Day 707 - Lazar Berman: After five years, are the Abraham Accords a success?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 September 2025
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Times of Israel's Friday Focus. I'm your host, Amanda Borchelle Dan, with our |
| 0:08.2 | diplomatic correspondent, Laser Bearman. Laser, I'm so glad to be in dialogue with you again. I've |
| 0:14.3 | missed you so much. Oh, I've missed you too. I've been away in Scotland, in the United States, |
| 0:19.5 | and of course, this being Israel, the news has moved |
| 0:22.5 | quickly. So think of where we were a month and a half ago and think of where we are now. A lot has |
| 0:27.3 | happened, and there's plenty to talk about. Think of where we were on Sunday and where we are now, |
| 0:32.2 | and we're actually going to talk about a little bit of that, because we're going to discuss |
| 0:37.0 | the status of the Abraham Accords, |
| 0:39.3 | which are celebrating their fifth birthday next week. Layser is going to talk us through which |
| 0:45.2 | countries are in the accords and which were on deck before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 |
| 0:52.2 | in Israel on October 7, 2023, that of course launched the Gaza War. |
| 0:58.8 | We're also going to discuss how Israel's recent attempted assassination of the Hamas leadership |
| 1:04.2 | this week may affect relations with Gulf states moving forward, because, of course, |
| 1:09.9 | that happened in Qatar. So all of this |
| 1:12.9 | and more when we're back. Looking to make your high holidays more meaningful? This September, |
| 1:23.8 | join Lamdanu's free online Zoom classes. Open to women and men at lambdanel.org |
| 1:30.8 | and explore the holiday prayers and Torah readings with top teachers from all over the world. |
| 1:36.2 | And don't miss our daily classes all year round. |
| 1:39.5 | Every Monday, dive into Sephirayshit with Dean Rachel Friedman and jump into Torah commentators with |
| 1:45.4 | Rabbi Chaim Angel. On Tuesdays, sharpen Yoramara skills with Rabbi Gedalia Berger and unpack |
| 1:51.7 | Agadot Hazal with Rabbi Yitzhak at Shalom. On Wednesdays, travel through all of Tanakh, one |
| 1:57.2 | book a week with Rabbi Yitzhak Tuerski, and on Thursdays study Hilchat Erev Shabbat with Rabbi Berger |
... |
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