195 episodes

Israel Story is an award-winning podcast that tells true stories you won't hear on the news. Hosted by Mishy Harman, the bi-weekly show brings you extraordinary tales about ordinary Israelis. The show is produced in partnership with The Jerusalem Foundation. For Hebrew episodes, see סיפור ישראלי, or go to our website: israelstory.org
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel Story Israel Story

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 4.8 • 1.2K Ratings

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Israel Story is an award-winning podcast that tells true stories you won't hear on the news. Hosted by Mishy Harman, the bi-weekly show brings you extraordinary tales about ordinary Israelis. The show is produced in partnership with The Jerusalem Foundation. For Hebrew episodes, see סיפור ישראלי, or go to our website: israelstory.org
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Wartime Diaries: Sharon Gutman Gilor

    Wartime Diaries: Sharon Gutman Gilor

    One of very few positive outcomes of this war is that the ongoing debate surrounding the participation of female soldiers in combat has been decisively answered. Women are, as the IDF’s Chief of Staff - Herzi Halevi - has said on multiple occasions, an integral part of the military effort. They serve in tanks and in field intelligence posts, as pilots and naval officers, infantry soldiers, engineering specialists, canine handlers, medics and more. In fact, out of the 625 doctors and paramedics operating in Gaza in late December, 73 - more than ten percent - were women. In today's episode we talk to one of them, First Lieutenant Dr. Sharon Gutman Gilor.
    The end song is Kol Sha'ah Neshika ("Every Hour, A Kiss") by Chava Alberstein.

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    • 14 min
    Wartime Diaries: Aliza Raz-Melzer

    Wartime Diaries: Aliza Raz-Melzer

    There has been endless talk of the “Home Front” during this war. The "Home Front," as in what goes on here in Israel, as opposed to what happens on the battlefield - in the streets and alleyways of Gaza. But, there is - of course - also a home front, or rather many different kinds of home fronts: some are stoic, others less so; some are somehow managing, others not at all. Much to her dismay, Aliza Raz-Melzer's 50-year-old husband Amiad volunteered to go fight. She gave us a glance into her home front. A home front that is conflicted - proud and supportive on the one hand, divided and even furious on the other.
    The end song is K'She'Ata Kan ("When You Are Here") by Ninet Tayeb.

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    • 19 min
    A Once-in-a-Decade Announcement

    A Once-in-a-Decade Announcement

    We have some truly exciting news: For the first time in almost a decade, we're launching a new podcast. Look for Sipur Yerushalmi wherever you get your podcasts. 
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    • 4 min
    Wartime Diaries: Noam Tsuriely

    Wartime Diaries: Noam Tsuriely

    Some 350,000 Israelis have been called up to reserve duty since the start of the war, in what has been the largest mobilization in the country’s history. These are people who were plucked out of their homes, families and daily lives, and inserted into a totally different world, one which is in most cases - just to add to the confusion - a mere car ride away. And those transitions back and forth, between the craziness of the frontline and the veneer of normalcy at home, can be dizzying and unsettling. We’re hearing more and more about that juxtaposition now that large numbers of reservists are being released from their service, and are returning to their regular lives. 
    One of them is Noam Tsuriely from Jerusalem. Noam’s a rapper, who recently put out his debut album and had, pre-war, a string of big time gigs all lined up. He was summoned for reserve duty on Oct. 7th, and has spent most of the last four months in Gaza. We spoke to him just as he came out of Gaza, and began his readjustment to civilian life.
    The end song is Kshenetse Mize ("When We Get Out of This") by Noam Tsuriely, Shachar Nahari, and Eyal Mazig.


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    • 18 min
    Wartime Diaries: Maya German and Benjamin Fainsod

    Wartime Diaries: Maya German and Benjamin Fainsod

    Today's "Wartime Diary" takes us to a place that is, under normal circumstances, one of the most visited sites in the entire country - Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo, or as it's officially known, 'The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens.' Since the start of the war, the city of Jerusalem has welcomed more than 30,000 evacuees from both the North and the South. With such an influx of people, and especially of kids, there was a real need to create new programming and activities. The Jerusalem Foundation stepped in and launched “Double Impact,” an initiative that sent tens of thousands of evacuees (as well as the city’s school children) to various cultural and recreational institutions such as museums, theaters, the aquarium and, of course, the zoo. The result benefitted not only the kids themselves, who got a day of fun and enrichment, but also the city's struggling institutions. 
    The end song is Noah by Matti Caspi.

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    • 17 min
    Wartime Diaries: Hugo (Uri) Wolaj

    Wartime Diaries: Hugo (Uri) Wolaj

    The war has been going on for over three months, and many of us have settled into some sort of altered routine, a "new normal." But there are hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions, for whom nothing is normal. Hugo (Uri) Wolaj of Kibbutz Be’eri is one of them: everything about his life - his job, his friends, his family, his parenting style, everything - changed on October 7th. Uri spent more than 20 hours that day hiding with his wife and daughters in the safe room. They were evacuated to a Dead Sea hotel in the early hours of October 8th and have been there ever since. But last week he returned to Be’eri, for a rare and eerie visit to his own home.
    The end song is Lo Levad ("Not Alone") by Jane Bordeaux.

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    • 22 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
1.2K Ratings

1.2K Ratings

Chaichai18 ,

Excellent!

This is the podcast to listen to! Each episode is a fascinating, enthralling and delicious experience! Love it- keep it up!!

bruce Levin ,

So Many Interesting and Diverse Stories

I have a been a long-time fan and cannot say enough about how interesting and varied the stories are including the series on the Declaration of Independence, the Jerusalem YMCA, etc. Your pivot to the War Time Diaries is so right for the moment. Not only are the stories captivating but all of the production is of such high quality - audio, music, etc. Really great and please keep it up.

Cerezacountry ,

The best podcast right now

During this time listening to the voices this podcast brings is critical. Thank you and thank you for the beautiful music with which you end each episode .

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