Israel Beat

Learn about how Shlomo Shamir brought Mickey Marcus from New York into fame as an Israeli hero.

Yael Shamir-Driver, the daughter of Shlomo Shamir, uncovers the answers to:

* How did Marcus decide to come to Israel?

* The creation of the Burma Road and Marcus’s contribution.

* Was Marcus Israel’s first general?

Past podcasts on this issue:

* Story of the film Cast a Giant Shadow about Mickey Marcus

* Interview with Yael Driver on the Jewish Brigade

* Inside the Jewish Brigade’s untold story - Jerusalem Post

* Clearing the Shadow - text article in Jerusalem Post

* My podcast on the film Cast a Giant Shadow

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Jacob’s Stepladder is a play about a Jewish mother who leaves the family to join a cult. Meet director Jacob Lunon who studied at the prestigious Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York and how his personal experiences led him to move to Israel.

Meet the talented actors and hear their thoughts on Jewish identity, family and the thriving theater scene in Jerusalem including:

- Malka Batash – who plays Miriam the mother

- Deborah Rachel Kemper – who plays Sara the daughter in her 30s

- Aliza Greenspan – who plays Sara the daughter in her 20s

- Amit Chill - who plays Sara as an 11-year-old

- Simon Montagu – who plays Jacob the father, in his 60s

- Mark Spiro – who plays Jacob the father in his 40s and 50s.

Jacob’s Stepladder was written by Art Feinglass, founder and director of the Seattle Jewish Theater Company.For ticket info see: Khan Theater Jerusalem - Jacob’s StepladderSee also my podcast on Jerusalem’s Historic Khan Theater

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Rabbi Dov Lipman talks about his time as a Member of Knesset and explains how Israeli voting works. Hear about the time someone hand-cuffed themself to the Knesset podium, the Pirate Party, and the man who submitted his candidacy dressed in a robe and crown.

Plus, what is life like for a former Knesset Member? Learn about the Yad L’Olim organization which is helping new immigrants in Israel.

Recommended:

* Podcast: A Blessing for Israel’s First Elections in 1949

See also:

* Rabbi Dov Lipman official website

* Yad L’Olim immigrant website

* Official Israel election website

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Jerusalem Biennale founder and director Ram Ozeri talks about his journey from a boring job in economics to starting over again as an artist. He discusses how in Jerusalem, art is more about prophets than profits, and how artists from Jerusalem are concerned with identity on a deeper level. Find out how this bi-annual Israeli Jewish cultural event kept going despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the war and the inspirational exhibits taking place in 2026.

For more information visit https://jerusalembiennale.org/

You may also like:

* My coverage of the 2019 Jerusalem Biennale in the Jerusalem Post

* Interview with Ido Noy of the Jerusalem Biennale

* History of modern Israeli art

* History of Bezalel Academy of Art

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Eliana Sassoon talks about the Jewish communities of India and her personal journey from Mumbai to Jerusalem. Learn about the Bene Israel community, called the Saturday Oil-Pressers and their relation to their Hindu neighbors. Plus, the Malida ceremony and delicious foods involved.

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Miryam Brand, author of Evil Within and Without: The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature talks about where sin comes from. Is it free will, or demons, or both? And what exactly did Jews who lived during the Second Temple Era mean when they spoke of demons, or evil spirits? Find out as we take a deep dive and learn about the angel Mastema from the Book of Jubilees and the secrets of the Watchers from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Also, learn about the Return to Zion, the prophet Ezra and the holiday of Sigd. Plus, was King Cyrus a good guy?

To learn more visit https://understandingsin.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Fqn8o84fxVTLpFekXaU0A

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

The 1963 March on Washington is known mainly for the I Have a Dream speech, but other speakers included Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Germany who aided Holocaust survivors and later, aided the civil rights movement. Plus, a prayer by Rabbi Uri Miller, and Dr. Martin Luther King’s appeal for freedom for Soviet Jewry. Including rare audio.

* Related podcast: History of Pro-Israel Rallies

NOTES:

* Joachim Prinz was never silent - Jewish Standard

* The Problem of Silence: Rabbi Joachim Prinz Speech full text

* Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent documentary

* Joachim Prinz biography

* Blau Weiss Zionist organization

* Official Program for the March on Washington 1963

* Rabbi Uri Miller prayer full text

* The Jews Who Marched on Washington With Martin Luther King

* Dr. King, American Negro Leader, Attacks Soviet Policy on Jews - JTA, 1963

* Rev. Martin Luther King Lauds Role of Jews in Fight for Negro Rights - JTA, 1964

* Dr. Martin Luther King Urges Moscow to Change Policy on Jews - JTA, 1965

* Negro Marchers from Selma Wear ‘Yarmulkes’ in Deference to Rabbis - JTA, 1965

* MLK’s Address to American Jewish Committee - 1965

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Is Bob Dylan’s song Neighborhood Bully a pro- Zionist anthem? Hear the inside story of the celebrated singer-songwriter’s concerts in Israel and his 1980s song Neighborhood Bully. Is it a witty defense of a beleaguered Jewish State, or just misinterpreted poetry? Plus Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers rock out in Jerusalem, Ariel Zilber and more.

NOTES:

* Neighborhood Bully lyrics - BobDylan.com

* Story behind Dylan’s awkward Time magazine interview

* Bob Dylan Chabad Telethon

* Concert Review - Bob Dylan, Ramat Gan, 2011

* Dylan interview with Kurt Loder, Rolling Stone magazine, 1984

* MTV Rock Israel with Tom Petty and Diaspora Yeshiva Band in Jerusalem

* Israel Strikes Iraqi Nuclear Reactor - Jewish History Moment podcast

* My interview with Ariel Zilber from 2005

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

Fun facts about your favorite Passover themed films, submitted by the listeners. Learn the behind-the-scenes tidbits about Cecil B DeMille’s Ten Commandments such as his Jewish connection and his prior silent movie classic.

Also, the animated Prince of Egypt and how it was received upon release, the comedy When Do We Eat from the Accidental Talmudist, Rugrats, Jabotinsky, Sesame Street and more.

NOTES:

* When 250 Orthodox Jewish immigrants worked for Cecil B. DeMille - Forward

* Cecil B. DeMille biography by Simon Louvish

* Cecil B. DeMille official website

* Salvador Litvak brings his film ‘Guns & Moses’ to Israel - Jerusalem Post

* ‘Prince of Egypt’ portrays Moses’ life in film for whole family - JTA

* Hollywood Produces Films in Egypt; 17,500 Egyptians Play Jews - JTA

* Cecil De Mille Denies Next Production Has Anti-Jewish Character - JTA

Related podcasts:

* Passover Memories – An Oral History

* Biography of Zev Jabotinsky - with rare 1930s audio

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe

When Italian fascists invaded Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) took refuge in the Land of Israel. Hear rare audio from him and his daughter Princess Tsehai and how the Jewish community helped the exiled emperor. Gideon Force, led by Orde Wingate and Jews from the Land of Israel helped return the king to his throne.

Get full access to Jewish History Moment podcast with Ben Bresky at benbresky.substack.com/subscribe