What many of us missed most during the pandemic was a sense of community. So, for our Season Six opener, we went to a place which is all about community - in fact, it's even called a community center - to find out what it feels like when a diverse community tries to regroup. 

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 67: A Day at the Y

Sukkot is, really, the holiday of temporary homes. And in our episode today we hear two very different stories - one about one of Israel's most popular children's books and the other about a South Sudanese asylum seeker. But both of them are, deep down, about the same thing - making a home.
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 68: No Place Like Home

BLTs and pork chops are not the first thing that come to mind when you think about Israel. But, as it turns out, the Holy Land and swines go way back. In our episode today, we go down a piggish path to encounter this most unlikely of Israeli animals.

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 69: Pigging Out

While we (sadly!) won't be sampling fried okra, collard greens or macaroni and cheese, our seventieth episode introduces us to two women for whom soul and food are completely intertwined.
Yochai Maital and Zev Levi scored and sound-designed the episode with original music and music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sela Waisblum created the mix.
The end song, ABCD, is sung by Shaizee, Abie and Sol Harman.
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 70: Soul Food

On Christmas Eve 2014, Erwin Prabhu and Tali Aronsky met in a wine shop in Jerusalem. This was the start of an unusually close bond. In our most recent episode - “Soul Food” - we heard Tali’s side of the story. Now, all the way from Bangalore, we hear Erwin’s. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Israel Story

Bonus: Behind the Scenes of "Soul Food"

Forgotten glasses, a misplaced eye (!) and an ancient jacuzzi? In today’s episode - the first in a two-part series on losing and finding - we explore what we find when we lose things, and what we lose once we find them. Zev Levi scored and sound-designed the episode with music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sela Waisblum created the mix. The end song, El Borot HaMayim ("To the Watering Holes"), was written and arranged by Naomi Shemer and performed by Rona Kenan. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 71: Lost And Found - Part I

In an episode that explores a central religious taboo and pushes the boundaries of what many might deem acceptable within Jewish tradition, we ask whether Cat Stevens was on to something when he sang that the "first cut is the deepest." Zev Levi scored and sound-designed the episode with music from Blue Dot Sessions. Sela Waisblum created the mix. The end song, Bidyuk Kmo SheAni ("As I Am"), was written and arranged by Ravid Plotnik (Nechi Nech) and Shai Or, and performed by Plotnik. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 72: Lost And Found - Part II

Mishy goes to the Freedom Farm near Netanya, and chats with Dani Pudim, the educational director. Together they meet Shirley, Iris, Orna, Maital and Orly - the farm’s five turkeys. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Bonus: Turkey Time!

It’s Giving Tuesday, and we really hope you’ll support our show. But because we don’t want to ask for your help without giving something in return, we produced a special bonus, as our way of saying thank you. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Bonus: Yalla Banaat

'Doing It Yourself' is part of the Israeli DNA. But our episode today tells the story of what is perhaps the most inspiring, audacious and famous example of Israeli ingenuity in recent history.
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Episode 73: DIY

In Israel, there are many things that usually don't - and according to some, never should - mix: Jerusalemites and the beach, Tel Avivis and the Kotel, HaPoel and Macabbi fans, Haaretz and Yisrael HaYom readers. But our episode today explores the most complicated and fundamental duo in terms of mixing and not-mixing - Jews and Arabs. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 74: Shatnez

On August 9, 2001, 22-year-old Izz al-Din al-Masri blew himself up at a Sbarro branch in downtown Jerusalem, killing 15 people and injuring over 130. This particular terrorist attack is still etched in the collective memory. In our episode today, we hear from those most affected by the tragedy. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 75: Sbarro - Twenty Years Later

In our season finale, we tell four short stories of things that, like our current season, are coming to an end: From a toddler parting with a “special friend” to a couple seeing their life's work go up in flames, and from a stubborn hold-out in a dying industry to an unusually long marriage. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 76: Going, Going, Gone

Today’s episode has three stories that are ostensibly about birds, but are really about the heights to which the human spirit can soar, and the depths to which it can plunge.
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok,  and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or The Times of Israel.

Episode 77: Free As A Bird

David Harman believed in people, in social justice and in our ability to overcome almost anything. He was an eternal optimist, a patient peacemaker and a living history book. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok,  and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or The Times of Israel.

Bonus: My Dad, David

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Israel is embroiled in Middle Eastern geopolitics. That, at least, everyone knows. We also aspire to be part of Europe, and never miss a chance to reiterate our "special relationship" with the US. But what about Africa, our next door neighbors? Our history stretches all the way back to the earliest hominids leaving Africa and marching through what is today Israel. Since then there's been an endless stream of people crisscrossing between the two regions. And on today's show, we bring you the stories of two of them: Journeying in very different directions, and for very different reasons, out of - and then into - Africa.

Episode 7: Out of Africa... And Back Again

When Raymonda Tawil met Ruth Dayan in 1970, they seemed well-primed to be enemies. Ruth, the then wife of Israeli war hero and Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan, was visiting a hospital in the Palestinian city of Nablus to deliver dolls to children. Tawil, of Palestinian aristocracy, was there to witness this exercise in diplomacy. She was not impressed. Today, these elder stateswomen are dear friends. From Malta, where they most recently met up, they share the story of how they won each other over in “R&R,” Act I of this week’s episode. Anthony David told the story of these two grand ladies in his recent book, "An Improbable Friendship."

Act II, “The Center for Rationality,” introduces us to economist Eytan Sheshinski and mathematician Yisrael Aumann, both of them at the top of their fields who, nevertheless, seem to leave clear thinking behind when it comes to their favorite pastime: hiking together.

In Act III, journalist Danna Harman brings us “Girls’ Night In” - the story of two women in their forties who have been acquaintances, but by no means friends, since childhood in Ramat HaSharon. It was a pair of tragedies that drew them close.

Episode 14: Besties

Israeli buses regularly make international headlines, be it for suicide bombings, fights over gender segregation or clashes concerning Shabbat schedules. On today’s episode of Israel Story, we delve into the world of lesser known bus-related conflicts.

In Act I, “The White Elephant,” Yochai Maital walks us through the history of Tel Aviv’s ‘New’ Central Bus Station — a derelict eight-story behemoth and modern day Tower of Babel — which mirrors much of modern Israeli history, with its grand vision and messy implementation.

Act II, “The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God,” is adapted from Etgar Keret’s short story collection of the same name, and performed by Keret himself. In it, we meet—yes—a bus driver whose deeply held belief in equity and fairness flies right smack in the face of Eddie, an assistant cook who has a problem getting places on time.


Episode 17: Stop That Bus!

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 Jews to their ancestral lands. Others, of course, view it as the start of a downward spiral that led to internal political fragmentation and an oppressive occupation. For proponents of both positions, and everyone in between really, the 50th anniversary of that war provides an excellent excuse to pause, think, and evaluate.

So while everyone else is busy considering the meaning of the last half century, we returned to the days immediately following the Six-Day War, and to a little-known saga that could have changed the face of the Middle East as we now know it. Yochai Maital tells the story of two reserve officers, Dan Bavly and Dave Kimche, who stumbled upon an unlikely ally: A prominent Ramallah lawyer by the name of Aziz Shehadeh. Together they soberly imagined a peaceful future; a dream that most Israelis, including the political and military leadership at the time, were too drunk from victory to even consider.

The original music in this episode - including the final song, "It's Time" - was composed and performed by Ronnie Wagner, Ruth Danon, and Eden Djamchid.

This episode was mixed by Sela Waisblum, and produced in partnership with Libby Lenkinski and the New Israel Fund.

Episode 25: Peace Now. Almost.

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.

Short: Fed-Ex Over Your Snow

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 quarter of adults aged 18 to 40 reported having used marijuana within the last month. This stat, says the Authority's chief scientist Prof. Yossi Harel-Fisch, places Israel among the countries with the highest rate of pot smokers in the world. In this episode, we chugged along the Hudson Valley and - in Poughkeepsie, New York, of all places - met up with the one man who is most committed to making that number even higher.

The original music in this episode was composed and performed by Ari Wenig, with help from Yochai Maital and Ruth Danon. Additional music by Boom Pam, Meir Ariel, Michael Swissa and Michael Greilsammer. The episode was edited by Shai Satran with help from Julie Subrin.

Episode 33: Milk, Honey and Sweet Mary Jane

Let's face it - when it comes to Israel, everything is complicated. Politics are complicated, religion is complicated, democracy is complicated, the conflict is complicated. Even our complications are complicated. These are the things that take us out to the street. That make us shout, and cry. That fill us with hope, and - just as often - plunge us into utter despair. But there is (seemingly) one island within Israeli society that escapes complexity, and brings us together more than it divides us: Israeli music. Or so, at least, we thought. 

In this special mini-series, we set out to explore Israeli society - warts, rifts and fuzzy togetherness alike - through the stories of some of the country's most iconic tunes. 

The original music in this mini-series was composed, arranged and performed by the Mixtape Band, led by Ari Wenig and Dotan Moshanov, together with Ruth Danon, Eden Djamchid and Ronnie Wagner-Schmidt. The final song is a 1950s Tunisian rendition of HaTikvah sung by M. Cohen. The episode was recorded by Russell Castiglione and Josh Piel at the Dubway Studios in New York, and mixed by Sela Waisblum. It is based on Israel Story's latest live show tour, "Mixtape."

Episode 36: "Mixtape" Part I - Our Hope?

For the last seventeen years, when people say 'The Wall' and 'Israel' in the same sentence, they're usually referring to something very specific: A four-hundred-and-forty mile long barrier - some ninety-five percent of which is a sophisticated multi-layered fence, and some of which, especially in urban areas, is an imposing concrete wall. Seen from the Israeli side, this Fence/Barrier/Wall represents security, stability and safety. It allows us to calmly ride the bus, peacefully go out dancing, and - mainly - quietly sleep at night. Because it was, after all, born out of violence and carnage. People were getting killed often and daily. It was scary. And, as experts around the world agree, it has dramatically reduced terror. But when Israelis go to bed at night, there are other people - really close by - going to bed too. And from their perspective, looking out of their window, the same wall represents something different altogether. Not safety or security, but rather, lack of freedom.

Without getting into political polemics, in our episode today we meet some of those neighbors. Regular people, living in the shadow of a wall.

The original music in Eight Days a Week was composed, arranged, and performed by the Israel Story band led by Ari Wenig and Dotan Moshonov, together with Ruth Danon, Eden Djamchid and Ronnie Wagner-Schmidt. The end song is our band's cover to the Arabic classic Foug el-Nakhal popularized in Israel by, among others, Dudu Tassa. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions, Broke For Free, Podington Bear, Letter Box, and Turku, all licensed under Creative Commons.

Episode 41: "The Wall" Part II - The Other Side

Walls can make us feel safe, warm and protected. But that's also their greatest danger. After all, walls can cut us off from what is going on outside, and hiding behind them can give us a false sense of security and stability. Throughout this series, we've tried to open up windows in the walls that make up Israeli society. And that's a tricky thing to do, really. You need to make sure you don't damage the foundations that keep us bonded together. But you also need to be ready to see your neighbor, and let your neighbor see you. 

Joel Shupack and Yochai Maital scored this piece, with additional music from Blue Dot Session, Broke For Free and Peter Gresser. The end song, "A Wall That Has a Door" is an original song commissioned by Israel Story. It was written, arranged and performed by Ari Wenig, together with Dotan Moshonov, Ruth Danon, Eden Djamchid and Ronnie Wagner-Schmidt. This episode was edited by Julie Subrin and Mishy Harman, recorded by Ben Wallick and mixed by Sela Waisblum.

It was conceived as part of Israel Story's latest live show tour, "The Wall."

Episode 43: "The Wall" Part IV - This Wall is My Wall

When God first spoke to Benjamin, he was reading the newspaper. That was just the start of a wild journey that led two Orthodox brothers from the Bronx to a new life, a new homeland, a new lord and - above all - to each other. 

Growing up, Benjamin and Reuven Berger never imagined they'd be roommates well into their seventies. Nor did they imagine their lives would unfold as brothers in faith. But from their majestic home in the serene village of Ein Kerem, they reflect on an unusual, almost biblical, path that led them far apart and then back together. 

In the prologue, Mishy Harman tries to understand why - if an alien landed in Israel today - it would probably think that the word "achi" is a form of Hebrew punctuation. 

Act I, "The Berger Bros," is a tale of two brothers who are brothers in more than just one way. Joel Shupack brings us the story of Benjamin and Reuven Berger, the Bronx-born sons of European Jews who escaped the Nazis. Tumultuous years of doubts, revelations and risks led them from a muddy copy of "Peyton Place" all the way to Jerusalem's small community of Messianic Jews.  

Ari Jacob composed and performed the original music in "The Berger Bros." Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Thanks to Dina Kraft for editorial help. Adam Milliner mixed the episode. The end song, November, is by Shaanan Streett, and features Selva de Mar. It was written in memory of Shaanan's sister, Tova.

Episode 48: "Achi"

Stories matter. They have the power of connecting us over time and space. And in the finale of our “Alone, Together” miniseries, we see how a podcast episode turned two strangers - a man from Migdal HaEmek, Israel, and a woman from Porto Alegre, Brazil - into soulmates.  

Porto Alegre is a large city in the south of Brazil, a five-hour drive from the border with Uruguay. Five rivers converge there, making it an important center of industry and commerce. Though its name means “joyful harbor,” in 2017, Porto Alegre ranked as the world’s 39th most violent city, with nearly 41 homicides per 100,000 residents. And while the city does have a sizable Jewish community, primarily Eastern Europeans who founded the local União Israelita association and settled in the Bom Fim neighborhood, there are no direct flights from Porto Alegre to Tel Aviv. So why, you might wonder, is Porto Alegre featured in the final episode of a series exploring life in Israel during the pandemic?

Porto Alegre is home to Isabel Christina de Oliveira, a 54-year-old public school teacher. Isabel isn’t Jewish and has never been to Israel. But through Israel Story, and over Zoom, she found an unlikely friend with whom she could share a terribly painful experience. 

Back in March, Isabel traveled to Italy. Unbeknownst to her, she contracted the virus in Bergamo, and brought it back to Brazil. She was the first COVID-19 patient in her region. And though she immediately went into quarantine, she was publicly shamed and blamed, especially on social media. Vicious posts accused her of infecting the country and made her feel incredibly guilty. 

If all that sounds familiar, you are not mistaken: In episode 52, “In The Beginning”, we told a similar story about Roni Bargill, Israel’s patient no. 7. Under normal circumstances, Isabel and Roni would have never met. But Isabel’s daughter’s friend, a Brazilian journalist by the name of Giovana Fleck, listened to the Israel Story episode, and translated it for Isabel. The emotional upheaval they had each experienced was uncannily similar. 

That’s where our team came in once again, arranging a Zoom call that left everyone in tears. 

Joel Shupack scored and sound-designed this episode with music from Blue Dot Sessions, and Sela Waisblum created the mix. The end song, “Kore Li Kol” (A Voice is Calling) is by Dotan Moshonov. 

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 57: “Alone, Together” Part VII - Something Like A Brother

Forty years after Carl Sagan’s ‘Golden Records’ began their long voyage into the depths of outer space, Eyal Gever - an Israeli high-tech-wunderkind-turned-conceptual-artist - received an unusual call: NASA asked him to create the first artwork to be printed in space. What, he now had to decide, truly captured the essence of humanity? 

Joel Shupack scored and sound-designed the episode, with original music and additional music by Blue Dot Sessions, Broke for Free and Nehora & Hadas. Sela Waisblum created the mix. Yochai Maital and Mishy Harman edited the episode. The music and lyrics of the end song - “Leil Emesh” (“Last Night”) - are by Naomi Shemer. The song used in the episode is a cover version by Nehora Kakone and Hadas Fraenkel. 

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 59: The Last Laugh

Cowgirls with oversized belt buckles and horse breeders fantasizing about producing world champions are not exactly what come to mind when you think of Israel. But today we take you into arenas, rings, and stables around the country to uncover a surprising subculture of equine enthusiasts.
Joel Shupack scored and sound-designed the episode with music by Blue Dot Sessions and William Ryan Fritch. Sela Waisblum created the mix. The end song is Zehava Ben’s cover version of Abdel Halim Hafez’s “Sawah”. 

Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or Tablet Magazine.

Episode 60: Horsing Around

Most Israelis remember the 2005 disengagement from Gaza as a dramatic moment of national upheaval. But for Hodaya Azulay of the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, the drama was of a different nature altogether - it marked a traumatic turning point in her relationship with her favorite mare, Sheleg.
Yochai Maital scored and sound-designed the episode, which was recorded by Tony Hernandez at the Seltzer Sounds Studio in Brooklyn. Sela Waisblum created the mix. Thanks to Ishay Ribo and Motty Steinmetz for giving us permission to use their song, “Nafshi,” and to Lior Carmeli, Aharon and Temira Feinsilver, Shlomo Maital, and Michael Vivier. The end song, “Sus” (“Horse”) is by Oded Gadir, with lyrics by Azriel Kaufman.
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Episode 61: The Princess

Israel Story is a bi-weekly podcast, hosted by Mishy Harman. It tells modern tales from an ancient land - the kind of stories you'd share with a friend over a plate of hummus on a Friday afternoon, or with your partner at the end of a long day. These are everyday stories, told by, and about, regular Israelis. The award-winning show is one of the most popular programs in Israel, where it is aired nationally, on prime-time.

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