Israel Beat

Dr. Ido Noy was an art historian specializing in medieval Jewish art. But when COVID-19 hit, he rediscovered his childhood passion for Garbage Pail Kids and found others who grew up in the 1980s felt the same.

Released in Hebrew as Havurat HaZevel, this fad continues to have a lasting impact on Israeli politics in election campaigns satirizing politicians from both the right wing and left wing. The pop culture phenomenon led to multiple spin-offs from secular, religious Zionist and haredi communities with rabbi cards and more.

Plus, learn about how Art Spiegelman, award-winning writer of the Holocaust memoir Maus created the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and Wacky Packages. And the story behind Bazooka Joe.

NOTES:

* Official website of Dr. Ido Noy, art historian

* Ido Noy’s Garbage Pail Kids history website

* Disgrace to the Knesset: On Garbage Pail Kids, Caricature and Political Satire in Israel by Dr. Ido Noy

* Video: Grossing Out | Setting a Bad Example: Garbage Pail Kids & Educational & Moral Values

* חבורת הזבל ואוספים נוספים - Havurat Hazevel & other collections - Facebook group

* Official Topps playing cards Garbage Pail Kids site

* The Jewish History of Bazooka Bubble Gum

* Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

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Interview with Rabbi Mordechai Gershon on the first ever English translation of the seminal Hasidic work Bat Ayin. Find out how this forgotten treasure of Kabbalistic thought has grown in popularity in recent years.

Today thousands attend the annual memorial of Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Auerbach of Avritch (circa 1760 – 1840) who left a prominent career in Ukraine to return to the Land of Israel and live in Tzfat (Safed).

Hear the story of how he survived the great Safed earthquake and then led the efforts to help the victims and rebuild the city. Also, his miraculous rescue from kidnappers and how he fell in love with the land where stones shine like precious gems.

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Rabbi Yisrael M. Mendelovits compiled and prepared the translation of Bat Ayin published by Mosaica Press in 2022. He has has personally heard many firsthand stories from numerous Yidden (Jewish individuals) who experienced profound salvations and even significant miracles—such as having children or finding a suitable marriage partner (shidduch)—through visiting and praying at the rabbi's synagogue or tziun (gravesite). These individuals also undertook a commitment to study from the rabbi's sefer (sacred book) at least once a week.

Bat Ayin expresses a unique and deeply insightful philosophy. At its core, it emphasizes the greatness of Hashem (God) and the essential humility a person must cultivate. According to the rabbi's teachings, a person must recognize and admit that no matter how much they accomplish or how much Torah they learn, Hashem does not owe them anything. Everything a person receives from Hashem is an act of chesed (loving-kindness), given freely and undeservedly. This perspective fosters profound gratitude, humility, and a deeper connection with the Divine.

The podcast concludes with a rare recording of the song Chasal Siddur Pesach composed by Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber of Avritch as recorded by old chasidim of Slonim and presented by Rabbi Ben Zion Reichberg at the Bas Ayin's Yahrzeit in Brooklyn.

NOTES:

* Bat Ayin (also pronounced Bas Ayin) - annotated and edited by Rabbi Yisrael M. Mendelovits, edited by Rabbi Mordechai Gershon - Mosaica Press

* “The spiritual head of the German [Ashkenazic] congregation [of Safed], the Rev. A. Dob, said that the money was divided amongst their congregation according to the amount of loss sustained by each individual [in the earthquake]. Nor did the German committee ever retain one penny more for themselves than for the other members of the congregation.” - Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore edited by Dr. L. Loewe, 1890. [Page 164]

* Listed in Encyclopedia Judaica as Abraham Dov Baer of Ovruch

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Interview with living legend Moshe “Musa” Berlin on klezmer music from its roots in Ashkenazic Yiddish-speaking shtetels to its development at Lag BaOmer celebrations in Israel where it fused with Sephardic and Mediterranean traditions.

The famous clarinetist talks about his childhood, life as a Jewish musician, his influences which include Shlomo Carlebach and Artie Shaw, and thoughts on modern Hasidic music in Israel.

NOTES:

* Mussa Berlin official website

* The Klezmer Tradition in the Land of Israel - Hebrew University

Check out my previous podcast: History of Lag BaOmer in Meron

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The history of Israeli fighter jets starting with the Nesher, which was developed because France imposed an embargo on sending Israel the Dassault Mirage during the Six Day War. Learn about Holocaust survivor Marcel Dassault, the secret blueprints provided by a Swiss ally, and the innovative weapons developed by the Jewish State.

Then there was the Kfir, the state-of-the-art plane of the 1970s pioneered by Air Force hero Benny Peled. And finally, the cutting edge Lavi, which promised to revolutionize the Israeli aircraft industry, until it was cancelled. Find out why, and listen to rare audio from the people that created Israeli air superiority in the face of war and economic hardships.

Plus, the new age of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.

NOTES:

* Flying Camels and Clandestine Pilots - The History of Israeli Aviation - podcast

* Israeli Air Force official website

* Shamir and Reagan to Discuss the Issue of the Lavi Jet Fighter - 1987

* Israel's Best Defense: The First Full Story of the Israeli Air Force by Col. Eliezer “Cheetah” Cohen

* IAI Delivers 100th F-35 Wing to Lockheed Martin - 2017

* Alfred Frauenknecht and the Secret Mirage blueprints - 1969

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This is a classic interview from 2004 with Leona S. Green, author of the New Traditional Egalitarian Haggadah which adheres to the authentic Jewish text while making it inclusive for all to enjoy the seder.

Learn about her Orthodox upbringing from immigrant parents, her involvement with Zionism, and how a father’s love for his daughter inspired her create this unique and user-friendly Haggadah.

Notes:

* The New Traditional Egalitarian Haggadah

* Charlotte Gould - celebrated artist whose paintings appear in the Haggadah.

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Thank you to the following people who sent in their Pesach reminiscences of seder nights from their youth which range diverse Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions from Jewish communities around the world. Learn about food, songs, and fond family memories from the festival of freedom.

* Batya from Poland

* Toby from Ohio

* Rachel from Romania

* Dov from Jerusalem

* Suzi from Bulgaria

* Yadidya

* Shirley and Paul from Cleveland

* Eitan from the Soviet Union

* Lauren from Canada

* Nili from Los Angeles

* Eitan from Israel

* Ellen from Pennsylvania

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Although I have never seen the film Titanic, I have been to the Straus Medical Center in Jerusalem which has been treating people since the 1920s. As we approach the 113th anniversary of the Titanic disaster, I explore the lives of Isidor and Ida Straus, who gave up their space on the lifeboat to save others, and Nathan and Lina Straus who saved countless lives through their milk pasteurization project and philanthropy in Jerusalem.

Learn about the struggle of Lazarus and Sarah Straus, who left Germany for a better life in the United States, lost everything in the Civil War and made it back again through Macy’s Department Store. Hear the words of Lina Straus, who fell in love with the Land of Israel and saw an opportunity to help the cause of Jewish pioneers and Zionism.

NOTES:

* Disease in Milk; The Remedy, Pasteurization: The Life Work of Nathan Straus by Lina Straus, 1917

* Jerusalem Committee Formed for Straus Non-sectarian Health Center - JTA, 1926

* Nathan Straus Presents Health Center in Jerusalem to Hadassah - JTA, 1927

* The Truth about the Titanic Story - Jerusalem Post

* Biography of Nathan Straus by Rabbi David de Sola Pool - American Jewish year Book

* The Heroism of Mrs. Isidor Straus - Well known New York couple who died together - Jewish Independent, April, 1912

* Passing of Nathan Straus - Jewish Independent, January 1931

* Origins of the Straus Family - Straus Historical Society

* Nathan Straus and the Milk Stations That Saved the Lives of New York City Kids

* Great-grandson of elderly 'Titanic' couple shares their real story - Today

* My podcast on Hadassah Hospital

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Rabbi Judah Bibas predated Theodor Herzl and the Zionist movement by decades. In recent years his teachings on Jewish autonomy and self-determination have received the attention lacking for so many years. Hear what a Scottish church minister thought when meeting him in 1839 and his influence on Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai and other forerunners to the creation of the State of Israel.

Learn of the desecration of the Hebron cemetery and how the exact location of the tombstone of Rabbi Bibas was lost for decades until this month when an elderly Hebron native and new aerial photos solved the mystery.

NOTES:

* My podcast on the Ohr HaChaim, grandfather of Judah Bibas

* Heralds of Zionism as Theological Revolutionaries - 2021

* President Herzog honors Rabbi Bibas at event - 2022

* Religion, Nationalism and a new Annunciation: Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Aryeh Leon Bibas precursor of Zionism by Yael Weiler Israel (Hebrew)

* Lecture on Rabbi Dr. Yehuda Aryeh Leon Bibas by Esther Azoulay at the 2023 Hebron Conference (Hebrew)

* Restoring the Jews to Their Homeland: Nineteen Centuries in the Quest for Zion by Joseph Adler

* The forgotten vision of Rabbi Bibas - Jerusalem Post 2018

* Rabbi Yehuda Bibas' grave found after decades of searching - March 2025

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The Eurovision Song Contest was won by Israel four times and has been hosted in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Find out the inside story of such classic songs as Hallelujah, A-Ba-Ni-Bi, Happy Birthday, and the Hebrew singers who graced the stage.

Plus, countries that attempted to boycott Israel and lost. Learn about the new inspiring performers such as Eden Golan and this year’s contestant Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7th massacres.

Dana International, Netta Barzilai, Gali Atari, Izhar Cohen, Ehud Manor, Eddie Butler, Eden, Teapacks and more are discussed in this special podcast, including the much asked question as to why non-European nations such as Israel, Turkey and Australia are included in Eurovision.

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The history of the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization and how they started hospitals, medical schools and infant care centers in Israel. Learn about Henrietta Szold, whose trip to Israel revealed the shockingly limited medical facilities. She went on to spearhead countless projects such as creating the first nursing school in Israel and youth villages for war refugees.

Bertha Landsman founded Tipat Halav, which began delivering milk on donkeys and today serves new parents and babies throughout the country.

Alice Seligsberg was a pioneering social worker who served as Hadassah’s president, helped orphans and was the inspiration for Hadassah’s vocational schools.

Hear rare audio of Henrietta Szold and the story behind the women who dedicated their lives improving health. Hadassah was founded on Purim and named for Queen Esther.

NOTES:

* Video of Henrietta Szold speech on Youth Aliyah

* It Takes a Dream: The Story of Hadassah

* Bertha Landsman biography

* Alice Seligsberg biography

* Thousands Honor Miss Szold at New York Gathering - Jewish Independent, 1923

* Hadassah Opens 21st Welfare Station in Palestine - JTA, 1929

* Founding of Hadassah: The Women's Zionist Organization of America

* Jewish American Heritage Month: Hadassah Milestones

* If I Forget Thee Hadassah (video)

* A New Year’s Card From Israel - 1966 Hadassah film

* Jerusalem Committee Formed for Straus Non-sectarian Health Center - JTA, 1926

* Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization Opens Convention - JTA, 1926

* Hadassah’s Progress Shown at Convention - JTA, 1923

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