Lazar Focus

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 security personnel are defecting or refusing orders. This week, Berman -- looking back at previous protests and how they were squelched -- projects forward to how the current unrest may play out for the Islamic Republic's oppressive regime.  We speak about the unpopularity of the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the sense that Iran's youth taking to the streets increasing feel they have nothing to lose.  Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel, January 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 and prepare five scenarios for Israel for 2026. Rettig Gur came prepared -- plus one -- and the two spend the first half discussing the three main fronts of the war, Lebanon, Gaza and Iran. In the second half, we learn about more domestic/political issues, including Rettig Gur's projection that Israel will begin to wean itself from US aid as the political winds shift in the States. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht. IMAGE: A man walks down to the Western Wall as the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound appears in the background in the Old City of Jerusalem on December 4, 2025. (JOHN WESSELS / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Battle Before the War: The Inside Story of the IDF's Transformation," which came in second place for the Institute for National Security Studies's 2025 Tshetshik Prize. Months before the October 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas, Ortal warned in an interview with The Times of Israel that the country's "military situation is eroding, not improving," and that “time is not on our side." Ortal explains what glaring problems he saw in the military in which he served for decades. He says that the IDF concept in its initial decades enabled it to win its famous victories over far more numerous foes. He then lays out why the IDF's center of gravity moved from the armored corps to the Air Force and intelligence services. Over time, says Ortal, Israel also moved away from its focus on decisive victory, and pursued a series of indecisive deterrence operations against non-state enemies like Hamas and Hezbollah. While there were efforts underway in the IDF to implement a wide-ranging series of reforms in the years before October 7, the Hamas attack took place before they had the desired effect. Israel, he says, went to war with an army that had not been properly trained and resourced, which affected the course of the war in Gaza. Looking forward, the IDF must go through another transformation, Ortal argues.  Those who argue for continuing to prioritize airpower are mistaken, as are those who call for a return to a focus on mass ground maneuver. Instead, there must not only be investment in AI, drones, and a network that brings them to the troops on the battlefield; Israel also needs a new strategy that employs cutting-edge technology to achieve decisive victory over its enemies. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Ari Schlacht. IMAGE: Israeli soldiers are seen during an army raid in the West Bank town of Tubas, November 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Pletka, speaking to Beman from her native Australia, blasts the Albanese government for its failure to confront antisemitism and for its entirely insufficient response to the deadly shooting at a Hanukkah party in Sydney on Sunday. Turning to US policy around the Gaza war, Pletka argues that then-US president Joe Biden was indeed a friend of Israel, but was already losing control over the White House to figures such as former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan when Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 and taking 251 hostage to Gaza, on October 7, 2023. She critiques elements of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy, including the lack of Middle East experts and the influence of countries such as Qatar over decision-making. Still, Pletka gives high marks to the Abraham Accords and Trump's aggressive policy against Iran.  Pletka predicts, however, that the nascent International Security Force for Gaza will collapse on its own, allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that he was willing to go along with Trump's plan before resuming his own tactics. In the wake of a social media bust-up this week, Pletka says that US Vice President JD Vance is not anti-Israel, but is instead willing to take whatever positions will help him advance politically -- even if it means befriending Tucker Carlson, who had a softball interview with Nick Fuentes after the antisemitic media personality used racist slurs against Vance's wife. Despite some warning signs, Pletka says that the evidence indicates that most Republicans -- and the "soul of the party" -- still support Israel and the continued alliance between Washington and Jerusalem. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Danielle Pletka (courtesy) / President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi hold signed documents during a summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, October 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the finer details of former Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s vision for post-war Gaza. We learn that months ahead of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the US had been hard at work crafting a document with Saudi Arabia, laying out what Israel would need to do in exchange for Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords. We begin by discussing what steps were taken towards a pathway to a Palestinian state. A few weeks following the Hamas massacre, Blinken presented his "Tokyo Principles," to G7 countries, essentially outlining his guiding principles in working towards a day after the war. We learn about the 5 "nos" and the three "musts." Magid compares and contrasts the differences between Blinken's eventual 14-point plan and the finally adopted 20-point Trump peace plan, including the idea of a multinational force and the role of the Palestinian Authority. We discuss the role of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the most well-known personality who worked with both the Biden and Trump administrations. And we hear about what a Hamas official told Magid over the weekend regarding why the terrorist organization took the current ceasefire deal. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Jacob Magid (courtesy) / Then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he arrives at Ben Gurion Airport, June 10, 2024. (Jack Guez/Pool via AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 troubling history of failures regarding Jews, specifically during the Holocaust, but also moving forward in its rejection of Israel's national Magen David Adom chapter until two decades ago. We learn about the ICRC's work in Gaza during the hostage releases and Lerisson shares the humanitarian group's frustrations with its inability to access those held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. Lerisson tells us about the group's core principle of neutrality and how a mission to serve humanity is at the center of its work in war-torn and disaster-prone regions. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Julien Lerisson (courtesy)/ A Red Cross vehicle carrying the remains of a deceased hostage handed over by Hamas militants heads toward the border crossing with Israel for transfer to Israeli authorities, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, December 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Last week, US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in the White House, after which there were several announcements. Among them were a $1 trillion investment by the Saudis into the US economy, the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, advancements in critical minerals cooperation, and an AI Memorandum of Understanding. Of course, the one announcement that Israel has been waiting for — Saudi normalization — did not come. This week, we learn about the rise of the crown prince and how he's transformed his country. We talk about how the gains in Washington correspond with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and whether normalization with Israel is even still on the table. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Last week, the pair spoke with foremost urban warfare expert John Spencer and Borschel-Dan noted that a term -- “nation-building” -- was raised repeatedly. In this week's episode, we explore this concept, starting with defining the term. We hear about previous models of nation-building, starting from Japan and Germany, following their defeats in World War II. We learn how these attempts were successful -- and former enemies quickly turned into allies. We then turn to more recent history with the West's attempts to reshape Afghanistan and Iraq. What were the differences between the two wars and their aftermaths? And finally, Berman applies the lessons learned in these previous attempts at nation-building and conjectures how they could -- or could not -- be applied in Gaza. Lazar Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / A general view shows a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters, September 23, 2025, at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Friday 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, the duo is joined by military expert John Spencer, chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum and executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute. As of recording time, some 100-200 Hamas terrorists are estimated to be holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. The US has pressured Israel to allow the terrorists safe passage back to Hamas-held areas of Gaza, though Israel has not agreed to such a solution as of yet. For the first part of our conversation, we plumb the depths of the extensive Hamas tunnel network, speaking about its scope and how the IDF is able to destroy or at least neutralize its many tentacles. In the second half, we speak about where the current ceasefire in Gaza may turn, as reports are circulated about a two-year mandate for an International Security Force that could be implemented to demilitarize Hamas. Spencer gives bad -- and better -- examples of international forces and discusses why UNIFIL, the force deployed in southern Lebanon, was destined to failure. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: John Spencer (courtesy) / Hamas militants search for the bodies of Israeli hostages in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, November 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. On Thursday afternoon, the IDF launched a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets. These come amid a marked uptick in IDF strikes in southern Lebanon over the past several weeks, as reports continue that the Hezbollah terror group is attempting to rearm and regroup. A recent Reuters report reported for the first time that Lebanon's army has blown up so many Hezbollah arms caches that it has run out of explosives and a recent Wall Street Journal report cites experts stating that Hezbollah is rebuilding, raising the chances of renewed conflict with Israel. It's almost a year into the ceasefire, which was struck on November 27, and we discuss the forces attempting to contain Hezbollah, including Israel, Lebanon and the US. Where is the conflict headed even as Lebanon’s year-end deadline to disarm the terror group approaches? Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Mourners carry the coffins of five Hezbollah killed in Israeli strikes in recent days, during their funeral procession in the southern town of Nabatieh, Lebanon, November 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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, amid pomp and circumstance at the Vatican, the Catholic Church marked 60 years to the Nostra Aetate, a document that — among other things — attempts to redefine the two-thousand-year-old relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. Berman delves into the Nostra Aetate's long-standing significance, especially as the relationship between Israel and the Vatican has frayed during the two-year war in Gaza launched by Hamas's murderous onslaught on southern Israel. We learn of the history behind the creation of the landmark document and the push-pull concerns from the Catholic communities in Mideast countries. We hear of the Jewish French historian Jules Isaac, who compiled Catholic anti-Jewish teachings and delivered them to Pope John XXIII, confirming the need to chart out a new path in the Church. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Pope Leo XIV attends a commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Vatican 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate (In Our Time) in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, October 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. Since US President Donald Trump's whirlwind visit to the Jewish state on Monday of last week, Israel has welcomed a revolving roster of high-level officials visiting the country. This week saw the arrival of Trump’s senior Middle East advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance — and his wife Usha — and also US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. As their visits spur accusations that Israel is becoming a "client" or vassal state of the US, controversial MK Avi Maoz brought a bill that passed in a preliminary reading in the Knesset on Wednesday. The bill would apply Israeli sovereignty to all West Bank settlements despite opposition from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most, but not all, of his Likud party. US officials quickly rebuked the annexation efforts in the Knesset, calling them "counterproductive" even as the Trump administration attempts to cement the recent ceasefire into a lasting peace deal. If the US succeeds, it wouldn't be the first time that an Israeli war was ended through US efforts. This week, Berman takes a historical look at other examples and examines the question of whether Israel is, indeed, relying on its "partner" the US to wind down its wars. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy)/ From left: Steve Witkoff, US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance sit before President Donald Trump holds a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room of the White House, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. Israel awaits the release of the 48 hostages -- living and dead -- held by Hamas and other terrorist organizations since the October 7, 2023, onslaught on southern Israel that saw 1,200 slain and another 250 taken captive to the Strip. Ahead of this release, scheduled for early next week, Berman explains the pressures on the Hamas terror group that brought them to give up on two of their three negotiating stances. We then learn how Israel may operate after the IDF's drawdown to some 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. Berman explores three models: how the IDF operates in Lebanon versus in the West Bank or the idea of an external international peace-keeping force. Stay tuned to discover which model Berman prefers on this week's Friday Focus. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (Courtesy) / A Hamas terrorist fighter takes up a position ahead of a hostages release in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. On Sunday, the tally of the 193 UN members who recognize a State of Palestine grew to at least 145 as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal formally joined their ranks. Several other countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Malta, followed suit during a summit on the future of the two-state solution chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on Monday at United Nations headquarters in New York. We discuss why these states believe that this recognition is an anti-Hamas gesture and may kick off negotiations to end the war in Gaza. Israel, for its part, thinks that the recognition is a prize for terror: On this, Hamas appeared to agree, thanking the UK and Canada and calling their action a “victory.” This week, Berman delves into the knotty issue of Palestinian statehood and potentially unforeseen ripple effects. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / A sticker on a desk reads 'State of Palestine' at the Palestinian mission to France, one day after France recognized Palestinian statehood, September 23, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday this week that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.” However, later on Wednesday, an Israeli foreign ministry official told AFP that Syria will seal several security and military agreements with Israel by the end of the year. Despite the discrepancy in timing, it is clear that both countries are interested and invested in completing a security pact in the near future. On this week's Friday Focus, Berman reviews other previous pacts with Syria -- and attempts -- throughout Israel's history. We learn how the civil war in Syria and the fall of the Assad regime have recalibrated how Israel operates inside its neighbor to the north. And we hear about the conflicting Israeli feelings in losing a strong leader who kept the border relatively quiet. Finally, Berman discusses what Israel may demand from Syria -- where it's willing to withdraw and where it decidedly will not. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Lazar Berman (courtesy) / Syria's President Ahmad Al-Sharaa in Damascus, September 12, 2025. (SANA/AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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. It’s September 15, 2020, and on the South Lawn of the White House, a group of leaders from the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain assembled to mark a once-unlikely normalization agreement. Berman talks us through why these countries were originally included in the accords and which were on deck before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, that launched the Gaza War. We hear what gains were made through these accords -- and what setbacks there have been since the Gaza War erupted. We also discuss how Israel’s recent attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership this week in Qatar may affect relations with Gulf States moving forward. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo on the Blue Room Balcony after signing the Abraham Accords at the White House in Washington, September 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's newest podcast series, Friday 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, Berman takes up the host role for an in-depth interview with author Yaakov Katz about his new book, "While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East," which he co-wrote with Amir Bohbot. A former military correspondent, Katz served as editor in chief of The Jerusalem Post from 2016-2023, leaving just before the war. Currently a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem, Katz is the author or co-author of four books. Katz talks about the ignored "alarm bells" indicating that Hamas was about to launch a major attack prior to October 7, 2023. He speaks about the uncertainty whether Hamas was conducting a drill and how warning signs were disregarded because they didn't fit the paradigm built by Israel around the capabilities of Hamas. "We were so infatuated, in love with the signal intelligence, the visual intelligence. We knew everything because we had the technology. But while we thought we knew, we did not know what their intentions were, we did not know what they were really planning," said Katz. Katz delves into the goals of Hamas head Yahye Sinwar and how many he achieved, despite the terrorist group's degradation. We hear an assessment of the war, almost two years in, as well as who should be running Gaza in the day after. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Yaakov Katz (courtesy)/ Israeli soldiers walk past houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel, October 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Dr. Micah Goodman, followed by a personal account of life in Gush Katif by former Nezer Hazani resident Anita Tucker and last week, we heard from Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who shared the perspective of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip and the ripple effect felt after the Disengagement. This week, we speak with author and thinker Yossi Klein Halevi from his Jerusalem home. The Shalom Hartman Institute senior fellow begins by explaining why he and so many other Israelis supported Disengagement. He describes how the promises of security from the right and peace from the left failed, and so many Israelis were eager to try the "centrist" approach of unilateralism. Klein Halevi describes the zeitgeist of the time and compares it with the renewed global interest in a Palestinian state -- despite the Hamas massacre of 1,200 on October 7, 2023, and the continued captivity of another 20 living hostages and 30 dead. In the context of the ongoing war, when asked whether the two-state solution is dead, Klein Halevi's answer may surprise. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Yossi Klein Halevi (courtesy)/ Former prime minister Ariel Sharon speaking to students on the first day of classes in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim, Sept. 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 personal account of life in Gush Katif by former Nezer Hazani resident Anita Tucker. This week, we hear from Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who shares the perspective of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip and the ripple effect felt there after the Disengagement. Alkhatib, who left the Strip for the United States as a high school pupil in 2005, leads Realign For Palestine, an Atlantic Council project that challenges entrenched narratives in the Israel and Palestine discourse. He is an outspoken critic of Hamas, who writes and speaks about Gaza’s political and humanitarian affairs at a variety of international media outlets. We hear about Alkhatib's childhood in Gaza City and the few experiences he had with the Jewish Gush Katif residents. We learn about how, at age 17, Alkhatib became one of the first Palestinians to receive asylum in the US following the rise of Hamas in the Strip. Alkhatib describes the seeds of Hamas and how it became emboldened through the tacit encouragement of Israel. Today, he says, the terror group is so entangled with the civilian population that uprooting it is virtually impossible without any other alternative on the horizon. He looks back at the wasted opportunity of the Disengagement. "This is a thread that we had and could have grabbed onto and done something with," he tells The Times of Israel. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Palestinian police set up Palestinian and Fatah flags on top of a synagogue in the former Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in the southern Gaza Strip, September 12, 2005. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 her home in 2005 alongside her husband, children and grandchildren. Affectionately called "the celery lady" due to her flourishing Gush Katif farm, Tucker describes how her young children were the deciding factor for staking their tent pegs in the barren land of Nezer Hazani after she viewed them "sledding" down the dunes on garbage bags. This same inert sand allowed the residents to grow their trademark, bug-free Gush Katif vegetables with the newest agricultural technology -- drip irrigation. She talks about warm relationships with her Arab neighbors -- until talk of "peace" came and the empowerment of PLO leader Yasser Arafat. She describes how once Arafat established a foothold in Gaza, he hanged the leadership of Deir al-Balah, who were Tucker’s close personal friends. She speaks about the terror attacks the community absorbed, but the ideological faith that their community was protecting the rest of the Land of Israel. Former prime minister Ariel Sharon's announcement of a unilateral pullout from Gaza came as a betrayal and we hear how the youth protested against this move until the very end. But after the pullout, the former Gush Katif residents experienced a second betrayal in that they had to fight to get compensation and rebuild their lives. Tucker and much of the original settlement refounded Nezer Hazani seven years later inside the State of Israel, but, as she says, these are their "houses," they are not their "homes." Tucker speaks to the community's yearning to resettle the Gaza Strip and how concrete plans have been presented to the Israeli government during what the potential resettlers view as a window of opportunity. Friday Focus can be found on all podcast platforms. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Israeli Jewish settlers celebrate the Jewish festival of Tu Bishvat, marking the new year for trees in the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in the Gush Katif block of settlements in the Gaza Strip, January 25, 2005. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.