Israeli Voices: Who We Are

A tunnel from Jerusalem to an armed checkpoint. Waved through to the West Bank - one of the most disputed, precarious, complicated places on earth. Palestinian apartment towers rising up a hillside. Israeli homes on another. Separate communities. Shared roads. Separate schools. Checkpoints everywhere. Separate identities. Separate stories. Competing claims to the land. Conflicting takes and guidan...

A neighborhood clinic delivering universal health care. Shlomit - mother, poet and educator on her flowered Jerusalem balcony. Telling of forebears fighting British colonialists for independence; reflecting on raising children where air raid sirens interrupt serenity in streets echoing hallowed history and a daughter’s bedroom is built to withstand missiles. Duty, honor, country, she affirms -- fo...

An educator waits outside the Knesset -- Israel’s parliament -- for ultra-Orthodox students learning civics as preparation for life-altering military service and participation in Israel’s workaday and political world -- facing ostracism and rejection from families and communities. In the West Bank, Rabbi Bombach -- ultra-Orthodox rabbi, army reservist, entrepreneurial educator -- speaks of his lif...

A teachers’ college in Jerusalem, classrooms of Jewish and Palestinian students. Julia, American-born teacher, advocate for learning that engenders harmony across cultures -- reflects on plusses and minuses of Israeli education, impending military service for her children. Palestinian students discuss AI for learning -- not dumbing down -- social media distractions and how the English language con...

Voices heard throughout our series come together to discuss, debate matters at the heart of Israel's past, present, and future. Voices from kibbutzim terrorized on October 7, from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the West Bank. Religious and secular. Native-born and immigrant. Exploring Israel’s war for independence. What it means to be a Jewish state when over 20 percent of the population isn’t J...

In the Negev, a few kilometers from Israel’s border with Gaza,  many come to reflect, remember, mourn at memorials on Blood Road and at the Nova Music Festival. There and at kibbutzim nearby on October 7, 2023, Hamas military forces and Gazan militants began attacks that killed 1200 Israelis. In two of the attacked kibbutzim, Eyal, Nevo and their wives and children sheltered in their homes, the so...

Families picnicking, playing, munching cookies and quiche at an outdoor café in the Judean hills. Carefree, joyful expressions in Hebrew and English. A seeming impossible scenario – especially for foreigners who think of Israel as mostly tempests. Looking closer, one notices the dads wearing holstered pistols frolicking with kids. Reminders of ever-present danger. A few miles away, a serene commun...

Considering the roots of the provocative slogan “From the River to the Sea” – and sensitivities about how Jews and Palestinians in Israel identify themselves and each other. A small town famed for the first Aliyah – the first arrival of Jews in Palestine from Eastern Europe. And in a tree-shaded corner of the local cemetery a chilling interlude where early Jewish settlers rest beside Israeli soldi...

Jill Gabbe, co-founder and executive producer of CITIZENARTS, introduces Israeli Voices: Who We Are, an eight-episode podcast of on-the-ground conversations across a spectrum of Israeli life. Perspectives emerge shaped by personal identity, history, and experience — revealing the humanity of a people striving to live freely  with dignity and  mutual respect  in peace.