68 and Counting

Over several months, the Israel Story team spent many hours, in all kinds of archives, learning all we could about Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The result is a mosaic of stories that took place on Yom Ha’Atzmaut itself, in ten year intervals, and that in some way reflect their era. We’ll visit Israel’s first makeshift national radio studio, we’ll ride a bicycle piled high with Persian carpets, we’ll march in an extravagant military parade in Jerusalem, and sink some dramatic game-winning jump-shots. We’ll also encounter a Soviet ‘refusenik’ celebrating his first Yom Ha’Atzmaut in Israel; an American couple building a new West Bank settlement; Batsheva Dance Company dancers caught up in a heated culture war over tank-tops and long-johns; a controversy surrounding a tilted flag; and the four Israeli finalists in the annual International Youth Bible Competition.

Accompanying Artists: The Batsheva story features a 10-minute performance by a professional dancer.
Length: 100 minutes

  • 68 and Counting- Part I
    • Episode 20
    • 52:10
    • 2016

    68 and Counting- Part I

    This is the first in a two-part series that takes us through Israel’s short but dramatic history. Over the last few months, we’ve spent many hours, in all kinds of ...
  • 68 and Counting – Part II
    • Episode 21
    • 49:33
    • 2016

    68 and Counting – Part II

    In the second installment of this two-part series (and our season two finale), we pick up where we left off last week: Presenting small stories – one per decade...