i am hazem sika. israel's former prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, had a difficult relationship with democratic u.s. leaders barack obama and joe biden. many saw him as a strong supporter of republican presidents, particularly donald trump. his successor, naftali bennet, -- his successor, naftali bennett, is in washington, hoping to mend ties on his first official trip abroad, since taking office. but biden and bennett don't see eye to eye on a number of regional issues. at the top of that list is the 2015 iran nuclear deal. biden has been holding indirect talks with tehran to revive the agreement, while israel has been strongly against it. naftali bennett has also made it clear, he won't allow for an independent palestine. but he had a message of cooperation, as he left for washington. >> there is a new government in the united states, and a new government in israel. and i bring with me from jerusalem a new spirit of cooperation, and this is based on a special and longstanding relationship between

i'm hazem sika. as the tokyo olympics come to an end this sunday, a year late because of the covid-19 pandemic, some athletes and their nations are celebrating their medals, while others will be looking at where they can improve in three years' time. in paris, what has arguably been the world's biggest sporting event has always been a chance for nations big and small to showcase themselves on the grandest of stages. historically, the prestige of the athlete's medal podium has been an opportunity for governments to promote a kind of soft power of culture and influence, rather than the hard power of wealth and military might. but have some countries now crossed that line? and do the games still have the same impact for the medal-winning nations and the hosts? we'll be asking those questions and more with our guests in a moment, but first, let's take a look at some of the major events involving the games and politics. in 1936, nazi germany hosted the olympics, but it only allowed what it referred to as