cases of spitting, and seven violent attacks, most of them against multiple victims. 

According to the report, most perpetrators appear to belong to the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious communities. The majority of the victims are clergy or people wearing visible Christian symbols. 

On this week's Friday Focus, Berman puts on his Christian Affairs reporter hat and discusses this phenomenon, including why official Israel is increasingly paying attention to it.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: Orthodox Christians walk in the Good Friday procession in the Old City of Jerusalem, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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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-to-military meeting in the United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in Naqoura, Israel and Lebanon agreed to open negotiations to delineate the border between the two countries, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

For today's Friday Focus, we go back in time to understand how Lebanon and Israel were formed in order to discuss the evolving relations between the two countries today.

We hear about the push-pull between the British and the French, who each shepherded their fledgling nations and indelibly marked the map of the Middle East.

Finally, we speed up to modern day and learn about how the recent maritime border agreements have worked out for the two nations -- and whether they could be some kind of blueprint for a permanent land border.

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. 

IMAGE: UNIFIL peacekeeping troops patrol the southern Lebanese village of Ramia near the southern border on March 5, 2025. (Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)

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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 bags to fly on Israel's Wing of Zion plane, we discuss what Netanyahu is hoping to accomplish there, Israel’s relationship with Hungary in general, and Netanyahu's "bromances" with some of the leaders of what could be called “anti-liberal” democracies.

Berman starts by describing a typical trip alongside the prime minister and how a lot of his work gets done while waiting around.

We discuss the tricky diplomatic situation Israel finds itself in through its alliances with its eastern European friends, even as many countries in Europe are increasingly turning to the far right. While this podcast was recorded ahead of Hungary's announcement it was leaving the International Criminal Court -- which has a warrant out for Netanyahu's arrest -- the signs were plain that Budapest has the Israeli prime minister's back.

And finally, Borschel-Dan asks a burning question: Just how many packets of hot paprika is Berman bringing back for her?

This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch. 

IMAGE: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shake hands after a press statement at the Carmelite Monastery in the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

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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 up to and on October 7 by first taking a step back and discussing the goals of the investigations and their overall general findings.

We then dive into a cluster of probes that were released in the past week, including the investigations into Kibbutz Nirim, the city of Sderot, Kibbutz Re'im and the Supernova open-air music festival.

At the Nova festival alone, some 380 out of 3,500 people attending the party were slaughtered by Hamas and another 44 were taken hostage to Gaza. On this second Passover since the onslaught, 17 of those taken from the Nova party are still in captivity, including 11 living and six declared dead.

In a very tough, at times graphic conversation, Fabian guides us through a handful of the dozens of battles on October 7, 2023.

For further reading:

Troops fended off 1st wave of terrorists at Nirim, but IDF left kibbutz vulnerable

1,000 troops were in Sderot on Oct. 7, when they were urgently needed elsewhere, probe finds

IDF okayed Nova music festival, but didn’t inform troops deployed at border, probe finds

Civil defense squad, cops battled 100 terrorists in Re’im before IDF arrived, probe finds

From our archives:

Camera in hand, partygoer captures escape from rave where Hamas killed 260 Israelis

Thousands flee rocket and gunfire at all-night desert ‘Nature Party’; dozens missing

Daily Briefing Mar. 4: Day 515 – Devastating IDF Oct. 7 probes depict years of misconceptions

The Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch. 

IMAGE: Israeli soldiers drive by the Supernova rave party site, where almost 380 were killed, near Kibbutz Re'im, close to the Gaza Strip border fence, on October 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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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 program to some of the biblical flora of the Land of Israel.

In honor of Easter, which is celebrated by much of Christendom on Sunday, we begin with a date palm that was brought back from the dead and a plant that resurrects itself.

In 2008, Dr. Elaine Solowey germinated a 1,900-year-old date palm seed that took the name Methuselah after the long-lived biblical character. She has since gone on to revive several more ancient seeds, including females that bear fruit. Surkes tells the story of Solowey's amazing success -- and describes how the dates taste.

Next, we hear about the Rose of Jericho, which was named for the biblical city of Jericho that constantly rose from its ashes -- and still stands today. It's an extraordinary story of a plant surviving in the harshest of circumstances.

We then turn to a tree that is called the Christ-thorn jujube (shezaf). Traditionally, this type of tree was used to create the thorny crown that Jesus wore on his last journey down the Via Dolorosa.

Surkes then speaks about the olive tree -- both the last few remaining "wild" variety located near Atlit, and the cultivated variety. She turns to Psalm 128 to show how being acquainted with the flora of the Land of Israel gives a deeper meaning to the text.

And finally, we speculate on the Garden of Eden's "forbidden fruit." Was it an apple? Or maybe a fig?

Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and the video was edited by Thomas Girsch.

IMAGE: Dates harvested from 'Hannah,' the first female palm tree germinated from 2,000 year-old seeds discovered in the Judean desert, are displayed in Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel, on September 27, 2021. (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

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