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.
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 striking one — that it could be that Germany's support for Israel cost it the coveted seat.
Germany is indeed one of Israel's closest allies in the world, and has been for decades.
At the same time, the special relationship Israel enjoys with Berlin -- like its ties with other key allies -- has come under strain in the wars it has pursued in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. In August 2025, Germany announced a partial arms embargo on Israel over its decision to conquer Gaza City.
To discuss the roots and the state of the Germany-Israel relationship, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert joined the podcast, weeks before he wraps up his four-year tenure and returns to Berlin.
He rejects the idea that Germany's approach to Israel is guided by "Holocaust guilt." Instead, he says that the Shoah is a compass for Germany, which has the responsibility to learn the appropriate lessons from that dark period and let them guide its foreign policy.
Seibert stresses that the Germany-Israel relationship is also rooted in shared democratic values and common interests.
At the same time, he emphasizes that the special relationship exists within the pre-1967 borders, and that it sees Israel's presence in the West Bank as a violation of international law.
On the war in Gaza, Seibert calls Israel's military response "inevitable and logical." Still, he says, there are questions over "how it was fought, how long it was fought." Still, he says that Hamas bears the main responsibility for the plight of Gazans.
Seibert explains that Germany's decision not to intervene on Israel's behalf in the ICJ genocide case against Israel is a tactical move, as Berlin faces its own charges over its support for Israel: "It changes the assessment that we took at the beginning of the conflict. It's to do with the court case that we find ourselves in."
Turning to the Iran war, Seibert says the Israeli-US campaign was "definitely understandable," but that continued fighting won't achieve much, and that it is now time to turn military gains into a political arrangement.
Seibert, who learned Hebrew during his tenure, says that he is not sure what he will do next, but intends to continue spending time in Israel while he works to "reinvent" himself in the next phase of his career.
Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Gabriella Jacobs and video edited by Ari Schlacht.

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.
US reporter Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode.
Following the arrest of defendant Mohammad Al-Saadi, who allegedly orchestrated a string of attacks on Jewish targets in Europe and the US on behalf of Iran, Tress tracks the details shared by the suspect, who spoke freely with investigators, emphasizing his use of social media to recruit operatives and noting that all Iranian proxies are related to one another.
Marking one year since the Colorado firebombing attack of a rally for Israeli hostages that killed one elderly woman, Tress explores patterns of support among anti-Israel groups for perpetrators of violent hate crimes.
After a bogus Miss Israel appeared at the Israel Day Parade in New York, Tress discovers that the Miss Universe franchise is now privately owned by a Florida enterprise and has little relation to Israel or Israeli culture.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
NY case sheds light on alleged Iran-linked terror campaign targeting Diaspora Jews
US anti-Zionist groups keep backing activists who are incarcerated for violence
Miss Israel says this year’s contest will be bogus, sparking break with organizers
For further reading:
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: New York correspondent Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI/AP)
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.
Political correspondent Tal Schneider joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
The US military carried out strikes in Iran early Wednesday following the downing of an Apache helicopter that US President Donald Trump accused Iran of shooting down and vowed retaliation for. Schneider describes uncertainty in Israel this morning as US bases housed by its neighbors are being targeted.
During an interview about the Iran war with ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump claimed Tuesday that it was an “open question” whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 76, wants to continue his political career, while a poll showed that over 60 percent of Israelis don’t want the longtime premier to run in the upcoming Knesset election. Schneider weighs in.
Legislation enshrining Torah study as a Basic Law is set to be brought to a vote today. The proposed law, backed by Haredi parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, would establish Torah study as a foundational national value and define long-term Torah study as “meaningful service” to the state, equivalent to army service, with implications for the rights and obligations of those engaged in it. What could this mean for the country?
Italian prosecutors have put Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir under investigation over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists seen in a video he published last month. This comes as France has barred Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four leaders of settler organizations and 21 violent settlers from entering the country, as several countries introduced fresh sanctions against settlers and organizations deemed to be responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Even as the Israeli ministers brush off the sanctions, Schneider explains why this matters.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
US strikes Iran after Trump vows retaliation for downing of US helicopter over Hormuz
Trump says Netanyahu may quit politics, as poll shows 61% of Israelis want him out
Italy investigating Ben Gvir for alleged torture, kidnapping over Gaza flotilla video
Smotrich banned from France as 4 countries introduce new sanctions against settler violence
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.
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.
Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly called off a further major strike on Iran on Monday following Israel's initial retaliation to Iran's ballistic missile barrages overnight Sunday. With IAF fighter jets on the runway, Trump instructed the premier to deescalate Israel’s fight with the Islamic Republic. Later, the president explained to a BBC reporter, "If I tell him to do something, he does it."
On today's episode, we unwind the political ripple effect of Trump's assertion and ask whether Israel is truly still operating as a sovereign nation even as its hands are increasingly tied when combating the terror threat on its northern border.
Additionally, as Iran appears to consider Lebanon its own vassal state that is intrinsically embedded in the Trump ceasefire negotiations, we talk through the initial goals of the war launched on February 28 and assess the Jewish state's current standing.
In the second half of the program, Horovitz gives a broad-strokes picture of where political parties lie in recent polling -- while it's still anyone's game -- as Israel gears up for elections a few months away.
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Trump seeks to tie Netanyahu’s hands, as the partnership that went to war 100 days ago collapses
Netanyahu called off major Iran strike after Trump warned Israel would be on its own — reports
Vance: Iran deal a ‘home run for the American people,’ whether Israel likes it or not
IDF downs drone over Eilat launched by Yemen’s Houthis
Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Yitzchak Ledee.
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 Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.
Iran fired a volley of missiles at northern Israel Sunday night, catapulting the region back to the cusp of all-out war after two months of a shaky ceasefire, with Israel initially vowing to respond before US President Donald Trump attempted to limit the fallout and keep truce negotiations with Tehran on track. Israel responded overnight and we're recording on Monday morning.
We roll back time and give the background and context for the IDF's strikes on Beirut -- ostensibly Iran's trigger for sending some dozen ballistic missiles to Israel last night.
Fabian fills us in on a massive subterranean bunker that Hezbollah -- with Iran's help -- carved into a mountain near the iconic Beaufort Castle that sits close to the border with Israel. We learn there are more such sites in southern Israel that the IDF has not yet reached.
Hours before the renewed Iran strikes, an Arab Israeli terrorist opened fire in several locations in a shooting spree in central Israel on Sunday, killing an IDF reservist who served as a civil defense squad member, and wounding five other people, before he was shot dead by security forces. Fabian gives us a recap.
And finally, we close the program with a look inside news that broke late last week: For the first time, a female combat soldier completed training in the Israeli military’s Sayeret Matkal commando unit. What does this mean for the elite unit?
Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.
For further reading:
Iran fires missiles at Israel for first time in two months; Trump tells Netanyahu not to retaliate
IDF strikes Beirut’s Dahiyeh after Hezbollah fires rockets at northern Israel
Israeli man killed, five hurt in central Israel terror shooting spree by Arab Israeli
In first, female IDF combat soldier completes training for elite Sayeret Matkal unit
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.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.