Israeli politician, Zionist leader, prime minister of Israel
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//The Wire//2300Z May 23, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: MULTIPLE STABBING ATTACKS REPORTED IN GERMANY, ONE MASS STABBING AND TWO INCIDENTS INVOLVING SCHOOLCHILDREN. BRITISH AIRWAYS QUIETLY EXTENDS HALT OF FLIGHTS TO ISRAEL DUE TO SECURITY CONCERNS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE------International Events-Germany: Yesterday two stabbing attacks occurred in primary schools throughout the nation, both of which appear to have started as arguments between students.The first stabbing incident occurred in Spandau and involved an 11-year-old being stabbed by a fellow classmate at Weinmeisterhorn Elementary School. The victim remains hospitalized in intensive care following the incident, which began as a schoolyard fight that ended with the other student stabbing the victim.The second stabbing incident occurred a few hours after the first, in the town of Remschied. In this case an 11-year-old stabbed a fellow classmate (aged 13-years-old), allegedly due to a dispute between the two.This morning a mass stabbing was reported at the central train station in Hamburg. 12x victims were wounded in the attack, with 3x remaining in critical condition. The assailant was arrested at the scene, but has not been identified as of this report.AC: Some reports conflict on the identity of the assailant. Some sources claim the attacker was female, while others state that it was male, or at minimum of questionable status.Middle East: This morning Israeli media reported that British Airways canceled all flights in and out of Israel until July 31, due to security concerns.AC: This is an interesting case as British Airways hasn't publicly acknowledged this development, at least not yet. As a reminder, British Airways (along with a few other smaller airlines) had halted all flights into and out of Israel's Ben Gurion airport due to successful Houthi missile strikes a few months ago. Overnight, it seems as though Israeli journalists went onto the British Airways website and discovered that tickets could not be booked for the airport until August. As such, what is being touted as a flight-ban is probably a quiet and non-publicized extension of a pre-existing flight ban for security reasons.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Right now details on both juvenile-linked stabbing incidents in Germany are sketchy at best; Quite literally zero mainstream media outlets have mentioned either incident...even Googling these stories turns up zero search results. However, the small handful of local German-language media sources have suggested that both assailants were German citizens of an immigrant origin. A few AfD politicians and figures have also made similar statements, but since the offenders are juveniles, very little investigation will be conducted due to Germany's procedures involving underage criminals.Similarly, the ax-attack that occurred two days ago in the parking lot of a grocery store in France has received little media attention and has subsequently been hard to find any details on. Most local French-language independent media that has mentioned the story seem to think this ax-murder was intra-cultural violence situation as both the victim and perpetrator were of Turkish ethnicity. In any case, though these brutal attacks and murders are very common throughout Europe, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find out that an attack occurs in the first place. In almost all cases, the only way the world knows of an attack is via individual citizens posting about the incident on social media in such a way that does not trigger algorithmic suppression of the information.Analyst: S2A1Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground//END REPORT//
Can't I just wear gloves?!!! 18 minutes for walking… what about driving??!!! Do I wash if I'm feeding others?!!Chazon Ish ZT”L & Ben Gurion ma'aseh…!!!! “Knock her out…” !! Giving bread = Lifne Iver??
Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastSubscribe to Ark Media's new podcast ‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/HJI2mXArk Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.orgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenor=============================================It's been a busy week with a lot of moving pieces - there are new war plans in Gaza, the US-Houthi agreement, and of course, the Gulf Summit and a potential new deal between the US and Saudi Arabia. Here's what we do know:On Tuesday, during a press availability in the Oval Office of the White House, President Donald Trump told reporters that the total number of living hostages in Gaza dropped from 24 to 21. “As of today, it's 21. Three have died.”, he said. Israel maintains that officially, the list of living hostages remains 24. Trump also said that the US would stop bombing Yemen's Houthis after the Iran-backed group had agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East. The announcement did not mention the Houthi attacks on Israel, including a missile that hit Ben Gurion international airport on Saturday, to which Israel responded with a crippling attack on Yemen's international airport in Sanaa. Following Trump's announcement, a spokesman for the Houthis pledged that the strikes on Israel would continue. On Thursday, sources told Reuters that the United States is no longer demanding Saudi Arabia normalize ties with Israel as a condition for developing its nuclear program - a major concession by Washington. Senator Lindsey Graham says he opposes any pact with the Saudis that excludes normalization with Jewish state. Earlier in the week, on Monday, Israel's security cabinet authorized plans for the widening of the Gaza invasion, which if taken to its logical conclusion, meaning Hamas refuses to surrender and release the hostages – could result in an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza and reestablishing some permanent presence there.It is unclear at this point if this military plan is going to be implemented, or if it is used as leverage on Hamas as a negotiating tactic. That said, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich said on Monday that “We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word' occupation.” To unpack what this all means, we are joined by Lahav Harkov, Senior Political Correspondent for Jewish Insider. Senior Fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security.(00:00) Introduction(04:56) Potential US-Saudi deal(13:33) What do the Saudi's want?(15:37) IDF operations in Gaza(21:10) How would occupation work?(26:58) Strain on reservist soldiers(34:13) What are the options for Hamas?CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer
On May 4, 2025, a ballistic missile traveling up to sixteen times faster than the speed of sound struck ground close to the terminal at Ben-Gurion airport, halting flight traffic and leaving a crater at the point of impact. It was the first time that the airport buildings themselves have been so close to a successful missile attack. This particular missile was fired from a distance of 1,300 miles, from Yemen, the Arab nation situated to the south of Saudi Arabia, whose coastline opens up to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the crucial Bab al-Mandab Straight, a narrow chokepoint in global shipping that allows ships to travel from India and points east through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean. The missile was shot by the Houthis, a Shiite Islamist organization that is supported by, and operates in coordination with, Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They have been firing rockets at Israel for many months. Back in July 2024, they successfully struck an apartment building near the U.S. embassy's Tel Avi branch. And since October 2023, they have been targeting commercial naval craft in the Red Sea. Since March 2025, the United States has been conducting a campaign of air and naval strikes against the Houthis. But after the Ben-Gurion airport attack of May 4, the Israelis took matters into their own hands. On May 5, some 30 Israeli military aircraft attacked targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen, including the al-Imran cement factory and the Hodeidah port. On May 6, the Israelis destroyed the airport in Sana'a. This week, we focus on the Houthis, their place in Yemen, their relationship to Iran, and the threats they pose towards global shipping and Israel. Discussing these topics with us is Ari Heistein, who works in business development in Israel, is a close intellectual collaborator with the former Israeli chief of defense intelligence Amos Yadlin, and until recently served as chief of staff at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. This podcast was recorded on Tuesday morning, May 6, 2025. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.
Send us a textBarak Herscowitz, former head of communications for the Israeli government and the whistleblower who exposed TikTok's anti-Israel bias, joins Eylon Levy to dissect the spin dominating the international conversation around Israel, Hamas, and the Gaza war.
Depois dos feriados Pessach e outros feriados nacionais o parlamento volta de recesso e inicia a sessão de verão. E aí a coisa ferve. Sempre. Bloco 1- Governo aprova a intensificação da guerra em Gaza e fala em ocupação militar.- Netanyahu diz que reféns são menos importantes que vencer o Hamas.- Catástrofe humanitária.- Israel se envolve na lama da Síria- Smotrich anuncia construção na região E1 em Jerusalém oriental.- Míssil Houthi cai no aeroporto Ben Gurion e Trump anuncia acordo de cessar-fogo com o grupo Iemenita.Bloco 2- Suspeitos do ataque ao ato de Yom Hazikaron em Raanana foram soltos, sem acusação.- Incêndios pelo país queimam e incitam.- Crise entre Netanyahu e Trump por conta de contatos com Mike Waltz, agora ex-secretário de segurança nacional dos EUA.- Greve dos professores e incitação- Yariv Levin acusou Yaakov Bardugo de extorção. Miki Zohar, cultura, e Shlomo Kerry, comunicações, apoiam Levin. Bloco 3- Palavra da semana.- Dica cultural da semana- Homenagem a Mordechai Anielewicz no 82 aniversário da sua morte na revolta do gueto de Varsóvia. Apoio pontual ao projeto que chega ao episódio 300!!!!!https://apoia.se/ladoesquerdo300Para quem puder colaborar com o desenvolvimento do nosso projeto para podermos continuar trazendo informação de qualidade, esse é o link para a nossa campanha de financiamento coletivo. No Brasil - apoia.se/doladoesquerdodomuroNo exterior - patreon.com/doladoesquerdodomuroNós nas redes:bluesky - @doladoesquerdo.bsky.social e @joaokm.bsky.socialsite - ladoesquerdo.comtwitter - @doladoesquerdo e @joaokminstagram - @doladoesquerdodomuroyoutube - youtube.com/@doladoesquerdodomuroTiktok - @esquerdomuroPlaylist do Spotify - Do Lado Esquerdo do Muro MusicalSite com tradução de letras de músicas - https://shirimemportugues.blogspot.com/Episódio #299 do podcast "Do Lado Esquerdo do Muro", com Marcos Gorinstein e João Miragaya.
I dag snakker Knutsen & Beckheim om Syria, Gaza, det bilaterale forholdet mellom USA og Israel, om raketter, droner og missiler mot Ben Gurion, om Hilde Henriksen Waage, om Jan Egeland, og svar på seerspørsmål. Abonnér på Leif Knutsen sitt nyhetsbrev her: https://bemetinorge.beehiiv.com► BLI MEDLEM Fremover vil de som er støttemedlemmer få tilgang til episodene først. Da støtter du podcasten med det samme som prisen av en kaffe hver måned. Setter stor pris på om du blir støttemedlem. Tusen takk.► VIPPSOm du ønsker å støtte arbeidet med denne podcasten, kan du bidra med et stort eller lite beløp, etter eget ønske. All støtte settes pris på, og du bidrar til arbeidet med å lage flere episoder. Bruk Vippsnummer: #823278► Annonsere på Henrik Beckheim Podcast post@henrikbeckheim.no ► Kjøp klær, kopper, capser og merch her - https://henrikbeckheim.com/store► Du kan altså støtte podden ved å donere et beløp til:➡ Vipps (lenke for mobil) eller bruk Vippsnummer: #823278➡ Eller bli MEDLEM og få tilgang til de nyeste episodene først.► Omtale/rating:Legg gjerne igjen en omtale/rating på Spotify & Apple Podcasts. Det hjelper podcasten med å bli synlig for flere.► Linker:Youtube | Nettside | TikTok | Instagram | Podimo | Facebook | Apple
Mainstream Jewish communal leaders have, for ages, been talking about "skewing younger" with programming. But none of them would dare come near Sinners' Shabbat, a sexy, raunchy burlesque show, ripe with bondage ropes, leather skirts, cleavage and kippot and queer couples. Helmed by Tova Sterling, a chef and influencer in New York City, the events were born out of her feeling not at home in conventional Jewish spaces—and finding a community on the fringes. Meanwhile, not far away, in Manhattan, Chabad debuted Fins and Scales, a pay-what-you-can kosher omakase dining experience at a Chabad house in Greenwich Village. Diners enjoyed lightly charred madai, sea bream and fresh sashimi, happy to take part in a luxurious fine-dining experience if all it cost was a donation and signing up to Chabad's mailing list. So what's going on here? Are these sorts of ultra-modern shticks the future of Judaism, or just passing gimmicks? And are they even "Jewish" events if they're totally divorced from religion and tradition? The hosts of Not in Heaven share their thoughts and disagreements. Plus, the hosts recap the tumultuous trauma felt by hundreds of Canadian teenagers on a recent March of the Living trip: they silently recreated the death march from Aushewitz to Birkenau in a walk led by former hostages and survivors of Oct. 7; they felt the heat from forest fires that decimated swaths of the hills surrounding Jerusalem; and on their way out, in Ben Gurion airport, they witnessed a Houthi missile explode on a runway right outside the building. Have the emotional intensity of these trips gone too far? Are we traumatizing future generations in the hopes of having an impact? Our rabbinic hosts weigh in. Credits Hosts: Avi Finegold, Yedida Eisenstat, Matthew Leibl Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (editor), Michael Fraiman (executive producer) Music: Socalled Support The CJN Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to Not in Heaven (Not sure how? Click here)
Ada Karmi-Melamede is an architect who has designed famous buildings across Israel, including the Supreme Court building and the gateway to Ben Gurion airport. Her daughter, filmmaker Yael Melamede, talks to us about her new film, ADA: My Mother the Architect, which is a heartfelt investigation of Ada's work, philosophical approach, and her relationships with her family.
Israel strikes back against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, hitting key targets after a Houthi ballistic missile hit near Ben Gurion airport Sunday; Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists for major military operation against Hamas in ... ...
Israel strikes back against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, hitting key targets after a Houthi ballistic missile hit near Ben Gurion airport Sunday; Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists for major military operation against Hamas in ... ...
Israel strikes back against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, hitting key targets after a Houthi ballistic missile hit near Ben Gurion airport Sunday; Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists for major military operation against Hamas in ... ...
Israel strikes back against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, hitting key targets after a Houthi ballistic missile hit near Ben Gurion airport Sunday; Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists for major military operation against Hamas in ... ...
Non si è fatta attendere la reazione israeliana in risposta al missile lanciato domenica dagli Houthi sull'aeroporto Ben Gurion. Come previsto, nella notte le Idf hanno lanciato un massiccio attacco contro la città portuale di Hodeida, coadiuvate dagli Usa.
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: China quietly exempts over $40 billion worth of U.S. goods from tariffs, a major shift in its trade war strategy as economic strain mounts. A Houthi missile lands near Israel's Ben Gurion airport, marking one of the group's boldest strikes to date. The Trump administration deepens support for Ukraine with a $310 million F-16 training and support package. And in today's Back of the Brief—UK counter-terror police arrest five Iranian nationals suspected of plotting an attack on British soil. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://TryBeef.com/PDB for 2 free Flat Iron steaks with your first box over $250True Classic: Upgrade your wardrobe and save on @trueclassic at trueclassic.com/PDB ! #trueclassicpod. Please review the “AD” disclosure requirements based on FTC legal regulations here: http://ftc.gov/influencers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this 'EPISODE 411 ISRAEL WILDFIRES, EARTHQUAKE, GIANT DUST STORM AND THE BOMBING OF THE BEN-GURION AIR PORT-- IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF GOD'S JUDGMENT ON WAYWARD SINNERS IN ISRAEL? WHAT ABOUT THIS BEING A SIGN FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD?', author, speaker and host Elbert Hardy of itellwhy.com, brings out what God says in his Word through the prophet Ezekiel about this series of events... could it be a sign for all of us?Go to itellwhy.com to read Elbert's books free of charge, no Ads and no requests for money or Email addresses. You can watch faith building YouTube Links to Videos and the listen to Elbert's Life of Christ Audio Book in 30 minute Episodes arranged and read by the author straight from the Bible, but rearranged in logical harmony of the Gospels, Revelation and other scriptures. All FREE of charge in the public interest.
About 200 Canadian students, their chaperones and nearly a dozen Holocaust survivors were going through airport security at Ben Gurion International when they heard the blast. It happened on Sunday May 4, as the group was returning from a March of the Living trip–which took them to Poland and Israel–when a Houthi missile launched by Islamic terrorists from Yemen evaded Israel's air defences and exploded on the airport's access road. The Canadian group, along with thousands of other travellers, were ordered to scramble into safe areas or bomb shelters inside the airport until authorities gave the all-clear about a half-hour later. While eight people were taken to hospitals in Israel, none of the Canadians was injured. Many international airlines have cancelled or suspended flights for coming days. The March of the Living group used charters to reach Warsaw, then boarded a LOT Dreamliner aircraft, which landed in Toronto on Sunday night. The Houthi attack came after a tumultuous trip for the group, who had experienced the country's biggest wildfire, which burned the forests between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before Israel's Independence Day on May 1. On top of that, the Iran-backed forces in Yemen have been escalating their ballistic missile attacks. Sunday's hypersonic missile was the only one the IDF failed to intercept, leaving a significant crater in the airport roadway and damaging part of Terminal 3. On today's episode of The CJN Daily, we hear from anxious March of the Living parents Jasmine Albagli of Ottawa; Mark Diamond and his wife Sharon, also from Ottawa; and Adam Cohen of Toronto. Aviva Klompas also joins: the Toronto-born author and Israel advocate, also happened to be at Ben Gurion airport when the attack struck. What we talked about: Hear how anti-Israel protestors at Auschwitz tried to spoil the 2024 annual March of the Living while one Edmonton family showed resilience, on The CJN Daily. Read why fewer participants joined the 2024 March of the Living since it was the first after October. 7, and how the itinerary changed, in The CJN. Read about the 2023 March of the Living when the late Alex Buckman, a Vancouver Holocaust educator, accompanied the trip, in The CJN. Credits Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Marc Weisblott (editorial director) Music: Dov Beck-Levine Support our show Subscribe to The CJN newsletter Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt) Subscribe to The CJN Daily (Not sure how? Click here)
Informativo de primera hora de la mañana, en el programa El Remate de La Diez Capital Radio. Hace 2 años el titular era: Canarias recibió en el primer trimestre de 2023 más turistas que antes de la pandemia y batió el récord de gasto. Hoy se cumplen 1.164 días del cruel ataque e invasión de Rusia a Ucrania. 3 años y 59 días. Hoy es lunes 5 de abril de 2025. Día Mundial del Patrimonio Africano. El Día Mundial del Patrimonio Africano se celebra el 5 de mayo de cada año, gracias a un decreto de los Estados Miembros de la UNESCO. Su principal objetivo es dar a conocer a todas las personas del planeta, pero en especial, al pueblo africano, el valioso patrimonio cultural y natural de este gran continente. Hoy más que nunca existe la necesidad de proteger y preservar todo el patrimonio natural y cultural que se encuentra en el continente africano. Debido a la gran cantidad de amenazas que enfrenta el hombre moderno como por ejemplo el cambio climático, el terrorismo, la explotación de los recursos naturales, la caza indiscriminada de animales o el mismo desarrollo y que inciden de manera negativa sobre el patrimonio de todo un pueblo y que representa la herencia de las futuras generaciones. Debido a esto, el compromiso de la UNESCO es buscar alianzas y aunar esfuerzos para lograr las transformaciones necesarias que permitan preservar la riqueza invaluable de la cultura africana. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se requiere el trabajo mancomunado de todos los organismos y entes involucrados y hacer de ello, una realidad para alcanzar un mundo mucho más sostenible. 553 Comienza el Segundo Concilio de Constantinopla. 1821 En la isla de Santa Helena (en el océano Atlántico) muere Napoleón Bonaparte. 1890 En España se promulga la Ley de Sufragio universal. 1944 En India, Gandhi es liberado tras 21 meses de arresto. 1955 La República Federal de Alemania recupera la plena soberanía. 1961 Estados Unidos lanza al espacio su primera nave espacial tripulada; el piloto fue Alan B. Shepard. 1965 En el aeropuerto de Tenerife Norte se estrella un avión y mueren 32 personas. 2000 Ocurre una conjunción planetaria de todos los planetas conocidos en la Antigüedad (Mercurio, Venus, Marte, Júpiter, Saturno, la Luna y el Sol). Santa Ángela de Sicilia, San Hilario de Arles, San Eulogio Obispo. Kiev acusa a Moscú de atacar Járkov con bombas termobáricas. Un misil procedente de Yemen alcanza el aeropuerto Ben Gurion de Tel Aviv. La Capilla Sixtina se prepara para iniciar el cónclave con la instalación de las estufas y las mesas de los cardenales. La opinión de los 5 cardenales favoritos del cónclave sobre los temas más polémicos para la Iglesia. La natalidad en España sube por primera vez en la última década. Gobierno central y comunidades debaten este lunes los términos de la acogida de menores migrantes, pero algunas ya anuncian su rechazo. Mientras el PP de Canarias apoyó el texto e incluso apremia ahora al Ejecutivo para que comience con los traslados, los gobiernos de Madrid y Aragón han recurrido el decreto ante el Constitucional y la Comunidad Valenciana anuncia que hará lo mismo. La CEOE de Tenerife alerta de un “bajón” en las reservas hoteleras. Canarias, entre las comunidades con mayor precariedad: cerca de la mitad de sus trabajadores cobran menos del SMI. Así lo reflejan los últimos datos publicados por los técnicos del Ministerio de Hacienda (Gestha). La lista de espera en dependencia se dispara en Canarias con casi 12.000 personas con el derecho reconocido y sin prestación. La mayoría de ellas (11.141) llevan esperando más de seis meses pese a tener derecho. En el mes de marzo se produjeron solo 182 nuevos reconocimientos de PIA y se contabilizan 9.012 prestaciones menos que en diciembre de 2024, cuando la Consejería aseguró que se habían superado las 62.000. Canarias reforzará la colaboración con Gambia en formación, empleo, seguridad, sanidad e inmigración. Una delegación del Gobierno de Canarias viajará este lunes, 5 de mayo, a Gambia con la finalidad de reforzar la cooperación en materias de formación, empleo, seguridad, sanidad e inmigración con el país africano. The Kinks (en español, "perversiones, manías, torceduras") fue una banda inglesa de rock formada en 1963 en Muswell Hill, al norte de Londres, por los hermanos Ray y Dave Davies, considerada una de las bandas de rock más influyentes de la década de 1960. Esta tema del grupo Kinks se sacó a la luz como single el 5 de mayo de 1967.
Bienvenidos a La Diez Capital Radio! Están a punto de comenzar un nuevo episodio de nuestro Programa de Actualidad, donde la información, la formación y el entretenimiento se encuentran para ofrecerles lo mejor de las noticias y temas relevantes. Este programa, dirigido y presentado por Miguel Ángel González Suárez, es su ventana directa a los acontecimientos más importantes, así como a las historias que capturan la esencia de nuestro tiempo. A través de un enfoque dinámico y cercano, Miguel Ángel conecta con ustedes para proporcionar una experiencia informativa y envolvente. Desde análisis profundos hasta entrevistas exclusivas, cada emisión está diseñada para mantenerles al tanto, ofrecerles nuevos conocimientos y, por supuesto, entretenerles. Para más detalles sobre el programa, visiten nuestra web en www.ladiez.es. - Informativo de primera hora de la mañana, en el programa El Remate de La Diez Capital Radio. Hace 2 años el titular era: Canarias recibió en el primer trimestre de 2023 más turistas que antes de la pandemia y batió el récord de gasto. Hoy se cumplen 1.164 días del cruel ataque e invasión de Rusia a Ucrania. 3 años y 59 días. Hoy es lunes 5 de abril de 2025. Día Mundial del Patrimonio Africano. El Día Mundial del Patrimonio Africano se celebra el 5 de mayo de cada año, gracias a un decreto de los Estados Miembros de la UNESCO. Su principal objetivo es dar a conocer a todas las personas del planeta, pero en especial, al pueblo africano, el valioso patrimonio cultural y natural de este gran continente. Hoy más que nunca existe la necesidad de proteger y preservar todo el patrimonio natural y cultural que se encuentra en el continente africano. Debido a la gran cantidad de amenazas que enfrenta el hombre moderno como por ejemplo el cambio climático, el terrorismo, la explotación de los recursos naturales, la caza indiscriminada de animales o el mismo desarrollo y que inciden de manera negativa sobre el patrimonio de todo un pueblo y que representa la herencia de las futuras generaciones. Debido a esto, el compromiso de la UNESCO es buscar alianzas y aunar esfuerzos para lograr las transformaciones necesarias que permitan preservar la riqueza invaluable de la cultura africana. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se requiere el trabajo mancomunado de todos los organismos y entes involucrados y hacer de ello, una realidad para alcanzar un mundo mucho más sostenible. 553 Comienza el Segundo Concilio de Constantinopla. 1821 En la isla de Santa Helena (en el océano Atlántico) muere Napoleón Bonaparte. 1890 En España se promulga la Ley de Sufragio universal. 1944 En India, Gandhi es liberado tras 21 meses de arresto. 1955 La República Federal de Alemania recupera la plena soberanía. 1961 Estados Unidos lanza al espacio su primera nave espacial tripulada; el piloto fue Alan B. Shepard. 1965 En el aeropuerto de Tenerife Norte se estrella un avión y mueren 32 personas. 2000 Ocurre una conjunción planetaria de todos los planetas conocidos en la Antigüedad (Mercurio, Venus, Marte, Júpiter, Saturno, la Luna y el Sol). Santa Ángela de Sicilia, San Hilario de Arles, San Eulogio Obispo. Kiev acusa a Moscú de atacar Járkov con bombas termobáricas. Un misil procedente de Yemen alcanza el aeropuerto Ben Gurion de Tel Aviv. La Capilla Sixtina se prepara para iniciar el cónclave con la instalación de las estufas y las mesas de los cardenales. La opinión de los 5 cardenales favoritos del cónclave sobre los temas más polémicos para la Iglesia. La natalidad en España sube por primera vez en la última década. Gobierno central y comunidades debaten este lunes los términos de la acogida de menores migrantes, pero algunas ya anuncian su rechazo. Mientras el PP de Canarias apoyó el texto e incluso apremia ahora al Ejecutivo para que comience con los traslados, los gobiernos de Madrid y Aragón han recurrido el decreto ante el Constitucional y la Comunidad Valenciana anuncia que hará lo mismo. La CEOE de Tenerife alerta de un “bajón” en las reservas hoteleras. Canarias, entre las comunidades con mayor precariedad: cerca de la mitad de sus trabajadores cobran menos del SMI. Así lo reflejan los últimos datos publicados por los técnicos del Ministerio de Hacienda (Gestha). La lista de espera en dependencia se dispara en Canarias con casi 12.000 personas con el derecho reconocido y sin prestación. La mayoría de ellas (11.141) llevan esperando más de seis meses pese a tener derecho. En el mes de marzo se produjeron solo 182 nuevos reconocimientos de PIA y se contabilizan 9.012 prestaciones menos que en diciembre de 2024, cuando la Consejería aseguró que se habían superado las 62.000. Canarias reforzará la colaboración con Gambia en formación, empleo, seguridad, sanidad e inmigración. Una delegación del Gobierno de Canarias viajará este lunes, 5 de mayo, a Gambia con la finalidad de reforzar la cooperación en materias de formación, empleo, seguridad, sanidad e inmigración con el país africano. The Kinks (en español, "perversiones, manías, torceduras") fue una banda inglesa de rock formada en 1963 en Muswell Hill, al norte de Londres, por los hermanos Ray y Dave Davies, considerada una de las bandas de rock más influyentes de la década de 1960. Esta tema del grupo Kinks se sacó a la luz como single el 5 de mayo de 1967. - Sección de actualidad con mucho sentido de Humor inteligente en el programa El Remate de La Diez Capital radio con el periodista socarrón y palmero, José Juan Pérez Capote, El Nº 1. - Nuestro corresponsal en Roma José Figueroa García nos introduce a las intrigas, políticas y profecías alrededor de este cónclave asociado ya en el imaginario popular con el cónclave del fin de los tiempos. - Programa de actualidad presentado y dirigido por: Juan Antonio Inurria Rivero Colaboradores: Rita Medina-Páez. Gabriel Suárez. Andrés Chaves -Tertulia de actualidad informativa con Rosi Rivero y Antonio Aldana.
Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastSubscribe to Ark Media's new podcast ‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/HJI2mXArk Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.orgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorToday's episode:The Iran-backed Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday morning. The IDF said it tried to intercept the missile using Arrow and THAAD systems, but failed. A number of US and international airlines have since suspended flights in and out of Israel. This was the first time the Houthis had successfully hit Israel's national airport. To help us understand what happened and possible next steps, we are joined by Call Me Back regular Nadav Eyal for an emergency episode. CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer
Search for two young siblings in Pictou County, Nova Scotia enters third straight day.Donald Trump slams Canada's defence spending in rare, sit-down interview.Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for a missile which landed near Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.Romania re-runs critical election after November vote was annulled.The Netherlands marks Remembrance Day ahead of 80th anniversary of liberation from Nazis.Whale advocates want Canada to help Orcas stranded in France.
Davide Frattini racconta dell'arma balistica che ha colpito lo scalo «Ben Gurion» di Tel Aviv, dopo avere percorso 2.000 km e avere superato le difese aeree di Israele. Mara Gergolet spiega le conseguenze politiche dell'indagine dell'intelligence tedesca sul partito Alternative für Deutschland, alla vigilia della nascita del nuovo governo. Alice D'Este parla del caso sollevato dalla foto degli alunni di Treviso in visita nel luogo di culto islamico.I link di corriere.it:L'attacco all'aeroporto Ben Gurion con un missile balistico: così gli Houthi mettono alla prova le difese di IsraeleGermania, Afd dichiarato «partito di estrema destra». Ecco cosa cambiaI bambini dell'asilo cattolico e la foto in ginocchio dentro la moschea
Izraelske oblasti so napovedale odločen odgovor na napad jemenskih hutijevcev, ki so davi z balistično raketo zadeli območje mednarodnega letališča Ben Gurion v središču Izraela. Jemenski uporniki so prevzeli odgovornost za napad in sporočili, da so ga izvedli v znak solidarnosti s Palestinci v Gazi. Večje škode ni bilo, poročajo o več ranjenih. Številne letalske družbe so medtem odpovedale svoje lete v Izrael.
Os Houthis do Iêmen lançaram um míssil em direção ao principal aeroporto de Israel — o Ben Gurion. E o mais impressionante: o projétil cruzou mais de 2.000 km sem ser interceptado por nenhum dos sofisticados sistemas de defesa israelenses.➡️ Como um míssil desses furou o Iron Dome?➡️ O THAAD, sistema de defesa de longo alcance, não entrou em ação?➡️ Quem são os Houthis e por que odeiam Israel?➡️ Qual o papel do Irã nos bastidores desse ataque?➡️ E o que Netanyahu quis dizer ao usar uma fala antiga de Trump pra ameaçar Teerã?Neste episódio, a gente conecta tudo: geopolítica, tecnologia militar, alianças regionais e os novos rumos dos conflitos no Oriente Médio. Vem entender como um grupo rebelde está mudando a lógica da guerra no século XXI — e por que isso pode afetar muito mais do que apenas Israel.
Die Lufthansa und die schweizerische Airline Swiss haben ihre Flüge nach Tel Aviv ausgesetzt. Grund ist der Raketenangriff der Huthi-Miliz heute früh auf den internationalen Flughafen Ben Gurion. Israel bereitet unterdessen weiter eine neue Offensive im Gazastreifen vor. Außerdem setzt Israel seine Angriffe auf Syrien fort, zum Schutz der drusischen Minderheit, wie das Militär sagt. Viele Drusen fliehen aus Syrien. Der ukrainische Präsident Selensyj hat Moskau nach nächtlichen Drohnenangriffen Zynismus vorgeworfen. Selenskyj und seine Frau sind zu einem zweitägigen Besuch in Prag. Ein Hauptthema dürfte die tschechische Granaten-Initiative sein.
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode on Israel's Independence Day. Today, we will step back in time and attempt to get into prime minister David Ben-Gurion’s state of mind as the Jewish state is declared in 1948. We speak about the divided nation -- even as it was fighting for its mere survival against enemies on all fronts. To understand how Ben-Gurion was thinking on that fateful May 14, 1948, we turn to two newly released images of his handwritten diary, which reveal the first prime minister’s anxieties as the newly born country headed to war against invading Arab neighbors.We then discuss how a mere few weeks after the Declaration of Independence, one of the most painful episodes in Israeli history occurred -- the Altalena Affair. Rettig Gur explains this social turning point. Finally, Rettig Gur expounds on the current Israeli moment and compares it to the prescient anxiety felt by Ben-Gurion and the profound test of leadership he faced so soon after the founding of the state. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves and video edited by Thomas Girsch. IMAGE: Cartoon illustrating Israelis' first election, January 25, 1948. (AP Photo/H. E. Munhall)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A rare handwritten excerpt from David Ben-Gurion’s diary, penned on May 14, 1948 – the day of Israel's declaration of independence – has been revealed to the public, offering a personal glimpse into the founding prime minister’s emotions and concerns at the birth of the state. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke with Shmuel Adler , the deputy director of the Ben Gurion Heritage Institute and the Ben Gurion Archives. (Photo: Courtesy)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oberstløytnant (res.) Sarit Zehavi er grunnlegger og president for Alma, en ideell organisasjon og et uavhengig forsknings- og utdanningssenter som spesialiserer seg på Israels sikkerhetsutfordringer ved den nordlige grensen. Zehavi har tjenestegjort i 15 år i etterretningskorpset i Israels forsvar (IDF), først i forsknings- og analyseavdelingen og senere ved Nordkommandoen.Oberstløytnant Zehavi har en mastergrad i Midtøsten-studier fra Ben-Gurion-universitetet i Beer Sheva, Israel.English:Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi is the founder and president of Alma, a nonprofit and an independent research and education center specializing in Israel's security challenges on its northern border. ► SUPPORT HENRIK BECKHEIM PODCASTIf you wish to support the work of this podcast, please become a subscriber. Also feel free to donate an amount of your choosing:➡ PayPal➡ Vipps (Norway only) donér til: Vippsnummer: #823278► Review/rating:Please feel free to leave a review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. ► Links:Youtube | Official website | TikTok | Instagram | Podimo | Apple
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comDouglas is a writer and commentator. He's an associate editor at The Spectator and a columnist for both the New York Post and The Sun, as well as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His books include The Madness of Crowds and The War on the West, which we discussed on the Dishcast three years ago. His new book is On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization. We had a lively, sometimes contentious session — first on Trump, then on Israel's tactics in Gaza.This episode and a forthcoming one with Francis Collins were challenges. How to push back against someone who is your guest? I never wanted the Dishcast to be an interrogation, an Andrew Neil-style interview. But I also wanted it to air debate, so I try to play devil's advocate when appropriate. I'm sure you'll let me know how I'm doing after this one.For two clips of our convo — on Palestinians “endlessly rejecting peace,” and debating the Khalil case — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: the pros and cons of Trump 2.0 for Douglas; his time on the frontlines in Ukraine; the “horrifying” WH meeting with Zelensky; mineral reparations; North Korean conscripts; aggressing Greenland; Blame Canada; the Signal chat; Vance's disdain for Europe; the Houthis; MAGA isolationists; targeting law firms; race and sex discrimination under Biden; Trump defunding the Ivies; anti-Semitism on campus; the Columbia protests and criminality; the Alien Enemies Act and the 1952 law; the Ozturk case; the horrors of 10/7; Hezbollah's aborted invasion; the bombing of Gaza; human shields; dead children; hostages like Edan Alexander; Gazan protests against Hamas; the Israeli dentist who saved Sinwar's life; 9/11 and religious extremism; the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza; Ben-Gurion; Zionism; pogroms in the wake of 1948; audio clips of Hitchens and Bill Burr; the view that only Jews can protect Jews; Rushdie; the hearts and minds of Gazans; John Spencer; just war theory; Trump's Mar-a-Gaza; the West Bank settlements; ethnic cleansing; Smotrich; and the fate of a two-state solution after 10/7.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Claire Lehmann on the success of Quillette, Evan Wolfson on the history of marriage equality, Francis Collins on faith and science and Covid, Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee on Covid's political fallout, and Paul Elie on his book The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
Am 14. März 1960 traf Israels Regierungschef David Ben-Gurion erstmals Bundeskanzler Konrad Adenauer – also einen Vertreter des Volkes, das den Holocaust zu verantworten hatte. Beide legten den Grundstein für die Aufnahme diplomatischer Beziehungen. Engelbrecht, Sebastian www.deutschlandfunk.de, Kalenderblatt
The Knesset Health Committee held a special debate on Monday to discuss the possibility Israel’s withdrawal from World Health Organization. Coalition MKs accused the WHO of antisemitism and discrimination against Israel, and noted that the UN agency has failed to condemn the use of hospitals and other medical facilities by Hamas during the Gaza war. Professor Dorit Nitzan, a representative of the Israel Medical Association and former WHO official, opposed Israel's withdrawal, arguing that leaving the organization could significantly harm national security, public health, and global cooperation. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke with Professor Nadav Davidovitch from Beersheva’s Ben Gurion university, chair of the Taub Center’s Health Policy program and an executive board member at ASPHER, the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European region. (Photo: Reuters)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The American Studies Association has boycotted Israeli academic institutions since 2013. The Association for the Advancement of Anthropology has refrained from formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions. And just this past summer, the American Association of University Professors opened the door to academic boycotts against Israel. Enter: two scientists at MIT who see firsthand the consequences of academic boycotts and the damage it can cause to scholarship and scientific progress. To ensure Israeli scholars and their American colleagues can collaborate freely, and foster research and innovation that benefits all of humanity, they formed The Kalaniyot Foundation (pronounced Ka-la-nee-yought), named after Israel's national flower. Hear from Drs. Or Hen and Ernest Fraenkel, co-founders of this initiative, on the impact of anti-Israel boycotts on academic collaboration with Israeli scholars, and what they're doing to rehabilitate the reputation of Israeli researchers in the eyes of the world. Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus: with Hen Mazzig, Einat Admony, and more. People of the Pod: U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Gaza Reconstruction, Israeli Security, and the Future of Middle East Diplomacy Why Germany's Antisemitic Far-Right Party is Thriving Instead of Disappearing Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. __ Transcript of Conversation with Drs. Or Hen and Ernest Fraenkel: Manya Brachear Pashman: Since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023 many university campuses have been riven by anti-Israel protests, demonstrations, often unfortunately fueled by disinformation and rife with rhetoric that too often crosses the line into antisemitism. But even before October 7, Israeli scholarship had become a target of the boycott divestment sanctions movement. The American Studies Association has boycotted Israeli academic institutions since 2013. The Association for the Advancement of Anthropology has refrained from formal collaborations with Israeli academic institutions. Even study abroad programs that give students an opportunity to live and study in Israel have come under scrutiny. Enter: two scientists at MIT who see firsthand the consequences of academic boycotts and the damage it can cause to scholarship and scientific progress. To ensure Israeli scholars and their American colleagues can collaborate freely, foster research and innovation that benefits all of humanity, they formed The Kalaniyot Foundation, named after Israel's national flower. Dr. Or Hen and Ernest Fraenkel are with us now to discuss this initiative. Dr. Hen, Dr. Fraenkel, welcome to People of the Pod. Ernest Fraenkel: Thank you very much. Manya Brachear Pashman: So I want to work backward here a bit with a purpose. I want to start by sharing with our audience a little about your research. Dr Fraenkel, you work in health science, technology. What is the goal of your research and scholarship? Are there particular diseases you're trying to cure or treat? Ernest Fraenkel: We are interested in the diseases that are the hardest to treat, ones like Alzheimer's, ALS, Parkinson's, where we don't really know the root cause, and we believe that by gathering many different kinds of data about genes and molecules, about RNA and also about people's lived experience of these diseases, and using computational models, we can identify new targets for drugs and hopefully better therapies. Manya Brachear Pashman: Have you collaborated with Israeli scientists on this? Ernest Fraenkel: Yes, we collaborate with quite a few scientists all over the world, including top researchers in Israel. Manya Brachear Pashman: And Dr. Hen, you are a nuclear physicist, and you study the strongest force in nature, right? What is the goal of your research? Or Hen: So my research is very much on the fundamental curiosity driven science side of things, I am trying to understand how the fundamental building blocks of matter come about. We're building a new particle collider in the US called the electron hand collider. It's a $3 billion project funded by the Department of Energy, where we will try to understand why the proton and from that nucleus and all of us have mass. Trying to understand how we get the proton to a specific spin, which is the reason that we can go into an MRI machine and image ourselves. And I also try to understand things like, how do protons and neutrons interact with each other at extremely short distances, which tell us about exotic phenomena in the universe, like neutron stars. So trying to understand, really, the fundamental building blocks of matter and how they come about. Manya Brachear Pashman: Wow. And is there promising scholarship in this realm in Israel? Or Hen: Yes, there's quite a few groups working in this area. I did my own training in Israel. I am a graduate of the Hebrew University for undergrad and Tel Aviv University for grad school. And actually, ever since I came to MIT, I've still been collaborating with colleagues from Technion, Tel Aviv, Hebrew University, Weizmann, Ben Gurion. I've always had a strong collaboration with Israel, actually. Manya Brachear Pashman: So after October 7, or maybe even leading up to it, what were you seeing when it came to support of Israeli scholarship and collaboration in your institutions, in your fields, in academia in general? Ernest Fraenkel: I think before October 7, we were living in a bit of a bubble, because MIT is a special place which is very deeply immersed in science and technology. Where really, quite honestly, before October 7, I had no hint that there were biases against Israel, Israelis or Jews. I know that was not the experience in many other areas, especially in other fields. But things really turned 180 degrees on October 7, and what we've seen since then has been deeply disturbing. That some of the boycotts that have been bubbling for years in the humanities suddenly burst forth into the sciences and the engineering fields in ways that are both global and also very local. Seeing bias against individual researchers inside laboratories, as well as these kind of blanket attempts to boycott Israel. Manya Brachear Pashman: And Dr Hen, did you see the same? Or Hen: Yes, definitely. I work with a lot of international collaborations, actually, within collaborations, because there's structured bodies with bylaws and rules, It was very hard for anyone to object the presence of Israeli researchers. But what we have observed in many places is peer to peer collaborations dying down. We've seen a very significant social tax being applied to people who continue to collaborate with Israelis, and honestly, maybe in contrast a bit to what we know from academic boycotts in other areas, but are very much politically driven, within the STEM, within exact sciences, biosciences, etc, the social taxing is actually much stronger because we are people who usually instead, people keep a very clear separation between the politics and then, you know what they view from the work in the lab, which is very clear and data driven, and not a lot of room for opinions. It's very much exact. But on the other hand, the second that walking within Israel, and you know collaborating with Israel, is start costing other corporations, other people will now not work, then you get a problem. And that's what people really avoid and that's how an academic boycott within the STEM areas is progressing. It's a very deeply bound social tax that is just running in the air of the institutions. Manya Brachear Pashman: So what is the Kalaniyot Foundation doing to promote these collaborations? Can you give us some specific examples, or projects or partnerships? Or Hen: Yeah, so one of the things that we really believe in is that, at the end of the day, actually, what we see, also data shows, is, well, there is existing strong collaboration, that peer to peer, that person to person connection, is so strong that it's very hard to break that. You can go into my department and you can talk to people about Israel. And they know Or, and they know the person, right? And they might have a positive opinion about, you know, negative opinion about me. But whatever that opinion is, right, it's stronger than anything. They will try to protest and say, Okay, maybe there's a political issue. But you know, we know the researcher. We know the scientists. We know our colleagues. So the approach of Kalaniyot is to actually bring in more Israelis to campus, to bring in brilliant people who are excellent researchers that will come and enrich the academic environment, first and foremost, through this quality, and second, by the people that they are. Maybe Ernest, you want to continue with this? Ernest Fraenkel: So it's really this dual mission. We think that if we bring more top notch Israeli scholars to us campuses, it will normalize interaction with Israelis, humanize the Israeli, but there's a problem, right? Because if you just bring Israelis into campus environments that are hostile, they won't thrive. Many of them won't want to come, right? And so the other piece of it that's necessary is to build community, and that's something that we've been doing since October 7 of last year, trying to figure out how to do that, and what we found is face to face interaction is really critical. And so at MIT, we've been having weekly lunches of the Israelis, Jews, allies, everybody who felt isolated and left out of society by all the protests that were taking place. And the beautiful thing is that that started as a reaction, right, a sort of a safe place to retreat to, and it's actually become a wonderful, positive place. And still, now, you know, so far into this crisis, people are coming, and actually the numbers are even growing. And so on a typical week, we get more than 100 people in person. We, of course, feed them lunch, and it's just a wonderful place where you can make friendships, develop academic collaborations, and Israelis realize that there is a community here that appreciates them and welcomes them and it helps them thrive. Manya Brachear Pashman: Because, of course, food is a vital currency, both on college campuses as well in Jewish as in Jewish life. Food heals all. But I am curious, do you? In addition to building these thriving communities, are you also so that people are surrounded and comfortable but are you also trying to build bridges with people who perhaps do tend to throw the word Israeli around in a negative capacity, but you need to actually have some face to face contact. Or is that really not the purpose of Kalaniyot. Or Hen: I mean, it's a yes and a no. We certainly have done that, right. So if you think about how it all started very soon after October 7, basically after the first protest on campus at MIT. We went to talk to our president, three Jewish Israeli faculty, and we asked her. We said, Look, we hear from the students about what's happening in the dorms, what they're experiencing. It's really bad, and it's very hard to handle through the existing mechanisms. Please actually give us the budget. We'll get kosher food. I'm a Mizrahi, that's what I know how to do, feed people. Let's put everybody together, and let's make sure everybody feel welcome. And we also said, you know, we'll be your bridge. We'll help the students communicate with administration through our guidance, right? We'll be able to filter, to guide them, but also to pick up on the important things that you need to know. But then we said something else. We said, Look, this is going to become very tough, also for the students who are protesting out there right now. It was before Israel responded, but we knew exactly what happened in the kibbutzim, and we knew this is not going to be just another round with Gaza. This is going to be something different. So we actually suggested to the President that alongside starting our group, we will start a parallel group of peers who we might disagree with politically and have different perspectives on the Middle East, but we know that they are reasonable people that we can talk to, that we can collaborate with, that we can work with, despite or alongside disagreements. And so the idea was to start our lunch, to start a second lunch, and slowly, through the faculty leadership, bring the groups together. Some of it has worked. Some of it didn't work. We used to meet once a week as the faculty and say, students tell us that this and this is happening. Can you maybe walk with your students to tone that down, and they would tell us what's bothering them, etc. Getting the students to come together, that was a bigger lift, a challenging one. And there was another initiative that came about called the Third Space Lunch, that maybe Ernest can elaborate more on. Ernest Fraenkel: So just to add a little bit to that. So the faculty leads from the other group came to speak to our students. Were very respectful to them. The faculty listened quietly to the concerns of the Jewish students. And I think we did see an attempt by many of the faculty to bridge the gaps. Obviously, faculty are an extremely, you know, diverse group. We have extremists, we've got centrists, we've got moderates. And not everybody was trying to help, but many, many were, and I think that was very encouraging, and I've seen that continue throughout this. There are hidden allies. Probaby the average faculty member probably doesn't really want to know too much about Israel or Palestine. Doesn't want to have to understand the conflicts. They just want to go about their daily lives, teach what they love to teach, do the research they love to do, and they are natural allies in trying to bring order back to campus. And the more that we can engage them, the better off it is. Or Hen: But I think in terms of the formal program for Kalaniyot - Kalaniyot is really meant to bring in researchers and make sure that they have a supporting environment. And if people want to take that extra step of building bridges and building, that's all great, but it's not kind of a mandatory part of the program. Manya Brachear Pashman: I get it. You really just want to foster academic research and progress and innovation, right? Put political strife aside. You've named this foundation Kalaniyot after Israel's national flower. Can you describe for our listeners that flower and why you chose that name for this initiative? Ernest Fraenkel: The Kalaniyah looks a lot like a poppy. It's a red poppy, and during good times, there actually was an annual festival where Israelis would flock to the south in the area right around Gaza to see the bloom of this flower that would cover the otherwise fairly barren, quite honestly, countryside. And it was called the South Red, Darom Adom, and people would rush there to see it. And it was a symbol, which actually takes place right around the time we're recording. People have been sending us photos from from Israel the last few weeks of these flowers, the more they hear about the program. And it's a sign that the winter is going to end and spring is going to come, and everything will be renewed. And so it was the South in red, in a sense, that was all positive. And we think the same sort of thing is possible here, that while Israel is right now a touch point for conflict on campus, we want to see a time when Israel, this is something like, Oh, of course. You know, everybody wants to have some connection to Israel. That's where the best researchers are in every field. I often tell the story, when I was first on the faculty here, one of my first assignees as an undergraduate advisee was somebody from Hawaii, and he told me, asked him what he was going to do this summer, and he said he's going to Israel. So no, really, what's, what's your connection to Israel? He said, Oh, I don't have any I thought, maybe he's a strong Christian. I asked him about that. Said, no, no, I don't have any particular faith. I just heard it's startup nation, and I want to go and experience it. And I just think, how many students today is their first association with Israel, startup nation? Probably not that many anymore, but we can get back to that and realize that it's more than startups, right? It's basic science, it's the arts, it's culture. And so there's much that Israel has to offer the world, and we want to get back to the point where that's the first thing people think about Israel. Manya Brachear Pashman: So this initiative did start at MIT, but it appears to be sprouting, to use a pun, it appears to be sprouting on other campuses. Dartmouth is developing a chapter and Penn, right, the University of Pennsylvania. Are they being led by fellow scientists who have seen the consequence of this scholastic snub, for lack of a better word? Ernest Fraenkel: So at each university, and there are several others in the works that are still working their way through the administration at each university, and by the way, this is not a renegade effort. At each university, the faculty form a faculty board, we encourage them to find a diverse group. So it's not all the sciences on our board. And on those boards, there seem to be many members of humanities departments. Not all Jews, not all Israelis. And these diverse faculty boards are people who are allied with the goals, and we have bylaws. This is a program entirely about positivity. It's not attempting to suppress anybody else's speech. It's not attempting to make any political points. It's a purely academic program that will help restore the image of Israel as a place of academic excellence and help the United States maintain its academic edge through those collaborations. Or Hen: And I think you're hitting on a very unique point, right? And that is that this is entirely faculty led program. When you think about the role of faculty in universities, especially faculty from STEM fields, right, we don't lead a lot of things in the academic world that are not our research, right? Honestly, that's kind of, why am I here and not in Google, right? I would probably make a much bigger salary for Google these days. I'm here because I really care about my research, those open questions I really want to explore, and that's what I'm doing. So I'm teaching my class, and I'm focusing on my research. And me is everybody else around me, that's what we do. So there is a very high activation energy to get the faculty to do something that is not their research, their own research, but once you do that, faculty is a force of nature at the university. That's kind of what we're here to stay, right? We'll tenure, we're going to be at the retirement. We run the place eventually. So it's both to activate the people who can really make an impact from within in a very strong way. That's number one, who have these decades of connections, right? Well before the challenge, you know, I've had my 10 years of collaborations here at MIT, and this has a lifetime of more than 10 years of collaborations here, right? And many of us and people remember those connections, right? Remember how we teach together, how I lent them something from my lab, and stuff like that, right? We have these personal connections. So it is really the first and uniquely faculty led program that is very helping to come back, see faculty do that. There's a lot of power, and that's also why it's such an academically focused program, because that's what we know how to do. There's many other who can combat antisemitism and can give antisemitism training and title six and all that. And we don't do it, not because it's not important, just because we are not the people who bring in unique expertise in those areas, but when it comes to research collaboration, connections with Israel around those things, we are the ones who can really promote it from within in a way that's unpowered and parallel to anyone else. And that's the, I think the strongest point of Kalaniyot, the faculty leadership. Manya Brachear Pashman: In other words, you're not activists, you're not advocates. That's not what you set out to do. You are researchers, scientists who just want to do research in science. Or Hen: And when I see everybody around us do the best research and science possible, which means engaging with the brightest minds anywhere in the world, and that includes Israel. And we don't want to see that door shut down. There's no hiding it – Ernest and I are Zionists, we're not going to shy away from that. And we think that an academic boycott in the STEM is a risk to Israel. Israel doesn't have oil, right? What Israel has is the Jewish mind, and that mind is the thing that helps Israel, and that mind is the thing that helps the world. And we can go on and on about inventions and discoveries that came out of Israel and Israelis and Jews for the benefit of mankind. So both for the benefit of Israel and all of humanity, we don't want to see the Israeli Academy get isolated. It's going to be bad for all of us. Manya Brachear Pashman: Now I know that there is a program at Indiana University called Olamot, focusing on the humanities. Does this only apply to STEM fields, or do you also have partnerships and collaborations developing across multiple disciplines? Ernest Fraenkel: Yes, absolutely, this is a program that's open to all academic fields, and each university will craft a slightly different program, we're sure. At MIT, because we're STEM dominated, our Kalaniyot program is dominated by STEM, but it's not exclusively STEM here, either. We do have deep involvement with several of our board members in the humanities. Many of the people who come to our programming are in humanities. We're hoping that some of the scholars whom we will select in our first cohort of post doctoral and sabbatical visitors will be in the humanities, but that's going to be much a bigger component of it at other universities such as Dartmouth and Penn, where they have huge humanities programs. Manya Brachear Pashman: And are you getting mostly support, or are you getting any pushback from faculty members? Ernest Fraenkel: So this is really fascinating. Early on, when we first started formulating this program, we wrote a memo explaining, a letter, explaining why we were doing this for something called the faculty newsletter, which is usually a place where people write fairly anti-Israel things, and we kind of braced ourselves for the pushback. And nothing came back. There was no pushback. Because if you believe in academic values in the United States, unless you're a hardcore BDS person, there's really nothing objectionable here. Our goal is to bring brilliant scholars to campus and encourage them to be able to work broadly, without regard to nationality, religion, anything else, any other protective category. And so we were very pleased. And initially, you know, the administration was curious. They were interested. They wanted to review exactly what we're doing. The MIT administration went through everything we're doing, and they gave us the thumbs up, and they've now been helping us make connections and behind the scenes, I believe, I understand that, you know, some provosts and presidents occasionally talk about this when they meet and they, you know, tell each other it's not a bad thing to have at your University. Or Hen: I remember when we kind of got people to know the program, we met with a very high ranking individual at MIT. And that person said, Look, MIT stands on three legs: research, education, and entrepreneurship. Israel excels in all three. Of course, we want those connections. Of course we want those collaborations. And who in the right mind can say that this is anything political, right? Now I'm sure that some people will try at some point. But like Ernest said, we've worked very hard on the language and the messaging to make sure that the language and messaging reflects the way we really see it, as a very strong academic program. Manya Brachear Pashman: So, Dr. Hen, I do want to ask you a personal question. I have read that as a child, you navigated some pretty significant learning disabilities stemming from dysgraphia. You have difficulty translating your thoughts into written form, but the assessment to determine those disabilities also determined that you had a unique gift for abstract comprehension, the ability to conceptually pare down complex ideas to their fundamental core. So I wanted to ask you, in your opinion, what is at the fundamental core of these academic boycotts? Or Hen: Honestly, I do believe that the academic boycotts come from antisemitism. That's the core. I do believe that there are a lot of people who engage in that, not understanding that is what they're doing. I'd like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I think that a lot of people do see a difference between anti-Zionism, anti-Israel, antisemitism, right, which I personally do not share. And that's a different point of view, which is allowed. But I think at the end of the day, trying to isolate Israel, eventually is from a top level, and attempt to bring down the country, because that's the core. Core of Israel is its academics. That's really where it all starts. And if we don't have academia, if we're attacking the Israeli Academy, you're attacking Israel. And any person who takes the time to learn about the Israeli Academy, who listens to speeches by the head of Tel Aviv University about the judicial reform in Israel. Who listens to the head of the Israeli National Academy about how he sees democracy and what he sees about the war, situation, you would learn that the Israeli Academy is really the hallmark of independent academia that stands by itself, as an independent body that really promotes research and good for the world. And anyone who attacks that either doesn't know or doesn't care to know, and I'd like to hope that most people don't know, and once they'll know and appreciate the people, they will see different people. There is a core that doesn't want to know, and okay, we need to make sure that that call remains as small as possible. Manya Brachear Pashman: Dr. Fraenkel, do you agree? Ernest Fraenkel: I'm by nature, a centrist and not a political person, and I also have learned over time that it's very hard to understand other people's motivations. But I do think that one of the paths to it, to solving the problem, is to re-humanize Israel and Israelis in the minds of the people who are currently protesting. And I think we'll have good results if we do that. Manya Brachear Pashman: I'm curious, we've been talking a lot about Israeli research and innovation. Can you kind of share a piece of Israeli innovation that you've heard about recently, that maybe our audience has not and should know about? Ernest Fraenkel: I was just at a conference yesterday, and one of the best talks yesterday, this was at a conference on ALS, was given by a researcher from the Weitzman Institute, Eran Hornstein. And he spoke about an entirely new way to analyze what goes on inside cells in the course of disease. He calls it organellealomics, I think. It's kind of a mouthful, but it was completely innovative. No one has anything similar. It allows you to get a wonderful view of all the different processes that are going on in the cell at a very high level, in a way that is experimentally very accessible. And I think it's really going to transform a lot of how we research diseases, and may lead to some rapid advances in some of these tough cases. Or Hen: Yeah, I can add to that, you know, from the more industry side of things, right? We all have technology in our pockets, in our homes, in our offices, developed in Israel. The most advanced processors by Intel are built on architecture that was developed in Haifa. Apple has engineering centers in Israel. Facebook has engineering centers in Israel, Nvidia. All of us use Israeli technology day in and day out. We either know it or we don't. But there's not a single person in the western world that does not rely on Israeli technology sometime, someplace, some point in his day. Manya Brachear Pashman: And when you were at that conference, Dr. Fraenkel, or Dr. Hen, consider that, when you pull out your phone and consider the many ways in which we use Israeli technology, does that further validate, does it affirm that what you are doing is the right thing to do, and that this will only benefit humanity at large? Ernest Fraenkel: In biology, we often do these experiments where we delete a gene, we make it stop working, and we see what happens to the cell or to the animal that we're studying, right? And just do the thought experiment. What would happen to American science if it didn't have these strong collaborations with Israel? And be weaker in consumer electronics, and be weaker in AI, we would be weaker in all the underpinnings of all the technology that we're all walking around with every day. We'd be weaker in healthcare. Think about the contribution that Israel made to understanding what was going on during the COVID pandemic, right? It's just shocking how much we would lose from this small country not being there. And absolutely, when we think about that, it just drives us even more to try to get this program to spread across all the best universities in the United States, and hopefully we'll make inroads in Europe as well and really bring Israel back to the forefront in everybody's mind as a place where positive things are happening. Manya Brachear Pashman: Well, thank you both for joining us so much and for sharing about this program. Really do appreciate it. It's fascinating and refreshing to learn that academics are supporting academics. Ernest Fraenkel: Thank you very much. Real pleasure to speak with you.
Vielseitig, schön, belastend: Mehr als ein Jahrzehnt war Peter Münch SZ-Korrespondent in Nahost. Ein Gespräch über Erlebnisse, Erfahrungen und Ernüchterungen.
After the first truce was called in Israel's War of Independence, the United States and Britain, acting through the United Nations, wished to secure a lasting peace in the region. The United Nations mediator was Count Foke Bernadotte, who unabashedly viewed himself as a soon-to-be Nobel Prize laureate and assumed many liberties that succeeded in making himself extremely unpopular to both sides of the conflict. Bernadotte's scheme for achieving regional peace entailed amputating the Negev region from Israel and limiting Jewish immigration. With pressure mounting upon Israel to make concessions that it could not afford, the prudent option Ben Gurion concluded was to take the Negev by force. Young and brilliant commander Yigal Allon was responsible for this campaign and employed some innovative techniques that would become the hallmark of Israeli military strategy. Audio Credits Audiology 1948- Arab-Israeli War Learn more at TellerFromJerusalem.com Don't forget to subscribe, like and share! Let all your friends know that that they too can have a new favorite podcast. © 2025 Media Education Trust llc
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comAdam is a literary critic and poet. He's been a senior editor at The New Republic and a contributing editor for Tablet and Harvard Magazine, and he's currently an editor in the Wall Street Journal's Review section. The author of many books, his latest is On Settler Colonialism: Violence, Ideology and Justice. I've been fascinated by the concept — another product of critical theory, as it is now routinely applied to Israel. We hash it all out.For two clips of our convo — on the reasons why Europe explored the world, and the bastardization of “genocide” — pop over to our YouTube page.Other topics: Adam's roots in LA; coming from a long line of writers; the power of poetry; its current boom with Instagram and hip-hop; Larkin; the omnipresence of settler colonialism in human history; the Neanderthals; the Ulster colonists; the French in Algeria; replacement colonialism in Australia and North America; the viral catastrophe there; the 1619 Project; “decolonizing” a bookshelf; Marxism; Coates and fatalism toward the US; MLK's “promissory note”; Obama's “more perfect union”; migration under climate change; China the biggest polluter; More's Utopia; the Holocaust; the Killing Fields; Rwanda; mass migration of Muslims to Europe; “white genocide”; Pat Buchanan; the settler colonialism in Israel; ancient claims to Palestine; the Balfour Declaration; British limits on migrant Jews in WWII; the US turning away Holocaust refugees; the UN partition plan; the 1948 war; the Nakba; Ben-Gurion; Jabotinsky's “Iron Wall”; Clinton's despair after 2000; ethnic cleansing in the West Bank; the nihilism of October 7; civilian carnage and human shields in Gaza; Arab countries denying Palestinians; a two-state solution; the moral preening of Coates; and the economic and liberal triumphs of Israel.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Andrew Neil on UK and US politics, John Gray on the state of liberal democracy, Jon Rauch on his new book on “Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy,” Sebastian Junger on near-death experiences, Evan Wolfson on the history of marriage equality, Yoni Appelbaum on the American Dream, Nick Denton on the evolution of new media, and Ross Douthat on how everyone should be religious. Please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
Fluent Fiction - Hebrew: Stranded at Ben Gurion: A Hanukkah in the Terminal Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/he/episode/2024-12-24-23-34-02-he Story Transcript:He: בחורף הקר, כאשר שלג עוטף את העולם בחוץ, נמל התעופה בן גוריון היה מלא באנשים ממהרים ומוטרדים.En: In the cold winter, when snow envelops the world outside, Ben Gurion Airport was filled with people hurrying and distressed.He: כולם מביטים בלוחות הזמנים המתארכים, בעוד סופת חורף עזה מרחפת בשמים ומאיימת על הטיסות.En: Everyone was looking at the lengthening schedules, as a fierce winter storm hovered in the skies, threatening the flights.He: בין כל אלה היה אריאל, איש מקצוע מסור, שמיהר לחזור הביתה לערב חג החנוכה.En: Among them was Ariel, a dedicated professional, rushing to get home for the Hanukkah evening celebration.He: אריאל פוסע בנמל, מרגיש את כובד האשמה על כך שהוא עלול לפספס את ערב החג עם משפחתו.En: Ariel walked through the airport, feeling the weight of guilt that he might miss the holiday evening with his family.He: הוא חשב על אלטרנטיבות - אולי רכבת?En: He contemplated alternatives - maybe a train?He: אולי אפילו נסיעה ברכב שכור?En: Maybe even a rental car journey?He: הזמן הולך ואוזל, והוא לא רוצה לאכזב את אלה הקרובים לו.En: Time was running out, and he didn't want to disappoint those close to him.He: ליד בו, צעדה רבקה.En: Beside him walked Rivka.He: היא הייתה אוהבת הרפתקאות, וממהרת לתפוס טיסה נוספת כדי להצטרף לחגיגה עם חבריה בחו"ל.En: She was an adventure lover, hurrying to catch another flight to join the celebration with her friends abroad.He: אך הנה, גם היא תקועה בנמל התעופה.En: Yet here she was, also stuck at the airport.He: בינתיים, חופשה החנוכה ממלאת את האוויר בהרבה אנרגיה חיובית.En: Meanwhile, the Hanukkah holiday filled the air with a lot of positive energy.He: רבקה גילתה שיש אזורים תרבותיים מיוחדים בנמל.En: Rivka discovered there were special cultural areas in the airport.He: היא החליטה לנצל את ההזדמנות ולחקור אותם, להאיר את מסלולם של כל האנשים סביב כשהיא חולקת חיוכים ומשתפת חוויות קטנות.En: She decided to seize the opportunity and explore them, illuminating the paths of all the people around her as she shared smiles and small experiences.He: בערב של אותו יום, אריאל ורבקה נפגשו במקרה.En: That evening, Ariel and Rivka met by chance.He: בין הצחוק והשיחה, רבקה הציעה לאריאל להתמקד ברגע ולהצטרף אליה להדליק נרות חנוכה כאן ועכשיו.En: Amid the laughter and conversation, Rivka suggested to Ariel to focus on the moment and join her in lighting the Hanukkah candles here and now.He: גם בשדה תעופה אפשר לחוש את הרוח החגיגית.En: Even in an airport, one can feel the festive spirit.He: יחד הם מצאו פינה שקטה, והאירו את הנרות באורם.En: Together they found a quiet corner and lit the candles with their glow.He: עם שוך הסערה, כמה שעות לאחר מכן, הוכרז שכל הטיסות יתחדשו, כולל הטיסה של אריאל.En: With the storm subsiding, a few hours later, it was announced that all flights would resume, including Ariel's flight.He: הוא הרגיש סוג של הקלה ושמחה, לא רק על האפשרות להגיע הביתה, אלא גם על הלב המלא מהמסע הבלתי צפוי והחבר החדש שרכש.En: He felt a sense of relief and joy, not only for the possibility of getting home but also for the heart full from the unexpected journey and the new friend he made.He: רבקה, מצידה, לא התחרטה כלל על שהייתה צריכה לשהות במקום קצת יותר.En: Rivka, for her part, did not regret having to stay a bit longer.He: החג הזה, הם למדו שיותר חשוב להיות נוכחים ולמצוא שמחה ברגעים הקטנים.En: This holiday, they learned that it is more important to be present and find joy in the small moments.He: סופו של יום, גם החוויות הבלתי צפויות ביותר, יכולות להיות המתנה הטובה ביותר.En: At the end of the day, even the most unexpected experiences can be the best gift. Vocabulary Words:envelops: עוטףfierce: עזהstorm: סופהhovered: מרחפתthreatening: מאיימתcontemplated: חשבalternatives: אלטרנטיבותrental: שכורdisappoint: לאכזבadventure: הרפתקאותabroad: חו"לilluminating: להאירpaths: מסלולםunexpected: בלתי צפויjoy: שמחהpositive: חיוביתexperiences: חוויותopportunity: הזדמנותfestive: חגיגיתrelief: הקלהsubside: שוךresume: יתחדשוregret: לא התחרטהpresent: נוכחיםcelebration: חגיגהguilt: אשמהjourney: מסעgathering: התקהלותcultural: תרבותייםglow: אורםBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/fluent-fiction-hebrew--5818690/support.
Donald Trump elected 47th president of the United States. Rocket lands near Ben Gurion airport in barrage from Lebanon. Opposition party leaders denounce prime minister's firing of defense ministerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode. Yesterday, prosecutors announced that seven Israeli citizens were arrested last month on suspicion of spying for Iran for as long as two years, carrying out hundreds of tasks at the behest of the Islamic Republic. This morning, another Iranian espionage case was announced in which seven East Jerusalem residents have been arrested on suspicion of planning attacks in Israel, including the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and a mayor in central Israel. Horovitz discusses these incidents and other similar Iranian efforts. The IDFs on Monday declassified intelligence on the Hezbollah terror group's finance hub, including a bunker hidden underneath a hospital in south Beirut that it said contains hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold. We observe the way this cynical use of a hospital played out in international media. The Israel Aviation Authority briefly halted and then resumed takeoffs at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport yesterday around the time in which the IDF said that helicopters and fighter jets intercepted and shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea, before they entered Israeli airspace. Horovitz speaks about Israel's increased isolation during this time of war. Almost a week after the elimination of Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, Horovitz weighs in on leaders' predictions that this is a turning point in the war. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Seven Jewish Israelis arrested for spying for Iran on security figures, IDF bases Air Force pounds Hezbollah's Beirut stronghold after civilians told to evacuate area IDF: Hezbollah hiding $500 million in gold, cash in bunker under Beirut hospital Ben Gurion briefly halts takeoffs as drones downed over sea; rocket lands near Tel Aviv British Airways suspends all Israel flights until March 2025 amid escalation fears Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. Illustrative image: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to a speaker in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Andrea Silbert interview Israeli historian, journalist, and author of A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion, Tom Segev. Dr. Segev delves into the life and legacy of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father. He shares insights into Ben-Gurion's early years in Poland, his involvement in Zionist politics, and immigration to Palestine […]
This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Andrea Silbert interview Israeli historian, journalist, and author of A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion, Tom Segev. Dr. Segev delves into the life and legacy of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father. He shares insights into Ben-Gurion's early years in Poland, his involvement in Zionist politics, and immigration to Palestine in 1906, which set the stage for his leadership during pivotal moments in history. Segev covers Ben-Gurion's rise to prominence, his role in forming the Zionist Labor Federation, and the strategies he employed during the 1936-39 Arab revolt. Additionally, Segev examines Ben-Gurion's historic leadership in declaring Israel's independence in 1948, the unification of Jewish militias into the Israeli Defense Forces, and the implications of the Arab-Israeli War. He also highlights Ben-Gurion's efforts to establish state institutions, absorb Jewish immigrants, and his vision for the nation, while acknowledging the complicated aspects of his political leadership. Dr. Segev positions Ben-Gurion among the most significant leaders of the twentieth century, with a legacy that continues to influence Israeli society and its international relations today.
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Times of Israel founding editor David Horovitz, US bureau chief Jacob Magid and military correspondent Emanuel Fabian join host Jessica Steinberg on today's episode. Horovitz, Magid and Fabian discuss Tuesday evening's Iranian attack on Israel, as Iran launched 181 missiles at Israel, sending millions of Israelis into sealed rooms and bomb shelters on the eve of the three-day Rosh Hashanah holiday. Israel's Air Force, along with the US and Jordan, intercepted most of the projectiles, showing close coordination and alliance, said Magid. The US also vowed severe consequences for Iran, stressing the US-Israel coordination, without efforts to hold back Israel. Fabian updates the latest in the front with Lebanon, including Tuesday's discovery that the IDF has been conducting small raids into Lebanon since last October, with special forces operating for a day or three to four days at a time, uncovering Hezbollah sites and tunnels, weapons depots, thwarting Hezbollah intentions to conduct another kind of October 7 attack. Fabian comments that now the IDF has an entire division operating in Lebanon for a much larger scale operation but with similar goals, including the army's intention to demolish Hezbollah tunnels. Horovitz remarks that Iran insisted on portraying the Tuesday night missile attack as a great success. He notes that Israel has changed course dramatically in the last two and a half weeks, beginning with the pager attack not yet officially claimed by Israel, and the elimination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and other leadership, all showing a different course by Israel and the expectation that Israel will hit back hard at Iran, with US support. For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: Iran fires 181 missiles at Israel; PM: They made a ‘big mistake' and ‘will pay for it' Shrapnel from Iranian missile kills Palestinian man near Jericho US: We will help Israel exact ‘severe consequences' from Iran for missile attack Seven people killed in shooting, stabbing terror attack in Jaffa IDF: Hezbollah was ready to invade en masse after Oct. 7; we covertly raided 1,000 sites IDF says strike kills head of Hezbollah unit charged with smuggling arms from Iran Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Podwaves. IMAGE: Israelis take cover inside a bomb shelter at Ben Gurion airport as a siren alert is sounded in Tel Aviv, October 1, 2024 (Photo by Dor Pazuelo/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“I never thought there's antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done . . . apparently, not.” Einat Admony is a chef, cookbook author, comedian, and social media star who grew up in Bnei Brak, Israel. With parents from Iran and Yemen, Einat spent her childhood in the kitchens of Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors. Learn about her family's deep-rooted Jewish heritage in Iran and the broader Middle East. Along with her mother Ziona's journey from Iran to Israel in 1948, Einat discusses the antisemitism she's dealt with online and on the streets in the past year. Hear her stories of Jewish-Muslim coexistence in Iran and memories of spices and perfumes that inspire Einat's dishes. Her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk, along with her Manhattan restaurant Balaboosta, reflect a blend of tradition and innovation. “You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran,” says Houman Sarshar, an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. Sarshar highlights the historical relationship between Iran and Israel, noting that Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel post-1948. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by Jews in Iran, their cultural integration, and the impact of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. —- Show notes: How much do you know about Jewish history in the Middle East? Take our quiz. Sign up to receive podcast updates. Learn more about the series. Song credits: Pond5: “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: EINAT ADMONY: I've been in Israel a few months ago. It's like you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East. The world has ignored these voices. We will not. This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: Leaving Iran. MANYA: Whether she's deviling eggs soaked in beet juice, simmering Oxtail in shawarma spices, or sprinkling za'atar on pastry dough, chef Einat Admony is honoring her family's Middle Eastern heritage. Both the places where they have lived for generations, as well as the place they have and will always call home: Israel. EINAT/Clip: Start with brushing the puff pastry with olive oil and za'atar. Have some feta all around and shredded mozzarella. Take the other sheet and just cut it to one inch strips. Now we're going to twist. Need to be careful. Now we're just gonna brush the top with the mix of oil and za'atar. Get it some shiny and glazy. This is ready for the oven. Bake at 400 until it's golden. That's it super easy, just sprinkle some za'atar and eat. MANYA: For the chef, author, reality TV star, and comedian, food reflects the Zionist roots that have been a constant for Einat, the self-made balaboosta, who is largely credited with introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. That love for Israel goes back generations, long before the modern state existed, when her maternal ancestors lived in the land, that until 1935 was known as Persia, but is now known as Iran. Her own mother Ziona, the third of seven siblings, was even named for the destination where Einat's grandparents aspired to one day raise their family. Returning home to the land of Zion from which Jews had been exiled centuries earlier was always the goal. When you ask her why, Einat laughs in disbelief. EINAT: Why? Why? That's homeland. I think a lot of Jewish people for hundreds of years was, that's in every prayer, it's in every Shabbat dinner evening. MANYA: The hatred directed toward Israel by Iran's regime in the form of the deadly attacks on Israel by Iran-backed terrorist groups and the Islamic Republic of Iran itself make it hard to believe that Iran was once a place where Jews and the Zionist movement thrived. But in fact, Iran's history includes periods when the wide-open roads between Iran and Israel ran two ways and the countries not only lived in harmony but worked in close partnership. Iran was the second Muslim-majority country after Turkey to recognize the modern state of Israel after its formation in 1948, and the two established diplomatic ties. Regular flights ran between Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport. SARSHAR: We cannot overlook the fact that since October 29, 539 BCE the Jewish community of Iran remains to this day the largest community of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside the state of Israel. To this day. You could not have Judaism today, if it were not for the Jews of Iran. MANYA: Houman Sarshar is an independent scholar and director of publications at the Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History in Los Angeles. He has edited a number of books, including Esther's Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews. SARSHAR: The history of the Jews in Iran begins about 2,700 years ago, when the first community of known Jews was taken to Iran. They are commonly believed to be one of the 10 Lost Tribes. And then when we fast forward to when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and took Jews into captivity. Some years after that at 539 BCE on October 29, 539 BCE, to be exact, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, liberated Babylon and gave Jews the permission to go back to Israel and rebuild the Second Temple. MANYA: Cyrus the Great – a Persian emperor particularly renowned among contemporary scholars for the respect he showed toward peoples' customs and religions in the lands that he conquered. According to the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew Bible, Cyrus even paid for the restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. SARSHAR: This is known as the Second Temple period in Jewish history, and under the Achaemenid dynasty, Jews participated in every level of society. And a few centuries forward, around the 5th Century, we know the Jews continue to live with many freedoms, because that is the era when the Babylonian Talmud was originally produced in Iran by Rav Ashi. So, you know, there was a thriving rabbanut (rabbanite) in Iran who had the freedom and the luxury and the time to be able to produce such an important document as the Talmud, which has become the cornerstone of all jurisprudence that we know, Western law, and everything. MANYA: The advent and arrival of Islam in Iran in the 7th Century CE changed circumstances somewhat. As was the case across the Middle East, all non-Muslims became dhimmis – residents who paid a special tax and lived under certain restrictions. The situation for Jews worsened in the 16th Century when the Safavid dynasty made the Shiite creed the dominant form of Islam in Iran. Fatwas made life for all non-Shiites quite difficult. SARSHAR: And for reasons that are still open to discussion, all of these restrictions were most vehemently imposed on the Jews of Iran. And because of these restrictions, all non-Shiites were considered religiously impure. And this religious impurity, kind of like the concept of the untouchable sect in India, they were considered pollutive. MANYA: Jews could not look Muslims in the eye. They were placed in ghettos called mahaleh where they could not leave on rainy days for fear the water that splattered on them could contaminate the water supply. They wore yellow stars and special shoes to distinguish them from the rest of the population. They were not allowed to purchase property from Muslims or build homes with walls that were higher than those of their Muslim neighbors. SARSHAR: They could not, for example, participate in the trade of edible goods because, you know, fruits and vegetables and meats carried this pollution. So Muslims could no longer consume the foods that were touched by Jews. And as a result, this created a certain path forward in history for the Jews of Iran. They went into antique trades. They went into carpet trades. They went into work of textiles. They became musicians. And for the following 500 years, these restrictions kind of guided the way the Jews of Iran lived in that country, even though they had been there for thousands of years previously. MANYA: Houman said the 1895 arrival of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Paris-based network of schools for Jewish children throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including within the mahalehs in Persia, was the first step in a series of improvements for Jews there. SARSHAR: Previous to that, Jews were not allowed to get any kind of an education whatsoever. The only teachers were the Muslim clergy, and they refused to teach anything to Jewish students. So this allowed for the Jewish community to finally start to get a Western-style education, which was very important at that time, given all of the dynamics that were going on in society with modernity. MANYA: As educational opportunities increased in the middle of the 19th Century, so did opportunities for the courtiers and elite to travel and see the Western world as it industrialized and modernized, expanding international trade and sharing wealth more widely. SARSHAR: Often they would be sent by their families to go and try to see if they can, you know, find a way to expand the family's businesses and lives as merchants, and they would come back shocked. I mean, Iran was a place where you know of mostly mud brick homes and dirt roads and people riding around on donkeys. And imagine this is all you've known. You never see women walking around the street. The only women you have ever seen with your own eyes in your life are your mom, your sister, your daughter or your wife, and occasionally, sex workers. And that's it. So all of a sudden, you know, you travel a couple of months by boat and train, and you get to Paris, and it's impossible to try to even conceive of the experience. It must have been something like the Hegelian experience of the sublime. What can the world look like? And where is it that I live in, and why isn't my country the same as this? MANYA: By the early 20th Century, the Persian people concluded the answer to that question was in the rule of law. The reason the European nations provided such opportunity for the community at-large had to do with the fact that the law of the land was not arbitrary or enforced by religion or royalty. It was embedded in a constitution – a set of laws that define the structure of a government and the rights of its citizens – a Western tenet that reduced the power of the clergy and created a parliament called the Majles. SARSHAR: They were starting to read travel journals. They were starting to understand the perspective that Westerners had on Iranians, and those perspectives were often awful. You know, the Western world believed, for example –the country was corrupt to the bone in every respect. So all of these things gradually led to a call for a constitution, the major pivot of which was the establishment of a legislature of law that would start to create a community where everyone can feel like they're equal in the eyes of the law and have something to gain by trying to improve the country as a whole. Iran became the first constitutional monarchy in the Middle East in 1906 when that revolution happened, it was a momentous event. And really, things really, really did, in fact, start to change. MANYA: In 1925, Reza Shah Pahlavi – an arch nationalist who wanted to propel Iran forward into the industrial age – took over the crown of Iran. He welcomed any Iranian citizen to participate in that agenda. SARSHAR: By now, we had a good two generations of Jews who had been French-educated by the Allianz Society. They had all gone to France at some point in their lives, so they were able to participate in this industrialization of the country, given the language skills that they had and some of the connections they had built in the Western world. MANYA: Both World Wars in Europe took a massive toll on Iran. Despite declaring neutrality, Iran was occupied by European nations that took over the nation's agriculture, treating Iran as a pantry to feed the armies. Droughts and disease worsened the toll. SARSHAR: One of the lesser-known factoids about history is that during World War I, the nation that lost the most individuals as a result of the war was Iran. Above and beyond all European nations who were at war, because of a famine that had started in Iran. The same dynamic started to happen in World War II. MANYA: With nationalist fever sweeping Europe and Iran, the Allies feared the arch-nationalist Shah would go the way of Franco in Spain, Mussolini in Italy, and Hitler in Germany. They also feared the Shah would collaborate with Hitler's Germany to provide oil for the German oil machine and cease being the pantry the Allies needed it to be. In 1941, the Western powers convinced him to abdicate the throne to his son Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. And when the war ended, Iran was able to enjoy the same economic benefits as the rest of the world at peace time. Most importantly, it was able to profit from its own oil reserves, significantly boosting Iran's national income. SARSHAR: In 1941, it was really the beginning of what is commonly referred to by the scholars of Jewish Iranian history as the Golden Age of Iranian Jewry. From 1941 until the revolution in 1978, the Jewish community of Iran saw a meteoric rise to power and social wealth. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, real estate development, and other major industries, the aluminum plastics industries in Iran, all were either directly owned by the Jews of Iran or managed under their management. And during this period, really, we can say that for the first time, after 2,500 years, the Jews of Iran really started to experience the kinds of freedoms that they had not seen since the Achaemenid dynasty. And it is during this time that, you know, we see, really, that life started to change for the Jews of Iran, even though some of the age-old social dynamics were still there. The institutionalized antisemitism had not been completely wiped out. But for the most part, things had changed because Iranian society in general was also being Westernized, light speed. And many educated people had realized that antisemitism was really looked down upon, you know, that kind of prejudice was really no longer acceptable in the world at large. So many, many sections of the community really had shifted, genuinely shifted. And some, even though maybe their feelings had not changed, knew that their antisemitism was something that they needed to keep private. MANYA: At that time, Iran also became a refuge for Jews fleeing Europe and other parts of the Middle East. On June 1, 1941, a brutal pogrom in Iraq known as the Farhud, incited by Nazi propaganda, targeted Jews celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. Nearly 200 Jews were murdered in the streets. The violence became a turning point for Iraqi Jews. Thousands fled, many stopping in Iran, which became a way station for those headed to Palestine. In 1942, thousands of Jewish refugees from Poland who had fled across the border into the Soviet Union during the German invasion traveled on trains and ships to Iran. Among the refugees – 1,000 orphaned children. As Zionist leaders worked to negotiate the young Jews' immigration to Palestine, the Jewish Agency established the “Tehran Home for Jewish Children” – a complex of tents on the grounds of a former Iranian Air Force barracks outside Tehran. More than 800 orphans, escorted by adults, most of them also refugees, moved from Tehran to kibbutzim in Palestine the following year. Later, in 1948, when most Arab League states forbade the emigration of their Jews after the creation of Israel, the Zionist underground continued to smuggle Jews to Iran at about a rate of 1,000 a month, before they were flown to Israel. SARSHAR: The Zionist movement was fairly strong in Iran. It was a very lively movement. The Balfour Declaration was celebrated in all of the Allianz schools in Iran, and very soon thereafter, the first Zionist organization of Iran was established. And truly many of its founding fathers were some of the leading industrialists and intellectuals in Iranian society, in the Jewish Iranian community for the years to come. It was not unlike the kind of Zionism we see today in the United States, for example. You know, the wealthy families of the Jewish communities in New York and Los Angeles, all are very passionate about Israel, but you don't see very many of them selling their homes and packing up and moving to Israel because they just don't want to do it. They feel like they're very comfortable here. And what matters is that a state of Israel should exist, and they are political advocates of that state and of that policy and of its continued existence, but not necessarily diehard participants in the experiment itself. Iranians, after the establishment of the State of Israel, were being encouraged to move to Israel, and the Israeli government was having a lot of difficulty with that, because a lot of Iranians were seeing that life had become better for them, and they weren't as willing to leave, despite the fact that the Kourosh Project provided airplanes to get Jews out of Iran. My own great-grandmother was one of those passengers. She is buried in Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. She was one of the early citizens of Israel who went to live out the Zionist dream. MANYA: Both sides of Einat's family – her mother and father's ancestors – were among those early Israeli citizens. Einat's father was born in Tel Aviv. His parents and grandparents had come from Yemen in the late 19th Century. Einat's mother Ziona was 10 years old when in 1948, the family left Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran known for its carpet weaving and woolen shawls. They arrived in Israel with their suitcases ready to fulfill their dream. But living the dream in the new Jewish nation was not easy. After all, the day after Israel declared its independence, Arab nations attacked the Jewish state, launching the first of a series of Arab-Israeli Wars. EINAT: The story of my mom, it's a very interesting story. The family didn't have much money. There wasn't like, rich family that left, very different story. No, both of my parents come from very, I would say, very poor family. My grandpa was, like, dealing with textile. He was like, traveling from town to town with fabric. And that's what they did. They put them in what's called ma'aborot, which was like a very kind of small villages, tin houses. My mom always said there were seven kids, so all of them in one room. In the winter it's freezing; in the summer, it's super hot. But it was also close to the border, so the one window they have, they always had to cover it so at night, the enemy cannot see the light inside that room and shoot there. Also in the ma'aabarot, nobody speaks the same language. So, it was Moroccan and Iraqi and nobody speak the same dialect or the same language. So, they cannot even communicate quite yet. MANYA: Most of Ziona's six siblings did not go to school. To make it possible for Ziona, her parents placed her in a foster home with an Iraqi family in Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv. EINAT: My mom's family decided that for her, she should get education, because most of the siblings didn't went to school or anything, So they put her in a foster home. In an Iraqi home, and she didn't speak a word there. So my mom, as a 10 years old, became a kid for foster parents that live in a center in Ramat Gan, where I basically grew up. And she got education, which was great. She learned also Iraqi, which is Arabic. So she speaks fluent Arabic, but she had not an easy life in coming to Israel from a different country. MANYA: Ziona has shared many of these stories with her daughter in the kitchen and dining room as they prepare and enjoy dishes that remind them of home. When she visited her daughter at her home in upstate New York at the end of the summer, Einat collected as many stories as she could over cutting boards, steaming pots, and sizzling pans. EINAT: There's a lot of story coming up, some old story that I know, some new stories. And it's really nice, because my mom is 84, 85. So, it's really nice to capture all of it, all of it. There is a lot of interesting stuff that happened during the first 10 years when she came to Israel. That's the main, I think, I always talk about, like, how I grew up and how much food was a very substantial part of our life, if not the biggest part. You know, it's like, family can fight and this, but when it's come to the dinner, it's just change everything, the dynamic. For us, it was a big, significant part of everything. So obviously, most of these stories and memories come in while we're cooking or eating. A lot of time she used to talk about, and still talking about the smells, the smells of the flowers, the smells of the zafar (perfume). She still have the nostalgia from that time and talking very highly about what Iran used to be, and how great, and the relationship between the Muslims and the Jews back then. My grandpa's best friend was crying when he left, and he said: ‘Please don't go. Stay with us.' And he said: ‘I want to go to homeland.' So, they have a really great relationship. She's always talking, actually, about how they come for Shabbat dinner, the friends if they put the cigarettes outside of the door in Shabbat because they were observant. So cigarettes, lighter, everything, they keep it outside, in the garden, not coming inside the house. So a lot of mutual respect for the religion to each other. And I love that stories. It just showed what's happened when people take it extreme. MANYA: Einat's cookbooks and restaurant menus are filled with recipes from her own childhood and her parents' upbringing. To satisfy the appetite of her father, a former Israeli athlete, her house always had hummus and every weekend, the family made a hilbeh sauce -- a traditional Yemenite fenugreek dip made with cardamom, caraway seeds and chili flakes. Other recipes reflect her mother's Persian roots. And then there are recipes that, at first blush, seem to come out of left field, but are inspired by the Iraqi Jewish foster family that raised her mother, and the Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi neighbors that passed through the dining room and kitchen where Einat was raised in Bnei Brak. Now a Haredi town east of Tel Aviv, it was then a diverse population of Jews from, well, everywhere. Einat still remembers standing on a stool next to the Moroccan neighbor in her building learning how to roll couscous. EINAT: One neighbor that was my second mom, her name was Tova, and she was Moroccan, so it was like, I have another Moroccan mom. But all the building was all Holocaust survivors. None of them had kids, and they were all speaking in Yiddish, mostly. So I grew up with a lot of mix. I wouldn't say, you know, in my time, it's not like our neighborhood. I grew up in Bnei Brak, and our neighborhood was very, it was before Bnei Brak became so religious like today. It was still religious, if you go really in, but we're close to Ramat Gan, and I have to say that it's, I would say, I didn't grow up with, it's very mixed, very mixed. Wouldn't say I grew up just with Moroccan or Mizrahi, I say that it's very, very mixed. And my mom same. I think a lot of her friend is like, It's my mom would speak some Yiddish. She would do Kugel on Shabbat next to the jachnun and all the Mizrahi food. You know, this is the multi-pot and one things I love in Israel. You can see in one table so many different cultures. And that's something that would have happened in my house a lot. MANYA: That amalgam of Jewish cultures is reflected in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. It also shows up in her menu at the brick-and-mortar Balaboosta, a quaint Middle Eastern trattoria on Mulberry Street in Manhattan. The name Balaboosta is borrowed from Yiddish meaning “a perfect housewife” – a twist on ba'al habayit, Hebrew for master of the house, or boss. But Einat insists that the term is no longer exclusively Ashkenazi, nor does it refer exclusively to a woman's domestic role. EINAT: An old friend, chef, asked me when I went to open Balaboosta, and I said, ‘I don't have a name.' She said: ‘What do you call a badass woman in Hebrew?' I'm like, ‘balaboosta.' She said, ‘It's a perfect name. We done.' Took five minutes to find this name, and I love it. It's really connected because for me it's so so much different things. You know, I always talk about the 20th century balaboosta. The balaboosta that outside going to work, the balaboosta that asking a man for a date. The balaboosta that it's not just like she's the housewife and the homekeeper. It's much more than that. Today, she's a multitask badass. It's much more spiritual than what it is. I think it's the one that can bond the people together and bring them together and make peace between two parties clashing. So for me, it's much more than somebody that can cook and clean. So, much, much more than that. MANYA: Einat's parents became more religious when she was 12, which of course had the opposite effect on their daughter: she rebelled. When her time came to do her mandatory service in the Israel Defense Force, she was determined not to serve in a role typically assigned to women. She requested a post as a firing instructor. But after reviewing the high school transcript shaped by her rebellious adolescence, the IDF assigned her to the Nevatim Air Base where she served as a chauffeur for fighter pilots. EINAT: Back then most women would be secretaries giving coffee to some assholes. I was trying not to do that, and somehow I got very lucky, and I was in the same division, I was in the Air Force. I had amazing time for two years. I start the military a very different person, and left a very different person. I used to hang with a lot of bad people before, really bad people. And when I get to the military, I was a driver of pilots, it's the top of the top of the top in the hierarchy in the military in all IDF. So now I'm hanging with people that have the biggest ambition ever, and I'm learning new stuff, and everything opened up, even my language changed completely. Everything. I was want to travel more than I ever want before, and I have like, crazy dreams. MANYA: To make sure the elite pilots were well-fed, the IDF bused in a group of Yemenite grandmothers to provide ochel bayit, or home-cooked meals. Einat befriended the kitchen staff and helped out from time to time. Then in January 1991, she was tapped to cook a meal that probably launched her career. The IDF chiefs of staff had convened at Nevatim base to discuss the U.S. plan to bomb Iraq during the Gulf War and what Israel would do if Saddam Hussein retaliated with an attack on the Jewish state. But they needed to plot that strategy on full stomachs. A couple of pilots served as her sous chefs. That night, the Israeli generals dined on Chinese chicken with garlic, honey, and soy. And a rice salad. EINAT: It was definitely the turning point, the military. I would say there is some values of relationship and working ethics that I wouldn't see anywhere else, and that's coming, I think because the military. They're waking up in the morning, the friendship, they're no snitching or none of this. It's to stand up for each other. There is so many other values that I grabbed from that. So when I start my culinary career, and I was in a fine dining kitchen, it was very helpful, very helpful. MANYA: After spending five years in a van driving around Germany – an extended celebration of freedom after IDF service -- it was time to get serious about a career. A culinary career made as good a sense as any. Einat worked as a waitress in Eilat and enrolled in culinary school. At the end, she marched into the kitchen of Keren, one of the first restaurants in Israel to offer haute cuisine. She got an internship, then a job. The former restaurant, run by Israeli Chef and television host Haim Cohen, is credited for reinventing Israeli cuisine. Now, as a restaurant owner and TV personality herself, Einat is largely credited for introducing Israeli cuisine to the U.S. But before she became the self-made Balaboosta of fine Israeli dining, Einat was America's Falafel Queen, made famous by two victories on the Food Network's show Chopped and her first restaurant – now a fast food chain called Ta'im Falafel. But her fame and influence when it comes to Israeli cooking has exposed her to a fair bit of criticism. She has become a target on social media by those who accuse Israelis of appropriating Palestinian foods – an argument she calls petty and ridiculous. So ridiculous, she has found the best platform to address it is on the stage of her new hobby: stand-up comedy. Cooking has always been her Zen. But so is dark humor. EINAT: I like comedy more than anything, not more than food, but close enough. EINAT/Clip: Yeah, this year was great here on Instagram, lot of hate comments, though. A lot about food appropriation, me making Arabic dishes. So let me clarify something here. I check my DNA through ancestry.com and I am 97% Middle Eastern, so I fucking bleed hummus. EINAT: It's very petty. Food, supposed always to share. Food supposed to moving forward. It's tiring and life is much more complex than to even argue and have a debate about stupid things. I'm done. OK, yes, we're indigenous.I have connection to the land. My parents, my grandparents and great grandparents have connection to that land. Okay, I get it. Now we need to solve what's going on, because there was Palestinian that lived there before, and how we can, for me, how we change the ideology, which I don't see how we can, but how we can change the ideology, convince them that they want peace. And they want…I don't know. MANYA: Needless to say, in the year that has followed the attacks of October 7, stand-up comedy has not been the balm it once was. The attacks that unfolded that day by Iran-backed terrorists that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 more was simply too devastating. EINAT: I was broken there, my husband was with me, I was every day on a bed crying, and then going to work, and it was like I couldn't hear music, because every music thinking about Nova and my friends and then I couldn't see babies with a mom. Everything was a trigger. It was bad. We had a disaster of October 7 and then October 8 to see the world reaction was another. It's not just enough that we going through so much grief and need to kind of contain all that emotion and crazy and anger and rage and now we need to see the world's. Like, ok. I never thought there is antisemitism. It's something from the past, for my grandparents, for my mom a little, but it's not something in my generation, or my kids' generation. It's done, apparently, not. MANYA: The lack of sympathy around the world and among her culinary peers only amplified Einat's grief. As a way to push for a cease-fire and end U.S. support for Israel, nearly 900 chefs, farmers and others in the food industry signed a pledge to boycott Israel-based food businesses and culinary events that promote Israel. EINAT: I felt very, very alone, very alone. The first few months, I felt like, wow, not one call from anyone to check on me. It was pretty sad. At the same time, I'm in the best company ever Jewish community. There is nothing like that, nothing. MANYA: Her team at Balaboosta also checked in on their Israeli boss. But they too were scared. Soon after she posted pictures of the hostages on the window of her restaurant, she confronted a group of teenagers who tried to tear them down. EINAT: I stand in front of them and I said, ‘You better move fast'. MANYA: It's no secret that Iran helped plan Oct. 7. What is not as well known is how many Jews still live and thrive in Iran. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, there were nearly 100,000 Jews in Iran. Today, Israeli sources say the population numbers less than 10,000, while the regime and Iran's Jewish leaders say it's closer to 20,000. Regardless, Iran's Jewish community remains the largest in the Middle East outside Israel. To be sure, the constitution adopted in 1906 is still in place nominally, and it still includes Jews as a protected religious minority. Jews in Iran have synagogues, access to kosher meat, and permission to consume wine for Shabbat, despite a national ban on alcohol. There's also a Jewish representative in Iran's parliament or Majlis. But all women and girls regardless of religion are required to wear a veil, according to the Islamist dress code, and Jews are pressured to vote in elections at Jewish-specific ballot stations so the regime can monitor their participation. Zionism is punishable by death and after Oct. 7, the regime warned its Jewish citizens to sever contact with family and friends in Israel or risk arrest. They also can't leave. Iranian law forbids an entire Jewish nuclear family from traveling abroad at the same time. At least one family member, usually the father, must remain behind to prevent emigration. But Houman points out that many Iranian Jews, including himself, are deeply attached to Iranian culture. As a resident of Los Angeles, he reads Persian literature, cooks Persian herb stew for his children and speaks in Persian to his pets. He would return to Iran in an instant if given the opportunity to do so safely. For Jews living in Iran it may be no different. They've become accustomed to living under Islamist laws. They may not want to leave, even if they could. SARSHAR: The concept of living and thriving in Iran, for anyone who is not related to the ruling clergy and the Revolutionary Guard, is a dream that feels unattainable by anyone in Iran, let alone the Jews. In a world where there is really no fairness for anyone, the fact that you're treated even less fairly almost fades. MANYA: Scholars say since the Islamic Revolution, most Jews who have left Iran have landed in Los Angeles or Long Island, New York. Still, more Jews of Iranian descent live in Israel – possibly more than all other countries combined. The reason why? Because so many like Einat's family made aliyah–up until the mid-20th Century. It's hard to say where another exodus might lead Iranian Jews to call home. Einat will be forever grateful that her family left when they still could and landed in a beautiful and beloved place. Though she lives in the U.S. now, she travels back to Israel at least twice a year. EINAT: It's a dream for every Jew, it's not just me. It's the safe zone for every Jew. It's the one place that, even if we have, it's not safe because there is people around us that want to kill us. It's still emotionally. You know, I've been in Israel a few months ago, it's like, you always feel loved, you always feel supported. It's incredible. And it's still home. It's always going to be my home. MANYA: Persian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Middle Eastern and North African countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations. Many thanks to Einat for sharing her family's story. You can enjoy some of her family's favorite recipes in her cookbooks Balaboosta and Shuk. Her memoir Taste of Love was recently released in an audio and digital format. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible. You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus. The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC. You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.
Quân đội Israel đã tấn công vào trung tâm Beirut lần đầu tiên, kể từ khi cuộc xung đột bắt đầu cách đây gần một năm. Họ cũng đã tấn công Yemen, nhắm vào các thành trì của phiến quân Houthi ở Hodeidah và Ras Issa, để trả đũa cho một cuộc tấn công bằng tên lửa đạn đạo vào Sân bay Ben Gurion của Tel Aviv, nhắm vào Thủ tướng Israel Benjamin Netanyahu.
Walking past the posters of the captives in Ben Gurion airport, I could not help think about the simple way that we could have had our captives saved months ago!
Ralph welcomes former TV writer turned grass roots organizer, Jason Berlin, who explains how his group, Field Team 6, uses the latest data and analytics to identify and reach out to potential Democratic voters in order to register them to vote and how that could turn the tide in purple, flippable states.Jason Berlin is a former TV writer and co-founder of Field Team 6, a national voter-registration project that organizes voter drives to register Democrats in the most flippable states across the country.The fact is you can't get out the vote if those voters don't exist to begin with. It's like no one had a talk with people about where a voter comes from. So we concentrate on that first half of the equation—getting people over that biggest hurdle, getting them registered, generating this river of new Democrats and Independents who can then get into the system and be targeted by the massive get-out-the-vote machinery.Jason BerlinThe Democratic Party over the years has exhibited serious symptoms of masochism. It's like they've written off half the country, where they don't even compete.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 9/4/241. On August 28th, the Israeli Defense Forces targeted United Nations World Food Programme vehicles with “repeated gunfire,” per CNN. According to the agency, “Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving toward an…IDF…checkpoint.” Photos show at least ten bullet holes in the vehicle windows. As this piece highlights, “ongoing airstrikes and repeated evacuation orders by Israeli forces have forced many of the agency's food warehouses and community kitchens to shutter…The IDF-designated ‘humanitarian zone' in Gaza is also steadily shrinking; in the past month alone, the IDF has reduced this zone by 38%.” This incident is reminiscent of the Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen workers in April, when the IDF killed three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian, and a Pole via multiple airstrikes. Two days after the World Food Programme incident, CNN reported that the IDF killed four in a humanitarian aid vehicle affiliated with the American Near East Refugee Aid organization.2. On Monday, the Israeli labor federation, Histradrut, called a general strike in order to “pressure Netanyahu's government into changing its approach to cease-fire negotiations,” per NPR. This action was taken in response to the death of six hostages who would have been released had Israel agreed to the ceasefire proposed in early July. According to NPR, “Many schools and government buildings were shut…[and]…Ben Gurion airport…paused flights for several hours.” Yet, Israel's Labor Court quickly ordered the strike to end and the union obeyed; the action lasted less than one business day. This incident illustrates the deep discontent with the Netanyahu government's handling of the hostage negotiations, but also the impotence of Israeli civil society to change course.3. In more positive news related to labor and Israel, Democracy Now! reports Jimmy Williams Jr. president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, says his union is “directing its massive international pension fund to divest from the Gaza genocide.” According to left-wing British outlet Skwakbox, the Painter's Union receives $330 million dollars in new contributions from union members each year.4. The Middle East Monitor reports “Ray Youssef, CEO of the Bitcoin marketplace platform, Noonesapp…[alleges that cryptocurrency giant Binance] ‘has seized all funds from all Palestinians as per the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied.'” Responding to this allegation, a Binance spokesperson claimed that this seizure of assets only covers a limited number of accounts linked to “illicut funds,” though “Binance did not specify the extent or value of the ‘illicit funds' involved.” Boosters of cryptocurrency, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have framed it in terms of “transactional freedom,” per Axios. Not so for the Palestinians, it seems.5. Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the U.K. Labour Party, has united with four other independent, pro-Gaza MPs to form the Independent Alliance, per the BBC. This new parliamentary bloc will “use their…platform to campaign for scrapping the two-child benefit limit and against arms sales to Israel.” With five MPs in this alliance, it already outnumbers the Green Party and is equal to Reform UK, the far-right party formed by Brexit champion Nigel Farage. In their first move since forming the Independent Alliance, the MPs issued a statement in response to Foreign Minister David Lammy's announcement that the U.K. will suspend a small number of arms export licenses to Israel. This statement reads “For months, we have called for an immediate and full suspension of arms sales to Israel. The government has finally admitted there is a clear risk of weapons being used to commit violations of international law…This announcement must be the first step in ending all arms…used by the Israeli military to commit genocide in Gaza.”6. According to the ACLU of Indiana, “[Indiana University] has approved a new policy that prohibits all expressive activity if it takes place between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., even if the activity is not at all disruptive, such as standing silently, holding a sign, wearing a t-shirt with a communicative message, or discussing current events with friends.” This policy, which “carries harsh punishments, including suspension or expulsion for students, and suspension or termination of staff,” was adopted in response to campus pro-Palestine demonstrations last year. The ACLU of Indiana has already filed a lawsuit to overturn this chilling policy. And at New York University, Palestine Legal reports “In a dangerous escalation of repression, [NYU] announced new student conduct policies last week that appear to prohibit criticism of Zionism. If implemented, these policies risk creating a hostile environment for Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish students and severely curtail…free expression.” This statement notes that NYU does not afford protected status to any other political ideology and that this decision “opens the door for other ethno-nationalist ideologies to claim protection from criticism. With Zionism enshrined as a protected class, there's no reason why Hindu nationalism, Christian nationalism, white nationalism or similar ideologies wouldn't be afforded the same.” Palestine Legal has vowed that it will “continue to monitor and combat institutional attempts to punish and censor students organizing for Palestinian rights.”7. In a major escalation of tensions, the United States seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's plane in the Dominican Republic and transferred it to Florida, per the BBC. According to this report, “US officials said the plane was seized for suspected violations of US export control and sanctions laws,” while Venezuelan officials have denounced this move as an act of “piracy,” and “reserves the right to take any legal action to repair this damage to the nation.” Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the US had justified itself “with the coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose around the world.” This is just the latest case of western governments seizing Venezuelan state assets; in 2018, the Bank of England seized nearly $2 billion worth of Venezuelan gold and has refused to return those assets despite urging from the United Nations special rapporteur on sanctions, per Declassified UK.8. The Miami Herald is out with a stunning new report on the dubious “Havana Syndrome” which finds that patients were “coerced” to join an NIH study on the supposed illness. According to this piece, “An internal review board at the National Institutes of Health…decided to shut down a long-term study of Havana Syndrome patients that found no signs of brain injuries, after several participants complained of mishandled medical data, bias and pressures to join the research. [Jennifer George] A spokeswoman for NIH said the internal review found that ‘informed consent' policies to join the study ‘were not met due to coercion.” Though George insists the coercion was not on the part of the NIH, she declined to identify who coerced the patients.9. Daniel Nichanian of Bolts Magazine reports “[Arizona Democratic Senate nominee Ruben] Gallego, fresh off of a police union endorsement, just penned a letter to the US [Department of Justice] asking them to stand down in its investigations against the Phoenix police and its effort to bring the department under a consent decree.” The proposed consent decree in question stems from a DOJ investigation that found “[Phoenix PD] uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force… unlawfully detain, cite, and arrest people experiencing homelessness and unlawfully dispose of their belongings…discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when enforcing the law…violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech and expression…[and] discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for assistance and responding to people in crisis.”10. Finally, in more positive Senate-related news, a new Split Ticket poll shows populist Independent candidate Dan Osborn running neck-and-neck with incumbent Republican Senator Deb Fischer in Nebraska. While Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris 54 to 37, the same poll shows Senator Fischer leading by only 1 point – 39% to Osborn's 38%, with 23% undecided. Osborn, a union leader who organized the 2021 Kellogg strike, has been favorably profiled by the American Prospect. There is no Democrat running for this seat.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe
Israel destroys thousands of Hizbullah rocket launching pads in pre-emptive pre dawn strike. Hizbullah launches 210 rockets and 20 drones. Disruption at Ben Gurion airport. . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The October 7 Hamas attack severely affected Israel's Ben-Gurion University (BGU) and its surrounding community. The university lost over 110 people, several students were taken hostage, including Noa Argamani, and thousands of students were called up for reserve duty. Doug Seserman, CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University, joins us to discuss the impact of the October 7 Hamas massacre on BGU and Israel's Negev region. Hear about the university's emergency response and volunteer efforts, highlighting the region's resilience and the university's innovation in sustainability, water conservation, and energy solutions. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. Episode Lineup: (0:40) Doug Seserman Show Notes: Listen – People of the Pod: The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: What Does it Mean For Israel? Seven Months In: What Israelis Think About the War Against Hamas, Campus Antisemitism in America, and More What Does it Mean to be a Jewish American Hero? A Jewish American Heritage Month Conversation with AJC CEO Ted Deutch Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Transcript of Interview with Doug Seserman: Manya Brachear Pashman: The Negev, the vast desert region that covers 60% of Israel's territory is home to only 10% of its population. It's also home to Ben-Gurion University and many of the communities attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Doug Seserman is the CEO of Americans for Ben-Gurion University. In that role, he has worked to highlight the innovations and technology know-how that Israel can offer America and the world when it comes to sustainability, water conservation, energy solutions and ecology. But since October 7 BGU's efforts have shifted from sustaining lives across Israel's south to rebuilding them. Doug Seserman is with us now to discuss those efforts. Doug, welcome to People of the Pod. Doug Seserman: Thank you so much for inviting me. Manya Brachear Pashman: So compared to other Israeli universities, the BGU community was disproportionately impacted by the October 7 massacre, correct? Can you give our listeners some perspective on the scope of loss? Doug Seserman: Sure. So as the crow flies our main campus in Beer-Sheva is only about 22 miles from Gaza. We had a number of students at the Nova music festival site, and a number of our employees and their families live in the western Negev or Gaza Envelope area. So as a university today, we have 111 dead. That includes those murdered on October 7, as well as fallen soldiers. We've had close to 6,600 of our students, faculty, employees, administration, called up to milu'im, reserve duty, and not all of them have come back. Some 2000 are still fighting. So that was a direct and disproportional impact. Now everybody in Israel has experienced this war. Every family knows somebody, but for us, it's definitely disproportional. Literally every colleague's kids are fighting. Every younger woman who's a colleague in her 30s, their husbands are fighting. People are on their WhatsApp just trying to hear what's going to happen next. It's a very surreal situation. Manya Brachear Pashman: Four hostages were rescued by the IDF earlier this month. Were there any faculty, staff, or students from Ben-Gurion taken hostage? Doug Seserman: Noa Argamani, you may recall her name. She was at the music festival and forcibly separated from her boyfriend Avinatan Or, who's a BGU alum. But Noa is a 26-year-old information systems student of ours. Manya Brachear Pashman: Yes, thank you. Of course, Noa was one of those hostages recently rescued. We are so thankful that Noa is now home. 124 hostages are still being held in Gaza. We are praying and advocating for the safe return home of all hostages, and will highlight those that are part of the BGU family: Sasha (Alexander) Trufanov, Avinatan Or, Alex Dancyg, and Segev Kalfon And Doug, how many at BGU were called up for reserve duty? Doug Seserman: That's about a third of the student body. Classes, obviously, they were supposed to start on October 15, and they didn't resume until December 31. The president of the University, Professor Daniel Chamovitz, did his best to have no student be left behind. But at some point, we had to resume classes. And so today, when you go to the campus, it's, I don't want to say it's thriving, but it's functioning. There's a normalcy about life in Israel and also on campus. But there's nothing normal about this new normal. Many of our reservists are back and they're in the classroom, but even going from being in Gaza, in conflict, to then studying for a test, you know, writing papers and things. People are traumatized, and the university has done an amazing job providing psychological support and counseling for the students and the faculty and the families who've been directly impacted. But still, it's a very difficult situation. Manya Brachear Pashman: In addition to those called up for reserve duty immediately after October 7, was there a sizable volunteer effort? Or was the community just too shell-shocked? Doug Seserman: Thank you for asking. Today when you go to campus, it's happening and it's alive and doing as well as it can. On October 7, that immediately pivoted from a university that was closing – had to close because of the war – to almost a hub for activity to support not only the faculty and students, but also the community – a logistics center, if you will. We were housing, in our dorms, evacuated families and also medical professionals from the center of the country that needed help. Soroka, which is the main hospital of the Negev and also the teaching hospital for our two medical schools. Very close relationship with Soroka Medical Center. Our medical students immediately became ER triage doctors. They learn by doing. If you talk with some of them today, they'll tell you in this strange way that October 7 may have really accelerated their knowledge in terms of their career, etc. And then we just started doing what we could. Students mobilized, as Israelis do, to create care packages and provide clothing and anything that was necessary for these evacuated families. We had, I want to say close to 1500 members of our community that were evacuated. Manya Brachear Pashman: You know, I imagine it's even more than medical students getting this, you know, on the ground experience. I happened to be in journalism school in New York when 9/11 happened. I remember places in New York City all of a sudden transforming into emergency centers, like what you're describing, and I think a lot of my classmates got a crash course, right, in journalism from covering that. Doug Seserman: Absolutely. Even our social work and psychology students became kind of caseworkers. I mean, everybody was doing what they could and, in a way, we should feel really good about it. It's hard to say there are silver linings from October 7. But the resilience that the country has demonstrated in the university, in particular, is incredible and quite inspiring. One thing about Ben-Gurion University that's unique is, yes, we are an educational and research institution and one of the leading universities in Israel, and we're quite proud of those accomplishments. But we have a particular and very unique mandate to develop the Negev region. And it's almost in what we call the Ben Gurion DNA, to activate the social justice aspect of being a Jew, honestly. But it's particularly manifest at the University and we're proud of it. Manya Brachear Pashman: Well, you know, let's talk a little bit more about that innovative spirit that I hear a lot about, that characterizes Israel and, obviously, BGU. And I mentioned earlier how BGU has introduced, you know, all of these technologies, innovative solutions for environmental concerns. I think David Ben Gurion said “making the desert bloom” – that was his goal and what the university aims for – but has the aftermath of October 7 highlighted other faculty, other fields? You talked about psychology and social work. Can you talk a little bit about how this kind of innovative spirit has been applied and has really shown itself since October 7? Doug Seserman: Yeah, absolutely. I'm happy to do that. And it's important to note also that Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, it was important on October 6. When you visit the Beer-Sheva campus, it's, in a way, it's startup nation on steroids. You have Ben-Gurion University and Soroka hospital, the advanced technology park that has 3000 employees and 70 multinational companies, right across the high speed train station to get you to Tel Aviv in just over an hour. And you have the IDF moving south and their IT and computing base literally adjacent to the university. It's an amazing place. I actually feel like a lot of people visit Israel, and they don't really go south. And the truth is, you haven't seen the future of Israel until you spend time in the Negev. And you don't really understand the Negev until you've spent time at the University. But in terms of areas that the University excels at, that are important in the aftermath. I mean, it's everything. But some of the things I would highlight is our strength in engineering, computer sciences, IT, cybersecurity. The cyber capital of Israel is actually Beer-Sheva. This IDF base that's adjacent to us, I call them 22nd century defense systems, remote sensing satellite defense technology. Hatzerim Air Force base is in the Negev, that's where all members of the Israeli Air Force get their wings, but they actually get their degree, their educational degree, from Ben-Gurion University. So when we think about the future, listen, it takes a village. And you can never do wrong by doing right. So I'd encourage your listeners to just get involved in something in Israel that's consistent with their values. Manya Brachear Pashman: I know the South has supplied much of Israel's kind of homegrown food, vegetable crops, barley, wheat, dairy, but obviously, I mean, many of the Palestinian and Thai workers who tended those fields, they're not returning anytime soon, neither are the residents of those kibbutzim. Has BGU played a role in filling that gap? Doug Seserman: The answer is yes, and doing our best and not enough. And very proud of all the volunteers and that you're seeing, especially also from the diaspora coming to Israel to help pick fruit and etc. We had faculty that basically stop because they weren't teaching and they had time, they just started going into the fields and helping the farmers, both with their hands and their heart. At the end of the day, there's a very close relationship and literally hundreds of our students and faculty and administration has been involved in volunteer efforts. At the end of our board of governors meeting last week, we had a whole afternoon dedicated for volunteers who came from around the world to volunteer as well. Manya Brachear Pashman: I want to go back to campus real quick and talk a little bit more about the students. I know that BGSU has a really robust diversity and inclusion effort that covers Druze, other Arabs, women, disabilities, Ethiopian immigrants, ultra-Orthodox Jews – it's a very diverse campus. And I'm curious how this diverse student population views the scenes from some American university campuses. I mean, has there been vigorous debate on BGU's campus about how Israel is fighting this war? And does it look any different? Doug Seserman: Now that's a big question. I can say this: we're extremely proud of the diversity on campus and sometimes what we call a shared society. We have Sarab Abu-Rabia-Queder, who's the Vice President of Diversity and Equity and Inclusion in Israel. That DEI term has become controversial, in the United States, but in Israel, you know, in our campus, it's a thriving concept. We have approximately 20,000 students. Most of them are Israeli. We have about 1000 international students that study in English, mostly from China and India, but also from North America. And then we have about 2000 Arab-Israelis. So of the Arab-Israeli, a number of them are Bedouin. We're by far the largest university for Bedouin students in Israel. So we have robust discussions underneath that framework of the diversity, VP of diversity, to try to bring students together. Sometimes there have been, before October 7, protests, peaceful protests, with Arab students protesting and Jewish students also there. And we've never had issues. You know, there's a way to have civil discourse, and free speech and academic freedom is critical. I mean, it's a hallmark to a just society. So you know, you have to be able to have peaceful protests. Now going back to what's happening on American campuses. You know, I'm personally embarrassed. I wrote an op-ed recently in The Times of Israel about what do you do when your alma mater no longer reflects your values? I'm a proud Wildcat from Northwestern University. And we had a terrible situation on campus. And then our president Michael Schill, who's a smart guy, and also a Jew, negotiated with the encampment leaders and created a precedent almost like, it's not negotiating with terrorists, but it's compromising and rewarding, enabling bad behavior and creating a precedent that the way to make change is to be lawless and create hate speech. So something's happened in the US that on college campuses, that's absolutely out of control. But at the same time, freedom of speech, and especially in academic institutions, must be protected, but it has to be safe. We teach chemistry on university campuses all across the country, perhaps we should be teaching morality. And maybe that should be a required course. Now, I don't even know what that looks like. But I think people have lost a sense for the difference between proper behavior and improper behavior. And they sometimes use free speech to do hateful and wrongful things. And that's, that's not appropriate. Manya Brachear Pashman: In other words, you're suggesting social chemistry lessons? How do we get along? How do relationships work? Doug Seserman: I love that. I think what's happened is we all are talking in echo chambers. We've no longer figured out how to understand the narrative of the other, and how to find some sort of central place to move forward where people can agree to disagree, but you can move forward in some kind of democratic and civil way. Manya Brachear Pashman: So I don't want to lose sight of the fact that you head Americans for BGU, right, the arm of the university that works to garner American support? Has October 7 presented some unexpected challenges in that realm? Doug Seserman: You know the answer, to that is yes. And also, unfortunately, opportunities at the same time. There's been an October, I call it October 8 awakening, some people are calling it October 8 Jews – people in this country and in the diaspora are waking up, that something is happening out there with antisemitism, and the relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. And as an American diaspora Jew, you have sort of like three options. You can do nothing, and no miracles are going to come from that. Or you can kind of wait and see and no miracles are gonna come from that. Or you can kind of double down your efforts and get involved with institutions that matter, can make a difference. And that's what we're encouraging. Manya Brachear Pashman: Well, Doug, thank you so much for joining us and for giving us a snapshot of what people are trying to do to rebuild Israel's south and help it recover after October 7. Thank you so much. Doug Seserman: Thank you so much for having me.
This is an excellent question and a full-fledged mystery that will not be fully answered in this episode. Teller From Jerusalem continues to explore the various steps that occurred in the evolution of the Soviet support for nascent Israel. It was beneficial to Israel that the Soviets arrested the work of Count Folke Bernadotte, the Swedish aristocrat that was appointed by the United Nations Secretary General to hammer out a temporary truce between Israel and her neighbors. Bernadotte sought to achieve far more than just a temporary truce. He foisted terms upon Israel, when she was already winning the war, which would have deprived her of much of what she had achieved at the very greatest sacrifice. This was going to cost him his life at the hands of Israel's underground and embroil Israel in international censure resulting in Ben Gurion declaring war upon any defense force that was not part of the Haganah. Learn more at TellerFromJerusalem.com Don't forget to subscribe, like and share! Let all your friends know that that they too can have a new favorite podcast. © 2024 Media Education Trust llc
A few weeks ago, a team of Free Press producers and reporters arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. The energy was somber and still, almost like the country and its people were frozen in time. As one mother of a hostage told us, “Every single second of our lives is trauma.” And as the journalist Gadi Taub told us, “People don't even begin to understand the extent of this earthquake and how it will change Israel.” Since the earliest hours of October 7, we've been reporting on the war in Israel. We've published no fewer than seventy articles about it, and more than ten Honestly episodes. In other words: when we arrived in Israel, we thought we already knew all about what happened that day. But there is a difference between knowing something intellectually, and actually standing in a killing field. The events of October 7—and the ongoing war between Israel, Hamas, and other Iranian proxies—isn't just about another war in another faraway place. This is about the difference between democracy and tyranny, between freedom and unfreedom—in a world that seems to have lost the ability to make a distinction between the two. As one reservist told us, “We're doing this for the world. Hamas is an idea. It looks at you in L.A. as the enemy, not just us in Israel. We just happen to be their neighbors.” So over the next few episodes, we're going to bring you The FP in Israel: a special limited series about our time reporting on the ground. We hope you listen. And for more of our content from Israel, subscribe to The Free Press at thefp.com, and check out our YouTube channel, where you will find additional videos and documentaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices