Unpacking Israeli History

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyToday, the Etzion bloc is home to more than 20,000 Jews. But back in 1948, roughly 500 Jews lived in the tiny parcel of land nestled between Hebron and Jerusalem. The four isolated, vulnerable kibbutzim of the bloc were an easy target for Arab attacks. But the Jews of Etzion weren’t going down without a fight. And the Palmach – the Haganah’s elite strike force – would do anything to keep these tiny communities strong and well-supplied. Like sending a convoy of 35 fighters weighed down with supplies through miles of hostile territory. But war is hell. And the story of Gush Etzion, and the brave convoy that supplied it, is both a tragedy – and a story of brotherhood, heroism, and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1REJt_UGndGrngPsww3Ra4PLBcKJB67xBM6Sd3TVG_nE/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ This Israel@75 mini-series is generously sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel - North American Council, and Ari and Jody Storch.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyYou probably know the story of Israeli independence: Ben Gurion declared a Jewish state on May 14, 1948. The next day, multiple Arab armies invaded. And though the war was long and brutal, the Jewish state emerged victorious. That story is true. But it’s incomplete. Because the war for Israel didn’t start on May 15, 1948. It started back in November of 1947, the morning after the UN voted to partition Palestine into two states. And if you want to understand Israeli history, you have to understand the six bloody months that preceded its creation…~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KEyXoESRtJWiULNjtXUXMokGHKtKRIj62Fmz29cXx3I/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ This Israel@75 mini-series is generously sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel - North American Council, and Ari and Jody Storch.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyThe modern state of Israel is only 75 years old. But the Israeli identity was forged long before the partition vote of 1947 or the War of Liberation in 1948, in the earliest decades of the 20th century. The three figures we’ll talk about today were not Israelis. They died before they ever saw an independent Jewish state. But their stories shaped the country we know today.~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JoCjNZV__Qwpu0k9Sth16tMQ8bhlTqe_ogsFBpvLjFk/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci and Andrew Spitzer, and this episode is generously sponsored by Barbara Sommer and Alan Fisher.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyNovember 19, 1977. It was perhaps the most unusual Shabbat in Israel’s history. Because after the havdala service, Israeli families glued themselves to their TVs or radios, waiting anxiously for a visitor they never dreamed would arrive. Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, had come to Jerusalem to speak of peace. What happened next changed the Middle East forever.~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VLl6H1mbapNkhWq8aNnMFylTQ9w__9WDxIsqvlniORs/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci and Andrew Spitzer, and this episode is generously sponsored by Barbara Sommer and Alan Fisher.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyYou’ve heard their name. Watched their propaganda videos. Seen their bloody handiwork up close and personal.But how well do you really know the story of Hamas?This episode delves into the surprising history of Israel’s charming next door neighbor. It’s a deep dive into their history, their ideology, their legacy. Because if we want to truly understand Israeli history, we’ve got to face the parallel history that has developed alongside it.~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DBe4s5ArwlF7ACLUoztotb9EarUYqK7nd1Z0pCXyMR4/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci and Andrew Spitzer, and this week’s episode is sponsored by Adam Neuman.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyKfar Qassem is a small bucolic city northeast of Petach Tikva. It is also the little-known site of the first salvo of the Suez Canal Crisis. On October 29, 1956 – as Israel prepared for war with Egypt – an IDF commander made a decision that would permanently scar Israel’s Arab community. Today, we tell the story of the 49 Israeli citizens murdered at Kfar Qassem. This episode is dedicated to them. Ibrahim Abdalhadi Himad Isaa, 35Abed Muhammad Abdalhadi Isaa, 9Abdallah Ahmad Himad Isaa, 15Talal Shaker Abdallah Isaa, 8 Abdallah Sliman Isaa, 90 Ahmad Muhammad Sous Freij, 35 Ali Uthman Ali Tah, 30 Muhammad Abed Samaha Asi, AKA Abu Samaha, 50 Ghazi Mahmoud Darweesh Isaa, 20Muhammad Abdalraheem Isaa, 50 Fathi Uthman Abed Isaa, 12 Uthman Abed Himad Isaa, 30Saleh Mahmoud Naser Amer (age unknown)Mahmoud Abdalghafer Rayan, 35Mahmoud Abdalrazeq Sarsour, 16 Ali Nimer Nuwwara Freij, 17Saleh Salameh Ahmad Amer, 40 Salim Ahmad Basheer Budeir, 50 Abdallah Abdalghafer Budeir (age unknown)Abed Salim Saleh Isaa (age unknown)Atta Yacoub Abed Sarsour, 26Riyad Raja Hamdan Dahoud, 8 Jamal Salim Muhammad Tah, 11Jumma Muhammad Abed Sarsour, 17Mousa Thiab Abed Freij, 18 Abdalkarim Salim Nuwwara Freij, 14 Saleh Mustafa Ahmad Isaa, 17 Abdalraheem Ismir Budeir, 25 Ahmad Muhammad Jouda Amer, 17Jumma Tawfik Ahmad Isaa, 16Mahmoud Khader Jaber Sarsour, 27Yousef Muhammad Ismail Sarsour, 52 Muhammad Salim Khader Sarsour, 15 Muhammad Ali Thiab Sarsour, 35Abdallah Muhammad Abed Sarsour, 14 Safa Abdallah Usus Sarsour, 45 Amne Qasem Tah, 50Khamise Faraj Muhammad Amer, 50 Zaghlouleh Ahmad Basheer Isaa, 45 Hilwe Muhammad Odeh Budeir, 65 Fatme Dahoud Sarsour, 30 (nine months pregnant)Unborn child of Fatme Dahoud SarsourFatme Mustafa Khamran Isaa, 18Fatme Mahmoud Budeir (Age unknown)Fatme Saleh Ahmad Sarsour, 14Rashika Faek Ibrahim Budeir, 14 Zeinab Abdalrahman Ahmad Tah, 45Latife Dahoud Khamran Isaa, 12Bakriya Mahmoud Ismail Tah, 14 Mahmoud Muhammad Habib Masarwa, 25 ~~~~  Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y38W4EVV9CKKwHNHSC_nV6T1DNXSM-NeFZ3WMG1XZkA/edit?usp=sharing~~~~ This season of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci & Andrew Spitzer.

Take the survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurveyIt was supposed to be a fun field trip. A little celebration in honor of Israel’s 26th birthday. Over a hundred religious high school students, exploring northern Israel and sleeping under the stars. But the three Palestinian terrorists who sneaked in from Lebanon had other plans. This is the story of the Ma’alot massacre. It’s a story of horror and blood. But it’s also a story of hope and resistance. A reminder that every hour of our lives matters.~~~~  Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci and Andrew Spitzer and this episode is generously sponsored by Neil and Pam Weissman.~~~~  This episode is dedicated to the memory of the victims:Hasibah Shala, 27 Yosef (Jojo) Cohen, 45Fortuna Cohen, 38 (7 months pregnant)Unborn child of Fortuna CohenMoshe Eliahu Cohen, 4Sylvan Zerach, 27Ilana Turgeman, 15 Zvia Mor-Yoseph, 15 Rachel Aputa, 16 Yocheved Mazoz, 15 Sarah Ben-Shim’on, 15 Yona Sabag, 15 Yafa Cohen, 17 Shoshana Cohen, 17Michal Sitrok, 16 Malka Amrosy, 15Aviva Saada, 15 Yocheved Deri (age unknown)Yakov Levi, 17 Yakov Kabla, 17 Rina Cohen, 15Sarah Madar, 15 Tamar Dahan, 16Sarah Sofer, 15 Lilly Morad, 16David Madar, 17 Yehudit Madar, 16 Sources and Citations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KMKO3YYqYpzceUaJuZ9pEXpTfnzVqLdh7fAFseqHovU/edit?usp=sharing

We’re back!By popular demand, Unpacking Israeli History is back for another season. Get ready for the twists, turns, triumphs, and tragedies that define Israeli history. So strap in. Because for the next 8 weeks, we’re going to shine a light on some of the wildest stories you can imagine. Are you ready?Yalla, let’s do this!

Unpacking Israeli History introduces another podcast from Unpacked: Jewish History Unpacked. Whoever said history was boring clearly never heard these stories Join hosts Yael and Schwab each week as they take a dive into some deep cuts of Jewish history. From the Jewish Da Vinci Code to mass suicide pacts, explore true stories that feel larger than life.This episode tells the story of Josephus Flavius. It's maybe one of the wildest characters in Jewish history, and that's saying something. That's largely because unlike most historians, he didn't just chronicle the story; as Yael tells Schwab in this week's episode, Josephus, or Yosef ben Matityahu, wrote himself into the story - and what a story it is. This week, we learn about Josephus and the siege of Yodfat, and they ask, what does it mean for us to write yourself into the story of Jewish history?

UIH survey here: https://jewishunpacked.com/uihsurvey~~~~ On the night before Shavuot, 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin shocked his cabinet by announcing they would be launching a surprise attack on a nuclear reactor in Iraq, known as Osirak. It was a gamble, one that the outside world, not to mention in Israel itself, most people didn't approve of. In this episode, Noam takes us on a tour of Begin's decision, the aftermath, and how it still impacts Israel today.~~~~  This season of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Marci & Andrew Spitzer and Barbara Sommer & Alan Fisher, and this episode, is generously sponsored by Jack Zager and Ellen Kahan, and by Pam and Neil Weissman, in memory of their parents, Mama Bashe and Saba Royal Rockman, and Safta Alice and Saba Irving Weissman.