Unpacking Israeli History
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Recent Episodes
S8 Hezbollah Revisited: The Origins of Iran's Most Powerful Proxy
To understand why Iran and Israel are fighting, you have to understand Hezbollah. Noam Weissman revisits the story of Iran's proxy in Lebanon, which has been causing trouble for Israel since its…
S7 The Scandal That Changed Israel Forever: The Rotten Business (Part 2)
In 1954, a group of young Jewish idealists in Egypt were recruited by Israeli intelligence to plant bombs in Western institutions, only to be betrayed by their own double agent handler before the…
S8 The Scandal That Changed Israel Forever: The Lavon Affair (Part 1)
The scandal that changed Israel forever began with a failed secret operation in Egypt in 1954. Young Egyptian Jews, recruited by Israeli intelligence, were sent on a mission meant to protect the…
S8 How to Kill Israeli Self-Criticism
Israel is no stranger to self-examination. In 1948, Ben-Gurion distributed a poem accusing Israeli soldiers of murder. In 1982, hundreds of thousands demanded accountability after Sabra and Shatila.…
S8 Real abuse, Reckless Reporting: Haviv Rettig Gur Dissects Kristof's Israel Prison Story
Journalist Haviv Rettig Gur joins Noam to respond to Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. They examine the sourcing, the…
S8 Masada: The Making of a Myth (Part 2)
How did an ancient story of mass suicide become the cornerstone of Israeli national identity? In Part 2, Noam traces Masada's unlikely revival, from forgotten footnote to rallying cry in the shadow…
S8 Masada: The Siege That Became a Legend (Part 1)
A mountaintop. A siege. A mass death that became legend. But what if the story of Masada isn’t what we think it is? In this episode, we go back 2,000 years to the final days of the Jewish revolt…
S8 Live with Rachel Goldberg-Polin: Grief, Faith and Hersh
When Rachel Goldberg-Polin buried her son Hersh, she heard part of herself go into the ground with him. Recorded live before nearly 1,000 people at Temple Judea in Miami, Rachel joins host Noam…
S8 Live from London with Scott Galloway: Why the Jewish People Need Better Storytellers
Scott Galloway is one of the most influential voices in the world. He's a professor, bestselling author, and podcaster with millions of followers. What most people don't know: he's also proudly…
S8 What Hasan Piker Got Wrong About Einstein and Zionism
Hasan Piker weaponized Albert Einstein on Pod Save America to condemn Zionism. But he left out most of the story. Noam addresses Piker's troubling statements about Einstein by tracing his full…
S8 Israel's Greatest Paradox with Micah Goodman
Why did Israel's enemies, Sinwar, Khamenei and Nasrallah, all believe Israel was on the verge of collapse? Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman joins Noam to reveal the deep misreading of Israeli…
S8 Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Still Possible? Ittay Flescher Says Yes
Host Noam Weissman sits down with Ittay Flescher, educator and education director at Seeds of Peace in Jerusalem, for an honest conversation about whether Israeli Palestinian peace is still possible…
S8 Revisiting Osirak: The Airstrike That Shocked the World
We're revisiting one of our most important episodes: the story of Operation Opera, Israel's 1981 surprise airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, because the questions it raises feel more urgent…
S8 Holy Wars and Sacred Ground: Live from Atlanta with Yardena Schwartz
In this special live episode from Atlanta, Noam Weissman sits down with journalist and author Yardena Schwartz to explore two of the most contested places on earth: Al-Aqsa and Hebron. Drawing on…
S8 Israel Open Mic: What Does the Shekel Reveal About Israel?
A listener question about Israel's currency sends Noam on a fascinating journey through Jewish history. From secretly printing Israel's first bills in New York to battling hyperinflation to the…
S8 The Kibbutz Movement : From Frontier Defense to Modern Israel (Part 2)
In Part 2 of our series on the history of the kibbutz, Noam Weissman explores how these communal villages helped shape Israel’s borders, identity, and culture. From frontier defense and the battles…
S4 The Iran War Explained with Haviv Rettig Gur
As war between Israel and Iran intensifies, Noam Weissman sits down with journalist Haviv Rettig Gur to unpack what’s really driving the conflict. Is this about stopping Iran’s nuclear program,…
S8 The Kibbutz Movement: Israel’s Radical Social Experiment (Part 1)
What is a kibbutz, and why did it play such an outsized role in Israeli history? In Part 1 of this two-part series, Noam Weissman traces the origins of the kibbutz movement back to Degania, the first…
S8 Special Episode: For Such a Time as This: Purim, Persia, and the Iran War
Missiles in the sky. Purim on the calendar. As Israel confronts Iran, Noam steps back from the headlines and turns to the Book of Esther, a story of genocide threatened, courage summoned, and history…
S8 What Became of Zionism?: The History of Israel (Part 5 of 5)
In the finale of our five-part series on the Jewish people’s ancient relationship to the Land of Israel, we move into the modern era, when Israel’s deepest challenges emerged not only from its…
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Unpacking Israeli History has published 180 episodes since August 2020, covering topics in History, Judaism.
Unpacking Israeli History is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 42m.
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