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 extended Friday episode.

As Israel continues to contend with a war on seven fronts — primarily through Iran-backed militia proxies — Berman floats a hypothesis that Israel should turn to its natural allies in the region as well.

More from The Daily Briefing

We hear about how history has shown that Israeli proxies don’t always have the same goals as the Jewish state. We learn about the case of the South Lebanon Army and how things entirely fell apart. And Berman explains how the Kurds — and potentially the Druze — could be a long-term strategic answer for Israel’s isolated position in the region.

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

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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.