Israel Story

In May 1960, the Mossad captured Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires, and brought him to stand trial in Jerusalem. It's one of Israel's most glorified chapters, right up there with Entebbe, the bombing of the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor and Operation Solomon. So why did the doctor who sedated the Nazi mastermind minimize his role in the saga? And what can that tell us about the legacy of World War II, eighty...

The special was recorded in Ben Wallick’s studio and was mixed by Sela Waisblum. Repentance, prayer and charity, we are told, are our saving graces when Yom Kippur comes around. And, of course, confession is a big part of that trifecta. But do we still get the coveted brownie points if that confession took thirty years? In 1989, Robby Berman - a recent Yeshiva University grad and enthusiastic Zion...

Rosh HaShanah is cleanup time, even at the Kotel. But what happens to the millions of notes tucked away in its cool crevices? And what on earth does that have to do with Leonard Cohen, impromptu sword-fights and carp fish in the bathtub? For many folks, visiting the Kotel is emotional, meaningful and - more than anything - private. In fact, the single most common experience people have at the West...

In its final installment, our 'Wall' series comes full circle, back to where we began - the Kotel. But this time we won't be meeting Holocaust-survivors-turned-Palestinian-housewives. Instead, we will meet Jews who - in the name of their Judaism - have set off on a lifelong crusade. Walls can make us feel safe, warm and protected. But that's also their greatest danger. After all, walls can cut us...

If you are new to the show, there are so many episodes for you to check out. Why not start with Operation Hulda , Love Syndrome , and Milk, Honey and Sweet Mary Jane ? You can also sign up to our newsletter , and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . And lastly, whether you are new to Israel Story, or have been following us from day one, do us a favor - go to Apple Podcasts, rate us and...

After visiting two of Israel's most visible walls, we shift gears to slightly more abstract ones. Walls, both new and old, that you might have a harder time finding on the ground, but will - nevertheless - show us where we came from and where we are going. Walls are something you can see. Something you can touch. Something you can run into and get a nasty bump on your head. Or... are they?! In our...

Some call it the 'security fence,' while others prefer the 'West Bank barrier.' But to most around the world it is known simply as the 'separation wall.' Our series continues with a visit to what is perhaps the most divisive symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But as usual, we'll go beyond the politics, to the people. For the last seventeen years, when people say "the wall' and "Israel" in...

And... we're back! We kick off our fourth season with a brand new miniseries - "The Wall." Today's roller-coaster of a mystery begins with Israeli paratroopers liberating the Kotel, continues with a symbolic mid-war birth, and ends up going in the most surprising direction imaginable. Everywhere we turn these days, it seems as if walls are staring back at us. Their powers are magical: They protect...

A quick note from a big celebration. For more, head to our site . Stay connected with us on Facebook , Instagram , and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or The Times of Israel . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our season finale, we explore two songs that - perhaps more than any others - capture the complex and intermingled nature of Israeli society. Over the last four episodes, we’ve told the stories behind some of Israel’s most iconic songs. When we set off on this musical journey, we hoped to find a unicorn, a unifying island of Israeliness that escapes the usual polarization which dominates most c...

In a music scene dominated by Ashkenazi culture, Mizrahi singers had to patiently pave their way to the Israeli mainstream one song at a time. In Part III of our miniseries, we meet two Yemenite trailblazers, In Israel today, Mizrahi – or “Eastern” – music is ubiquitous. In fact, to many, it is practically synonymous with Israeli music. But that wasn’t always the case. For decades, Israeli radio s...

Our musical journey through the intricacies of Israeli society continues. And this time we explore a song that, ever since the dramatic month that forever changed Israeli history, has become the country's soundtrack: "Jerusalem of Gold." In 1968, an up-and-coming left-wing politician by the name of  Uri Avnery  brazenly suggested replacing Israel’s national anthem, HaTikvah. His pro...

Welcome to 'Mixtape,' our very first mini-series. Over the course of the next four episodes, we will go on a musical journey through anthems, songs of yearning, of war, of peace, and hear the stories behind some of Israel's most iconic tunes. Let’s face it – when it comes to Israel, everything is complicated. Politics are complicated, religion is complicated, democracy is complicated, the conflict...

Ruth the Moabite said she'd follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, anywhere. That blind devotion has since made her an enduring symbol of loyalty, faith and determination. And, just in time for our smorgasbord of cheesecakes, lasagnas and blintzes, Somewhere between post-Passover fatigue and summer-is-around-the-corner excitement, Shavout tends to be overlooked. But in reality, it is the secre...

Payam Feili is a gay Iranian poet. Nadav Schwartz is an Orthodox Israeli Jew. But in ways both astoundingly similar and utterly different, both men have journeyed out of their communities, leaving behind almost everything but their identity. Tonight, Jews around the world will gather together at their seder tables. They will drink wine, ask questions, search for the Afikoman and recite the obligat...

Cannabis in the Holy Land is clearly a booming business. Through the unlikely story of Amos Silver, the Israeli 'Green Giant,' we take a deep dive into the world of Telegrass, the hot application that has made buying weed as easy as ordering a pizza. According to a recent study conducted by the Israeli Anti-Drug Authority, the Holy Land might as well be rebranded as a ‘Weedtopia.’ More than a quar...

From the top of Tell El-Ful, an abandoned hilltop in East Jerusalem, you can see all the way from Amman to Tel Aviv, from Jerusalem to Ramallah. And you can also travel back and forth in time. Imagine an abandoned White House, covered with graffiti, open to the winds, full of trash, broken bottles and condom wrappers. Now go a step further and picture it against the background of the most beautifu...

People in one-hundred-and-eighty-seven countries around the world – including Iran, Iraq and Papua New Guinea – tune in to Israel Story. And today, we went out to talk to a few, very special, fans: our youngest and oldest listeners. For more, head to our site . Stay connected with us on Facebook , Instagram , and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to ou...

One hundred years after a single-page letter boosted the Zionist cause and changed the course of Jewish history, we go out in search of Balfour, and his declaration, in modern-day Israel. On November 2, 1917, Arthur James Balfour – Britain’s mustached Foreign Secretary – signed his name at the bottom of a short, typed letter addressed to a shy banker-turned-zoologist by the name of Lionel Walter R...

Forget politics, forget territorial disputes, forget religion. Our new episode explores the real Middle Eastern battleground - food. Food, it turns out, is a serious business. And as we recently came to appreciate, it can lead folks to embark on all kinds of unlikely crusades. In today’s episode we tell two stories, from almost diametrically opposed perspectives, about the ways in which recognitio...

Not that long ago, an Israeli vehicle was about to change the world. But it didn’t. In today's episode, we find out why the Better Place electric car generated such excitement and inspired such devotion, and why its ultimate demise was so devastating. In 2007, long before Tesla and Elon Musk became household names, a thirty-nine-year-old Israeli tech entrepreneur by the name of Shai Agassi came ou...

There are a zillion ways of being an outsider. That, of course, we all know. But what does it mean to belong, why do we want it so badly, and just how far are we willing to go in order to be on the 'inside'? Eli Amir, Eliyahu Rips and Eliezer Sonnenschein couldn’t be more different: the first is a celebrated Baghdad-born author, the second is a brilliant mathematician from Latvia, and the third is...

They're enemies and cousins, neighbors and rivals, lovers and haters, and at times even one and the same. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the complicated world of Israel's Arabs and Jews. More often than not, we think of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel as being adversarial. We frequently hear tales of hatred, violence, animosity and discrimination. But reality is, of course, much more complicated...

Imagine getting the worst news possible, learning it isn’t true, and then realizing it is after all — in the span of a single day. That’s what happened to the Harels of Jerusalem, in the chaotic frenzy of the First Lebanon War. In the early summer of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. The First Lebanon War — as it would later be called — would ultimately lead to thousands of casualties, an eighteen-yea...

In the immediate aftermath of the Six-Day War, a Palestinian lawyer and two Israeli reservists nearly brokered a peace agreement. Just imagine how history would have unfolded had they succeeded. Though few people grasped it at the time, the Six-Day War put the young state of Israel on an entirely new trajectory. Some see the war’s outcome as a historic triumph and almost messianic return of the Je...