Episode 74 - Shatnez - Act author: MishyHarman
Israeli society is often described as a collection of demographic bubbles – self-contained ecosystems, each with its own population, its...
Episode 73 - DIY - Act author: MishyHarman
People often say that there is something particularly Israeli about the concept of ‘doing it yourself.’ And that makes sense....
Episode 66 - Game Changer - Act author: MishyHarman
With the fate of the 2020 - now 2021 - Tokyo Olympic Games still up in the air, our season finale tells the story of a dream to introduce a sport to a nation, and a nation to a sport. But it is a dream made up of as many tears of pain and disappointment as it is of joy and triumph.
Episode 62 - Round Trip - Act author: MishyHarman
Many of us would normally be on the move around this time of year. But 2020 has, of course, been everything but normal. So in our episode today, we bring you two less-than-normal travel stories about people going back home - but doing so having gained a new understanding of the place from which they come.
Episode 60 - Horsing Around - Act author: MishyHarman
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.
Episode 56 - “Alone, Together” Part VI – Six Feet (Under) - Act author: MishyHarman
Israel's one thousandth COVID-19 casualty passed away this weekend. And for all of us, death has sadly been an ever-present part of life over the past six months. In the penultimate episode of our "Alone, Together" series, we bring you two stories about dying in times of Corona.
Episode 55 - “Alone, Together” Part V – Enjoy Your Stay - Act author: MishyHarman
Around the world, the tourism industry essentially dried up during the pandemic. But in Israel there was one category of hotels - the so-called “Corona Hotels” - that actually thrived. And depending on whom you ask, they were either a post-apocalyptic heaven or an exit-less hell.
Episode 54 - “Alone, Together” Part IV – The Lifesavers - Act author: MishyHarman
The global pandemic has introduced us to many “lifesavers”—doctors, nurses, and medical staff who are on the frontlines day in and day out. But what happens when those ‘superheroes’ need to be saved themselves? And can saving a life end up saving your life, too?
Episode 53 - “Alone, Together” Part III – Gevalt - Act author: MishyHarman
Israel’s ultra-orthodox community was hit twice during COVID-19: First, and in disproportionate numbers, by the virus itself, and then by a wave of anti-Haredi sentiment that pervaded the country. Here’s what it looked like from their perspective.
Episode 50 - Keep Calm and Carry On - Act author: MishyHarman
Some people operate within the confines of reality. Others don’t. Instead, they will things into existence. Today we’ll meet one such determined woman who – faced with countless obstacles ...
Episode 48 - “Achi” - Act author: MishyHarman
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 ...
Episode 37 - “Mixtape” Part II – Iron and Gold - Act author: MishyHarman
In 1968, an up-and-coming left-wing politician by the name of Uri Avnery brazenly suggested replacing Israel’s national anthem, HaTikvah. His proposal was surprising, given the fact that the would-be replacement was the unequivocal ...
Episode 36 - “Mixtape” Part I – Our Hope? - Act author: MishyHarman
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. ...
Episode 35 - Whither Thou Goest - Act author: MishyHarman
Somewhere between post-Passover fatigue and summer-is-around-the-corner excitement, Shavout tends to be overlooked. But in reality, it is the secret gem of the Jewish calendar: A festival that’s all about strong women, wheat ...
Episode 34 - Coming Out, Getting In - Act author: MishyHarman
Tonight, Jews around the world will gather together at their seder tables. They will drink wine, ask questions, search for the Afikoman and recite the obligation to see themselves as if they...
Episode 32 - King of the Hill - Act author: MishyHarman
Imagine an abandoned White House, covered with graffiti, open to the winds, full of trash, broken bottles and condom wrappers. Now go a step further and picture it against...
Episode 31 - Dear Lord Rothschild - Act author: MishyHarman
On November 2, 1917, Arthur James Balfour – Britain’s mustached Foreign Secretary – signed his name at the bottom of a short, typed letter addressed to a shy banker-turned-zoologist by...
Episode 30 - Food Fight - Act author: MishyHarman
Food, it turns out, is a serious business. And as we recently came to appreciate, it can lead folks to embark on all kinds of unlikely crusades. In today’s episode...
Episode 28 - On the Outs - Act author: MishyHarman
Eli Amir, Eliyahu Rips and Eliezer Sonnenschein couldn’t be more different: the first is a celebrated Baghdad-born author, the second is a brilliant mathematician from Latvia, and the third is...
Episode 27 - Jarab - Act author: MishyHarman
More often than not, we think of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel as being adversarial. We frequently hear tales of hatred, violence, animosity and discrimination. But reality is, of course, much...
Episode 26 - Oath of Blood - Act author: MishyHarman
In the early summer of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. The First Lebanon War — as it would later be called — would ultimately lead to thousands of casualties, an eighteen-year-long ...
Episode 22 - And in the End… - Act author: MishyHarman
It’s springtime in Israel and renewal is in the air: Wildflowers are blooming, short pants make their first appearances of the year, and – most importantly – we are back...
Episode 19 - Of Numbers and Names - Act author: MishyHarman
This Thursday, May 5th, Israelis observe Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. At 10 a.m., according to custom, an air raid will sound and the country will fall quiet for ...
Episode 12 - Now Boarding - Act author: MishyHarman
The first place travelers to Israel encounter is usually Ben Gurion Airport. What they’ll remember of that experience depends in part on their relationship to the country. Are they coming home? Arriving to a place they’ve always dreamed of visiting? Passing through, with fear or wariness, en route to someplace else?
Episode 5 - Holy Cow! - Act author: MishyHarman
We’ve got four featured moo-ers: a red heifer that some think will bring the messiah, a cow that’s become the symbol of radical Israeli veganism, buffalos that hold the future for a self-described “Israeli redneck,” and the golden calf that was biblical big-business.
Episode 4 - A Man on A Mission - Act author: MishyHarman
Three Israelis who are not religious but have pursued unusual hobbies with missionary zeal. One is a hitman-for-hire, another collects a highly specific classification of autographs, and the third is a professional whistler.
Episode 3 - People of the Book - Act author: MishyHarman
Three stories that all revolve around people who rescue books, chase after books, or otherwise allow books to determine their destiny—from a Yiddish book collector based in the Tel Aviv central bus station to a lonely college student to bibliophiles in search of the lost fragments of the Aleppo Codex.
Episode 2 - Love Syndrome - Act author: MishyHarman
For Enid, the birth of her sixth child—born with Down syndrome, started her and her family on an incredible journey—to Tzfat, Israel, and from there to court rooms, hospitals, ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, and wedding halls, all so she could do right by her child and the other special-needs children she picked up along the way.
Episode 1 - Faking It - Act author: MishyHarman
From our relationship with Ira Glass to priceless antiquities all the way to coveted sick passes – Israeli stories that are anything but real. In our very first episode, the Israel Story team delves into the realm of fakes, forgeries, and mimicry.
Meet the Team - MishyHarman
Mishy is a Jerusalemite, through and through. Following his military service, he studied history at Harvard, archeology at Cambridge and...
Bonus Episode - Bonus: Love Syndrome, Revisited
Now that "Alone, Together" is over, and before we turn to stories that - gasp - have little to do with the virus, we revisit and update our most popular episode ever - "Love Syndrome."
