Today’s episode has three stories that are ostensibly about birds, but are really about the heights to which the human spirit can soar, and the depths to which it can plunge. Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok,  and by signing up for our newsletter at israelstory.org/newsletter/. For more, head to our site or The Times of Israel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

77: Free as a Bird

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

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Next week, millions of Jews around the world will sit down at their Passover tables, for what will invariably be a very different kind of seder. The timeless question of how this night, or this Pesach, is different from all other nights, and all other Pesachs, has gained an entirely new - and tragic - dimension since October 7th. And few, if any, have thought about this matter more than forty-three year old Mishael Zion, a liberal Orthodox rabbi and Jewish educator from Jerusalem. 
In 1997, Mishael’s father - Noam Zion - together with his friend David Dishon - published a popular English-language Haggadah called “A Different Night.” Seven years later, Mishael joined forces with his dad in creating an Israeli version - HaLayla HaZeh: Haggadah Israelit. And this year, two decades after that Israeli Haggadah came out, Mishael and his father decided to update it, for the first post-October 7th seder. 
The end song is Chad Gadya ("One Little Goat") by Chava Alberstein.
To purchase a digital copy of the Israeli Haggadah in Hebrew, click here. To download the Zion Haggadah supplement in English, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French, click here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wartime Diaries: Mishael Zion

The horrific events of October 7th reminded many people of the darkest chapter in Jewish history - the Holocaust. And indeed, for the past six months, there have been as many comparisons to the Shoah as there have been critiques of those comparisons. 
Of the roughly 130,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel today, just under 10,000 reside in Jerusalem. Many of them participate in the Jerusalem Foundation’s Café Europa, which offers a physical meeting place, a wide range of social and cultural activities - concerts, lectures, memorials, workshops - and professional help in navigating the thickets of Israeli bureaucracy. We recently spent a morning at the Café Europa branch in Jerusalem’s German Colony neighborhood, where we heard all kinds of opinions about the Holocaust comparison. But the person with the strongest feelings on the matter just so happened to also be Café Europa’s oldest member - 100-year-old Walter Bingham.
The end song is Tzair LaNetzach ("Forever Young") by Rami Kleinstein. 
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Wartime Diaries: Walter Bingham

In the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Shai Davidai - an Assistant Professor at Columbia University - became an unlikely public defender of Israel. And truthfully, even he was surprised by this turn of events: As a committed left-wing Israeli, he had spent years criticizing the government, and often took to the streets to demonstrate against its policies. But the atmosphere he witnessed on college campuses (and specifically on his own campus at Columbia), compelled him to speak up and speak out.
The end song is Yesh Lecha Chaver ("You've Got a Friend") originally by Carol King, performed by Tzila Dagan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wartime Diaries: Shai Davidai

Alon Ohel - a talented young jazz pianist - was kidnapped from the Nova party on October 7th, and has been held hostage in Gaza ever since. His family has spent the last five plus months sending him good vibes and good music. In today's episode, his mother - Idit Ohel - talks about the importance of energy, friendship and hope during these dire times.
The end song is Shuvi Elay ("Return to Me") by Avishai Cohen and friends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wartime Diaries: Idit Ohel

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

77: Free as a Bird

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