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.

WATCH the full conversation here:

Months before the........

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