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.
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, charges of genocide.
International law and the conversation around international law is a central battlefield for Israel.
Natasha Hausdorff is one of Israel's most prominent advocates, especially around questions of international law.
Hausdorff is a barrister in London with law degrees from Oxford and Tel Aviv University. She is the legal director of UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust, and is the founder of the Center for International Rule of Law.
She argues that there is an ecosystem of international organizations, NGOs, and foreign governments "promoting a particular agenda against Western civilization" and using the phraseology of international law to vilify Israel.
Hausdorff says Israel takes measures to protect civilians that go beyond those of any other army in the world. That includes the delivery of leaflets, phone calls to individual householders, evacuation corridors to humanitarian zones, and yes, estimates of collateral damage before strikes.
She also argues that the International Committee of the Red Cross does not have a clear mandate to access terrorist combatants in Israeli prisons.
Turning to the genocide question, she says the UN Commission of Inquiry that ruled Israel was committing genocide in Gaza was "essentially a copy and paste" of the Amnesty International report, which relied on a Human Rights Watch report.
Hausdorff calls it "a cycle of disinformation laundering... Hamas propaganda getting that stamp of UN authority."
She also laments Navi Pillay's Nobel Peace Prize, saying she is part of the effort to lower the threshold for genocide in order to find Israel guilty.
Lazar Focus is available on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Yitzchak Ledee.
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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.
Amidst rising inflammatory rhetoric from the United States and Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated Wednesday that he is against a US or Israeli attack on Iran in the coming days, ahead of the Israeli election on October 27. We hear what is being said on all sides and why, yet again, actions speak louder than words.
Turning to the apparent war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, Berman discusses how technology does not a warrior make. He delves into the Saudi military and how it is attempting to fight its battle through Yemeni proxies.
We turn to the increasing number of allegations against Netanyahu, regarding what he did and did not know leading up to the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught. In an explosive television interview last week, former military secretary Avi Gil charged that the prime minister passed up clear-cut opportunities to bring more hostages home from Gaza alive because doing so would have risked his political career.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
PM: Attack on Iran ‘not convenient’ now, but signs show Israel’s enemies preparing assault
Reports of unheeded Oct. 7 warnings may be tenuous, but still are dangerous for Netanyahu
Contradicting PM and reports, Egypt’s spy chief said not to have been in Israel days before Oct. 7
Ex-Shin Bet chief files defamation suit against Netanyahu, details warnings months before Oct. 7
PM’s ex-military secretary: Netanyahu prioritized political survival when he could have saved hostages’ lives
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yitzhak Ledee filmed and edited this episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Jessica Steinberg for today’s episode.
As the government approves an "urgent" NIS 1 billion shekel deal to purchase 12 Apache helicopters, Fabian discusses the need for a larger fleet to defend Israel’s borders.
With the ongoing investigation by the IDF, police and the Education Ministry about who is responsible for allowing a school trip near the Lebanese border in which a 14-year-old high school student was killed by a Hezbollah ordnance, Fabian notes that there could be hundreds more of them around the country following three years of war, and discusses whose job it is to clear unexploded munitions to prevent future tragedies.
After an unidentified flying object set off aerial intrusion warnings in a northern Arab village, Fabian reports that the incident is still being investigated by the Israeli Air Force.
Check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Government approves NIS 1 billion toward ‘urgent’ purchase of 12 Apache helicopters
Deadly blast on school trip exposes lurking explosive threat after years of war
Teen killed, 24 injured by Hezbollah munition found on hike near Lebanon border
IDF: Unidentified object that triggered sirens in north was likely a balloon
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: Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian appears on the Daily Briefing podcast with host Jessica Steinberg (Courtesy)
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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 reporter Luke Tress joins host Gabriella Jacobs for today's episode. Last Wednesday at an Israeli-led coexistence event commemorating the anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, anti-Zionist protesters railed at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him a "traitor." Meanwhile, Jewish leaders broadly condemned a statement the mayor made earlier in the day accusing Israel of genocide.
Tress explains how the backlash from both the far left and from the Jewish community to Mamdani's actions on the anniversary is emblematic of his broader predicament: He is caught between the demands of his far-left constituency, while also seeking to placate some of his more moderate voters.
Fast forward to Friday, when the New York City branch of the Democratic Socialists of America took aim at NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a Jewish moderate, placing heavy pressure upon Mamdani to fire her. Tress analyzes how this rift may play out in the coming months.
We close the episode by discussing a "surge" in US Jewish communal engagement that appears to have endured during the three years since October 7, according to survey by the Jewish Federations of North America.
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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.
Mideast expert Ksenia Svetlova joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Yemen’s Houthis attacked Riyadh’s international airport with a missile on Saturday, in an attack that Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said killed at least 12 people and injured over 300, with some in critical condition.
Saturday’s attack, the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade, was a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Riyadh backs the internationally recognized government against the Iran-backed Houthis, who captured swaths of Red Sea coastline in a lightning offensive last month.
Svetlova delves into the Houthis' multi-pronged strategy and how Saudi Arabia is forced to go it alone as its friends and allies appear hesitant to join the fight.
This week marks a year to the ceasefire in Gaza. Svetlova assesses Hamas's continued hold on the Strip, even as the Palestinian technocratic government is waiting in the wings to replace the increasingly entrenched terror group. How could things proceed from here?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Netanyahu condemns ‘horrific’ attack on Riyadh airport that killed 12, injured hundreds
At least 12 killed, more than 300 hurt in Houthi attack on Riyadh airport
Yemeni forces said advancing near Bab el-Mandeb Strait; 63 said killed in Houthi clashes
Abbas postpones Palestinian elections, sets presidential poll for September 2027
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ari Schlacht edited this episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.