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FIDF Live

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Yesterday · 45 min
FIDF SPECIAL BRIEFING - Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director, Foundation for Defense of Democracies - 9.6.2026
Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by saying the war has not ended but shifted, with the U.S. striking Iran again, Iran retaliating, sanctions tightening around Tehran, and Hezbollah adapting into smaller guerrilla formations. Jonathan Schanzer says the U.S. is now enforcing a tougher economic campaign against Iran, targeting places where sanctions were previously under-enforced, while Tehran responds with attacks across the Gulf and Jordan. He argues that Iran’s proxies are weakening on multiple fronts: Hamas through the Gaza “Board of Peace” plan, Hezbollah through Israel-Lebanon diplomacy backed by Israeli military pressure, and Shiite militias in Iraq through political negotiations. Schanzer also warns that the Houthis remain one of the most dangerous unresolved threats, especially because of their ballistic missiles, ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb, and emerging ties with al-Shabab. A major focus is the new Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani “Mecca Defense Agreement,” which Schanzer sees not only as a response to Iran but as a potentially dangerous alternative alliance structure that could undermine the Abraham Accords-aligned regional vision. The briefing closes with Schanzer saying Israel and the U.S. have made real strategic gains against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, but Lara emphasizes that every enemy is trying to adapt and rebuild, leaving IDF soldiers and reservists to carry the burden nearly three years into the war.
August 23 · 1 hr 3 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Vice President of Newsrael - Auguest 23, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by introducing Dr. Mordechai Kedar as a veteran Israeli military intelligence expert whose focus is understanding the cultures, ideologies, rivalries, and psychology behind Middle Eastern actors, not just their surface-level statements. Kedar begins with Turkey, arguing that Israel’s strike on the Abaza airbase in northern Syria was a direct warning to Erdogan after Israeli intelligence saw preparations for a deeper Turkish military move into Syria, closer to Damascus and therefore closer to Israel. He frames Erdogan’s worldview as neo-Ottoman and Muslim Brotherhood-influenced, saying Turkey sees former Ottoman lands—including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel—as part of its historical sphere, while also supporting Hamas and presenting a growing strategic challenge to Israel. Kedar says Israel’s post–October 7 doctrine is to deal with threats while they are still “small,” explaining that Israel’s actions against Turkey, Hezbollah, Iran, and Hamas are part of a broader message that Israeli security now comes before every other consideration. He also argues that new regional alignments—especially between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia—reflect fear that the U.S. may eventually pull back before Iran is defeated, leaving Sunni states exposed to Iranian revenge and destabilization. The conversation closes with Kedar warning that Western leaders often misread the Middle East because they apply Western assumptions to a region shaped by religion, tribalism, deception, and jihadist ideology, while Lara ends by reminding viewers that Israel’s soldiers must be ready for whatever comes next and urging support for their humanitarian and well-being needs.
August 9 · 26 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Jonny Daniels, Activist, Former Senior Advisor to Deputy Ministry of Defense - 8.9.26
Lara Krinsky opens this IDF Live briefing by introducing Jonny Daniels—activist, social media journalist, former senior advisor to Israel’s Deputy Minister of Defense, and founder of From the Depths—as a trusted voice helping audiences separate facts from noise during a fast-moving war. Daniels begins by stressing his personal connection to the IDF as a former paratrooper and says the region is in a waiting period, with Iran under heavy economic pressure even if the expected kinetic action has not yet materialized. On Gaza, he is skeptical that any “Board of Peace” arrangement will truly resolve the Hamas problem, arguing that Hamas may play for time or tactical advantage but that no Israeli government will allow it to return to its pre–October 7 position. He also warns audiences to be careful in the information space, saying misinformation spreads from anti-Israel sources and even irresponsible Jewish outlets, and that people should rely on verified sources rather than doom-scrolling or chasing unconfirmed reports. Looking at the Diaspora, Daniels says Jews around the world are facing more fear and antisemitism, including in the UK, France, Canada, and Australia, but he also sees many becoming more willing to speak up publicly for Israel. He closes by describing IDF morale as very high because Israelis are literally fighting for their homeland, while emphasizing that prolonged war still takes a psychological toll and that FIDF’s support for soldiers’ well-being, PTSD care, rehabilitation, and families is essential.
July 26 · 44 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: LTC. (Ret.) Or Horvitz, National Security Expert - July 26, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens this IDF Live briefing by framing the region as dangerously unstable, with the U.S. striking Iranian targets, Iran retaliating against Arab neighbors, Israel on high alert, and Lebanon still active despite diplomacy. Lt. Col. (res.) Or Horvitz says the immediate U.S. focus is reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but warns that Iran’s stubborn refusal to restore free navigation could trigger broader escalation between Washington, Tehran, and potentially Israel. He stresses that Israel’s urgent priority remains Iran’s roughly 500 kilos of enriched uranium, because if it is not diluted or removed, Iran could still use deception and secrecy to move toward a nuclear weapon. Horvitz argues the regime is fundamentally unstable—fragmented, financially strained, hated by much of its population, and unlikely to survive long-term—but says it will probably fall through domestic pressure rather than outside military force alone. On Lebanon, he sees a real but fragile opportunity: Hezbollah has been badly weakened, Lebanese leaders are speaking more boldly about demilitarization, and Israel should “trust but verify” while insisting on border, port, airport, and army reforms that cut off Iranian money and arms. He closes by warning that Gaza is still not solved because Hamas continues to control significant territory and ideology, and by thanking FIDF for strengthening the U.S.-Israel partnership and supporting Israeli society as a whole.
July 12 · 32 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING Brig. Gen. Elad Edri, Homefront Command Chief of Staff - July 12, 2026
Jennifer Scher opens this IDF Live briefing by introducing Brigadier General Elad Edri, Chief of Staff for the Homefront Command, who joins from Venezuela after two major earthquakes caused historic damage and prompted a rare request for Israeli assistance despite the absence of diplomatic relations since 2009. Edri explains that, unlike past Israeli disaster missions focused on search-and-rescue, this delegation was asked to provide recovery expertise, so Israel sent a 30-person team centered on engineers trained to inspect damaged buildings and classify them as safe, repairable, or unusable. He describes the mission as both technically complex and emotionally significant: the team needed nearly four days to reach Venezuela, was warmly received by the local Jewish community, and later presented a national recovery framework to senior Venezuelan officials and the president. Edri says the delegation quickly expanded from inspecting individual buildings to helping draft a broader one-to-two-year national recovery plan for hundreds of damaged structures, drawing on lessons from Surfside, Turkey, and Israel’s own wartime home-front experience. He shares moving moments of civilians crying with relief when told their homes were safe, and says the mission has become about more than rebuilding buildings—echoing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s line that Israel came to “recover buildings” but is also helping “recover relationships between countries.” The briefing closes with gratitude for the Homefront Command team, a prayer for their safety, and a reminder that FIDF supports Israel’s soldiers wherever they are serving, whether on the front lines of war or in humanitarian missions abroad.
June 28 · 38 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Gadi Ezra, Former Director, Israel's National Public Diplomacy Unit - June 28, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by framing the last two weeks as a major diplomatic pivot, with military pressure giving way to negotiations involving Iran, Lebanon, the U.S., and regional intermediaries. Gadi Ezra explains that two parallel tracks are now shaping the region: U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and stabilizing the broader conflict, and Israel-Lebanon talks under U.S. auspices focused on southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament. He warns that Iran is trying to tie Lebanon into the broader U.S.-Iran framework so it can preserve influence through Hezbollah, cast Israel as the obstacle to peace, and tell its own public that it still controls the region. Ezra argues Israel must not sit back and let others design the “day after,” pointing to Gaza as a cautionary example where Qatar gained influence because Israel failed to shape the diplomatic architecture early enough. He says Israel needs to take initiative by putting forward a concrete plan for Lebanon that combines IDF enforcement, Lebanese legal and political action, and American-led economic rehabilitation. The briefing closes with Ezra stressing that the information and diplomatic battles are now as critical as the military ones, and that Israel’s soldiers ultimately carry the consequences of every negotiation, compromise, and strategic decision.
June 14 · 42 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director, FDD - 6.14.26
Lara Krinsky opens this briefing by framing the moment as fast-moving and unstable, with Israel facing pressure to accept deals even as Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas continue testing red lines. Jonathan Schanzer explains that the recent “ceasefire war” exposed Iran’s attempt to fold Lebanon into the Iran ceasefire, while Hezbollah kept attacking Israel with rockets and FPV drones until Israel finally struck major Hezbollah targets and then hit Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles. He argues Israel established an important deterrent message: Iran does not get to dictate what Israel can do in Lebanon, and attacks on Israel will be answered more painfully than they were delivered. Schanzer says President Trump’s push for a deal reflects real constraints—finite U.S. munitions, air-defense burdens, domestic politics, oil prices, and pressure from Gulf states—but that Iran’s downing of a U.S. helicopter appears to have reinforced the lesson that weakness invites more aggression. He outlines a possible path that does not require a full renewed hot war: sustained economic pressure, a blockade on Iranian oil exports, targeted strikes when necessary, and continued messaging to the Iranian people until the regime buckles. The briefing closes by warning that Turkey may be the next major regional threat if Iran weakens, while also noting real IDF progress in Gaza, where Israel has expanded its control beyond the original “yellow line” and significantly reduced Hamas’s ability to threaten southern Israel.
May 31 · 36 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: SFC. Kelly Odes, IDF Head of Strategy & Messaging - May 31, 2026
Lara Krinsky hosts this IDF Live briefing with Sgt. First Class Kelly Odes from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, focusing on how the war is fought both on the battlefield and in the global information space. Kelly says the main current effort is the northern front, citing major IDF gains against Hezbollah’s command structure—including roughly 7,500 operatives eliminated since the start of the war (about 2,500 since Operation Roaring Lion began in March), plus hundreds more since the ceasefire understandings. She stresses that the threat is evolving, especially the surge in explosive drones, noting the recent death of a young female soldier, Rotem, and outlining a three-part response: better detection/interception, improved protective measures, and strikes on drone storage/production sites. On Gaza, she describes renewed activity and a string of high-level Hamas eliminations—including two successive heads of military operations—while warning Hamas is still trying to regroup and rearm despite international pressure to disarm. On Iran, she says the IDF remains on high readiness and is building contingency plans while awaiting political decisions as negotiations extend, and she argues Israel’s post–Oct. 7 doctrine is proactive: don’t wait for threats to grow. The briefing closes with a strong emphasis on morale—soldiers are fatigued but undeterred—and a call to support troops facing relentless combat and delegitimization through FIDF.
May 17 · 54 min
FIDF SPECIAL BRIEFING Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Vice President of Newsrael - 5.17.2026
Lara Krinsky opens this briefing by noting a week of deadlines, threats, and quiet repositioning from China to Lebanon to Iran, then welcomes Dr. Mordechai Kedar to unpack the psychology driving events beneath the headlines. Kedar argues President Trump is approaching a “T-junction” on Iran—torn between domestic pressure to avoid another long war and the risk of looking weak after weeks of strikes if Iran still refuses to bend and keeps threatening the Strait of Hormuz. He says Iran’s leadership operates under a jihadist logic in which surrender is not an option, and that even major damage to air and naval capabilities doesn’t necessarily destabilize the regime because internal control depends mainly on security forces with rifles. The conversation then shifts to a provocative alternative to the traditional two-state model: Kedar advocates “emirates” in Judea and Samaria—locally clan-based city-states (Hebron, Nablus, Jericho, etc.) that could declare independence from the Palestinian Authority and potentially join a normalization framework like the Abraham Accords. He argues nationalism is a recent and fragile glue in the region and that the PA’s legitimacy relies on anti-Israel incitement, while clan structures are the durable social unit and therefore could govern without needing perpetual conflict. He closes by warning that Qatar’s money and media ecosystem (including Al Jazeera and funding of Western institutions) shapes global narratives, and Lara ends with a call to support Israel’s soldiers and security forces through FIDF.
May 3 · 50 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Brig. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Nuriel, Counter Terrorism Expert - May 3, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens by warning that Israel is still facing active threats on multiple fronts—Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Judea/Samaria—and brings on Brig. Gen. Nitzan Nuriel (ret.) to explain how terrorism and escalation are evolving in real time. Nuriel says Israel’s achievements are significant but the war is far from over, and he worries the IDF is stretched thin as exhausted reservists and under-trained active units struggle to sustain the tempo. He predicts another round of U.S.-Israel kinetic action against Iran soon and argues regime change is the only durable end state, outlining a six-part approach that combines continued strikes, empowering Iran’s regular military, mobilizing Kurdish forces, targeting IRGC leadership, pushing Gulf states to join offensively, and calling Iranians back into the streets. He warns that while Israel controls large portions of Gaza, Hamas is still regenerating by controlling aid, raising money, and recruiting new fighters, meaning Gaza remains unresolved. On Lebanon, he says Hezbollah is also fighting for survival and will try to sabotage any diplomatic opening with Beirut, and he floats a long-term regional “10-year plan” led by Saudi Arabia to rebuild trust and stability. He closes with a blunt manpower reality: reservists can’t serve 200 days a year indefinitely, frustration over unequal service burdens is rising, and without clear political end-states Israel risks running a marathon without knowing where the stadium is.
April 26 · 38 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: LTC (Ret.) Or Horvitz, National Security Expert, Elsight - 4.26.2026
Lara Krinsky opens by warning that public messaging doesn’t match the hidden “movements beneath the surface,” then speaks with Lt. Col. (Res.) Or Horovitz about a fragile window in which the Middle East could tip into either renewed war or a drawn-out stalemate. Horovitz says the key U.S. pressure point is the Strait of Hormuz—where Iran’s harassment and a U.S. maritime blockade are colliding—while the deeper, harder issues remain Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles, where he sees little “zone of agreement.” He describes Iran’s leadership as fragmented and incoherent after recent upheaval, with the IRGC potentially calling the shots and still telling itself a delusional “survival equals victory” story that makes concessions unlikely. On China, he argues Beijing’s priority is restoring steady oil flow, but warns that even “dual-use” Chinese materials could massively accelerate Iran’s missile production if not stopped through U.S. economic leverage. Horovitz says Israel’s strategic imperative is regime destabilization over time—Reagan-versus-the-Soviets style—while simultaneously preventing Iran from rebuilding nuclear and missile capabilities, and he frames removing Iran’s enriched uranium as the single most important near-term outcome. He also sees a rare opportunity in Lebanon: under U.S. “umbrella” diplomacy, Israel and Lebanese officials could move toward a peace process that steadily drains Hezbollah of Iranian money and influence, even as Hezbollah tries to sabotage talks with provocations and the region’s next looming challenge becomes Turkey as the Shiite axis weakens.
April 19 · 52 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: Jonathan Schanzer, Foundation for Defense Democracies (FDD) - April 19, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by saying the week’s “pause” feels less like an ending and more like a setup, and she brings on Jonathan Schanzer (FDD) to explain the contradictory messaging and whether the ceasefires with Iran and Lebanon can hold. He argues the U.S.-Israel conventional campaign badly weakened Iran, but warns the regime is using the lull to rearm—refurbishing missile launchers and seeking Chinese inputs like drone parts and chemical precursors—raising the odds of renewed fighting. Schanzer says the bigger complication is Iran’s asymmetric “economic war” through the Strait of Hormuz, which spiked energy prices and pushed Trump toward a ceasefire to stabilize markets. He describes the U.S. response as “Operation Economic Fury,” centered on a blockade and expanded sanctions meant to choke Iran’s oil revenues—potentially costing the regime hundreds of millions per day—while leaving Israel watching from the wings. On Lebanon, he highlights a new tension point: pressure from Iran and others to fold Lebanon into the ceasefire, Trump publicly telling Israel to stop bombing, and Israel’s concern that delays benefit Hezbollah after major mobilization. He closes by saying the coming weeks hinge on whether Iran’s economic coercion forces U.S. choices, whether the Iranian people can unify if a “phase two” emerges, and whether Israel can seize a rare diplomatic opening with Lebanon without letting Hezbollah regroup.
April 12 · 57 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING - Jonathan Schanzer, Foundation for Defense Democracies - 4.12.26
In this IDF Live briefing, Krinsky speaks with Jonathan Schanzer (FDD) about how the conflict whiplashed from full-scale attacks into a shaky ceasefire and then into “no man’s land,” with talks in Islamabad collapsing almost immediately. Schanzer says the ceasefire was never built on shared terms—Washington framed it as a conditional pause tied to opening the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran sold it domestically as a victory that would bring sanctions relief—making a durable deal unlikely from the start. He flags Pakistan’s role as a strange and shaky broker, and argues the bigger story is that all sides are using the lull to rearm, with Russia/China reportedly helping Iran while Israel worries about finite missile-defense interceptors and whether Iran can reopen “missile cities” and surge launches again. The most dangerous fuse, he warns, is the Strait of Hormuz: mines, shore-fired threats, and an emerging “toll booth” logic could revive an energy-and-markets war that forces the U.S. into hard choices—double down or leave—depending largely on Trump’s next call. He also stresses Israel is fighting a grinding multi-front war and is now pushing hard in Lebanon to clear Hezbollah away from the border and create a buffer zone, even as unprecedented direct Lebanon–Israel discussions are hinted at under U.S. auspices. The episode ends with the core uncertainty still unresolved—whether this is a pause before round two and whether U.S. and Israeli objectives remain fully aligned—followed by a reminder that “reality vs. distortion” is part of the fight and a call to support soldiers and reservists through FIDF.
April 5 · 42 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nadav Padan, FIDF CEO - April 5, 2026
Lara Krinsky opens the Passover/Easter briefing by calling the moment a live strategic shift across Iran and Lebanon, then interviews Maj. Gen. Nadav Padan, a 40-year IDF veteran and FIDF CEO, on the doctrine and reality of the war. He argues war isn’t about “killing the last missile,” but about building momentum—and says U.S. and Israeli forces are fighting daily to sustain air superiority over Iran while repeatedly striking air defenses and underground ballistic-missile complexes that keep trying to regenerate. Padan lays out three endgame paths and warns that both a long war of attrition and a deal that relaxes sanctions are bad outcomes, because economic pressure is what most plausibly destabilizes the regime and limits its ability to fund proxies. He says Iran wants the fighting to stop but won’t truly capitulate, predicting the conflict is more likely to conclude in “weeks,” either through a negotiated exit or a coalition declaration that forces Iran to absorb damage and stand down. On the northern front, he describes Hezbollah as still capable of launching rockets but far weaker—struggling to pay salaries, facing Shiite public backlash and massive displacement—and he also addresses Iran’s use of cluster-style warheads and how the global media environment shapes what gets attention. Krinsky closes by spotlighting a dramatic “no one left behind” rescue of downed U.S. F-15 pilots as a symbol of operational coordination, then pivots to a call to support reservists and families—especially recovery, reintegration, and PTSD care—through FIDF.
March 29 · 1 hr 5 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: Maj. (Res) Doron Spielman, Author and Former VP, City of David - 3.29.26
Lara Krinsky opens this IDF Live briefing by framing the moment as both ancient and immediate—a fight not only on the battlefield, but over narrative, legitimacy, and truth—then welcomes Maj. (Res.) Doron Spielman, author and former VP of the City of David. Doron argues we’re living through tectonic, WWII-scale shifts, and describes a new kind of warfare in which Israel and the U.S. are executing thousands of intelligence-grade, pinpoint strikes over 2,000 miles away to target IRGC leadership, missile infrastructure, and command networks. He stresses that Iran’s ballistic missiles are especially dangerous because they’re the delivery system for a potential nuclear warhead, and says Iran’s strategy is to wear down Israeli civilians with nightly attacks while it still can. He adds that Tehran is also trying to destabilize surrounding Arab states and weaponize the Strait of Hormuz as a global energy choke point—moves he says are backfiring by pushing regional actors closer to the U.S. and exposing Europe’s weakness and indecision. Doron frames President Trump’s “America First” posture as a paradigm shift toward confronting hostile regimes and dictating hard terms—dismantle Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, stop funding proxies, and neutralize Iran’s Hormuz leverage—while warning Israel must still build greater long-term military independence in case future U.S. politics change. Looking ahead, he says regime change in Iran could be slow and bloody but momentum is building across multiple fronts (from Lebanon’s push toward the Litani to interdicting weapons routes via Syria), and he closes by tying it to Passover’s core lesson: the Jewish people endure by telling the freedom story—and Israel may emerge from this conflict as an uncontested regional power with major new diplomatic and economic opportunities.
March 22 · 1 hr 3 min
FIDF SPECIAL BRIEFING: Dr. Mordechai Kedar, Executive Director, INSS - 3.22.26
Lara Krinsky opens the briefing by saying the headlines only capture a fraction of what’s really happening, then brings on Dr. Mordechai Kedar to explain why Iran’s behavior in the fourth week of the war looks increasingly irrational. He argues Iran is deliberately widening the conflict beyond Israel and the U.S.—hitting Gulf states and other regional targets—because the regime is driven by an apocalyptic Twelver-Shia worldview that seeks chaos rather than normal self-preservation. Kedar warns that Europe is “sleepwalking” even as Iran demonstrates missile ranges that could threaten major European capitals, and he notes the striking imbalance that Gulf countries have absorbed far more Iranian fire than Israel while still hesitating to join the fight. He explains that their restraint is rooted in fear: they don’t trust the U.S. to finish the job, and they dread a scenario where the regime survives, humiliated, and later retaliates against them. On regime stability, he says Iran can survive without an air force or navy as long as its internal security forces remain cohesive, and he floats a path to lasting containment by backing ethnic militias to seize Iran’s oil-and-gas western corridor, cutting off the regime’s revenue and capacity to rebuild. He closes by touching on Qatar’s risky history of dependence on Iran, downplaying Iranian claims of breakthroughs against Israel’s defenses (including arguing the Dimona core is deeply underground), and warning that a “new Middle East” could still bring fresh threats—especially from Turkey’s ambitions and a future Palestinian state that could again fall to Hamas.
March 15 · 53 min
FIDF LIVE SPECIAL BRIEFING: Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director, FDD - March 15, 2026
In this week's FIDF briefing, host Lara Krinsky, FIDF Director of Content and Production, welcomes Jonathan Schanzer (FDD), Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense Democracies, to discuss the ongoing war between Israel, the United States, and Iran. Jonathan provides a detailed analysis about the unprecedented military collaboration between the U.S. and Israel, the potential outcomes of this war for Iran and the region, and how this conflict compares to similar military endeavors from the recent past. He discusses the challenges that lay ahead for Israel and the U.S. as well as the potential benefits. Lara and Jonathan then analyze various potential paths forward and what impact this may have on American, Israeli, and global societies.Donate NOW at FIDF.org for the fastest and most direct way to give IDF Soldiers what they need most. 100% of your contribution will go to meet their emergency humanitarian needs.
February 22 · 35 min
FIDF BRIEFING: Gadi Ezra, Director of Israel's Nationa; Public Diplomacy Unit - February 22, 2026
In this FIDF briefing, host Laura Krinsky interviews former Israeli public diplomacy chief Gadi Levi about where the war stands and what may come next. He argues Hamas is not dismantled—still armed, still controlling large parts of Gaza outside Israel’s “Yellow Line”—and warns that “postwar” structures could simply rebrand Hamas control under the optics of Palestinian sovereignty. He says the key challenge is political as much as military: Israel needs clear, objective criteria (agreed with the United States) for what “dismantling Hamas” actually means before moving into the next phase, especially as he describes Hamas openly re-arming and IDF units still taking daily threats. The conversation then pivots to Iran, where he frames the risk of escalation as hinging largely on Donald Trump, outlines U.S. incentives for regional stability versus Iran’s survival-driven negotiating posture, and stresses Israel’s heightened readiness while acknowledging the uncertainty and potential chaos of regime collapse scenarios. He also treats Ramadan as a long-term strategic “incitement problem,” arguing Israel should aim to change the broader perception that violence is legitimized during the month by tackling propaganda and incitement year-round, not just adding forces for a few weeks. The briefing closes on the soldier perspective—exhaustion mixed with resolve and debate about strategy—underscored by the recent loss of a soldier from his unit, and a direct appeal for diaspora support as part of a shared Zionist project.
February 8 · 37 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: SFC. Kelly Kobani, IDF Spokesperson's Unit - February 8, 2026
In this FIDF IDF Live briefing, host Laura Krinsky speaks with Sgt. First Class Kelly Kobani from the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit about the “eighth front”: the media, legitimacy, and narrative war surrounding the fighting. Kobani describes a “post-truth” environment where false claims can reach millions within minutes, forcing a constant tradeoff between speed and accuracy as information must be verified through multiple layers before it can be released. She argues Hamas leverages an echo chamber—seed a story, then watch institutions like the United Nations and outlets such as CNN, BBC, and The New York Times amplify it—while Israel lacks comparable “validators.” She notes that even with a huge communications operation (press queries, delegations, multilingual platforms), constraints like notifying families before confirming casualties and framing choices by outlets like the Associated Press often mean Israel is fighting after a narrative has already hardened. Strategically, her team triages which “fires” to engage, uses influencers/third parties and targeted exclusives, tailors messaging to Israeli/global/Arabic audiences, and experiments with innovation—especially Gen Z outreach via YouTube and more personal, “authentic” storytelling. The episode closes with a direct call for supporters to help “rebrand” soldiers by sharing human stories and backing FIDF’s work supporting troops’ physical, mental, and emotional needs—because when Israel’s defenders are supported, Israel’s voice has a better chance in the legitimacy fight.
January 25 · 38 min
FIDF LIVE BRIEFING: Jonathan Schanzer, Executive Director, FDD - January 25, 2026
In this week's FIDF briefing, host Lara Krinsky, FIDF Director of Content and Production, welcomes Jonathan Schanzer (FDD), Executive Director of the Foundation for Defense Democracies, who maps the IDF's “strategic chessboard." Schanzer argues the region is nearing a peak moment in a conflict driven by Iran and its proxies, pointing to renewed unrest inside Iran amid economic freefall, regime crackdowns, and reports of mass violence, all in the shadow of recent direct Israel–Iran confrontation and U.S. pressure. He says the massive U.S. force posture in the region suggests real readiness for action, but emphasizes that outcomes are hard to predict because so much hinges on President Trump’s next move. The discussion then shifts to the risk of a wider “ring of fire” response—whether Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, the Houthis, and other proxies might attempt a saturation-style missile campaign—and what that would demand from Israel’s layered defenses. Gaza is treated as a diminished battlefield in this scenario, with attention moving to “phase two” plans for the strip’s future and the unresolved question of hostages, while Schanzer repeatedly flags Qatar and Turkey as dangerous actors shaping postwar arrangements. The host closes with a blunt call to action: stay informed, speak up, and materially support the soldiers carrying the burden of deterrence through FIDF.

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