Day 455 - Why the IDF abandoned the offensive and ended up with Oct. 7

The Times of Israel Daily Briefing

The Times of Israel

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4.4 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

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 reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan on today's show.

In today's special longer Friday episode, Berman charts the evolving essential purpose of the IDF, starting with its origins. He speaks of the push-pull of a fledgling organization as both a defensive and offensive body.

We learn how the fight for Israel's independence crystallized the need for an easily maneuverable fighting machine that would not hinder the Jewish state's need for a stable economy.

Berman explains how first prime minister David Ben-Gurion's solutions worked well -- until with the shifting tides of warfare, they really didn't.

In this podcast, the first installment of a two-part conversation, we hear how after a series of wars and political decisions, the stage was set for the IDF's catastrophic failure on October 7.

For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel’s ongoing live blog.

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves.

IMAGE: A detachment of Haganah soldiers overlooking Acre relaxes on May 21, 1948, after the three-day fight for the city, which surrendered on May 18. 1948. (AP Photo/FN)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Times of Israel's daily briefing.
0:08.1	Today's Friday, January 3rd, Day 455 of the war.
0:13.3	Amanda Borsel Dan here in our Jerusalem offices with diplomatic correspondent Lazer
0:17.4	Bairman for another Friday Focus or Friday Shmooze?
0:22.4	No.
0:22.7	We still have not decided on the name.
0:24.4	It's definitely not Shmoose.
0:25.7	It might be focus.
0:26.7	Everyone calls it a smooze, but okay, laser.
0:28.8	So Friday Focus.
0:30.4	This week, I'm going to make you wear your hat that you wore when you were studying for
0:36.3	your second degree.
0:37.3	What is your second degree in
0:38.6	laser? It is in national security with a focus on military operations from Georgetown University.
0:46.1	Okay, so we are going to talk about kind of the origin story of the IDF and how it's had a push pull in its essential purpose as both a defensive
0:57.3	and an offensive body. I can't wait to hear all about this and much, much more when we're
1:03.6	back.
1:10.4	Are you searching for a podcast that thoughtfully explores the complexities of Jewish life, identity and Israel?
1:17.9	Wondering Jews with Mikhail and Noam does just that.
1:22.2	Hosted by Mikhail Bitton and Noam Weissman, two seasoned educators and scholars,
1:29.7	Wondering Jews dives into Jewish life today with curiosity, humor, and heart. As the podcast celebrates its first birthday,
1:36.9	they're sharing their top five staff picks every Wednesday, episodes that stood out for their
	...

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