Day 784 - Lazar Berman: As US and Saudi Arabia shore up ties, is Israel left out?
The Times of Israel Daily Briefing
The Times of Israel
4.5 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 28 November 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Laser Focus. I'm your host, Amanda Borchelle Don, here with our talent, diplomatic correspondent, Laser Bearman. |
| 0:11.1 | Like, Laser, thank you so much for joining me again in our Jerusalem office. |
| 0:14.6 | Thank you, glad to be here. The first time anyone's ever called me talent. So it's a big day for me. |
| 0:20.2 | You have the voice. You have for me. You have the voice. |
| 0:21.6 | You have the looks. |
| 0:22.8 | You have the brains. |
| 0:25.4 | You are the talent of laser focus. |
| 0:29.6 | You and my mother are the only ones who think that, but I will take it. |
| 0:31.3 | Excellent. |
| 0:32.1 | All right. |
| 0:35.3 | Well, today we're going to talk about the Saudis. |
| 0:39.3 | And last week, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman in the White House. And after that, there were a bunch of announcements. |
| 0:44.6 | Among these announcements were a trillion dollars in investment in the American economy from the |
| 0:50.9 | Saudis. There was also the civil nuclear cooperation agreement, also |
| 0:55.8 | advancements in critical minerals cooperation, and an AI memorandum of understanding. But one of the |
| 1:03.0 | agreements or announcements that Israelis have been hoping for for a long time was not announced, |
| 1:09.0 | and that is, of course, Saudi normalization. So today we're |
| 1:12.5 | going to talk about the idea of the Vision 2030 from Saudi Arabia, how Israel could or could |
| 1:20.9 | not play a role in this, including, of course, the idea of normalization, and what Israel's role would be in this new Middle |
| 1:30.5 | East in which the U.S. is increasingly cozying up to Saudi Arabia. So we'll conquer all |
| 1:36.7 | of these topics and more when we're back. |
| 1:43.6 | This episode is brought to you by the Jewish communal fund, helping individuals and families make the most of their charitable giving. |
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