Israel’s Arab neighbors were also her declared enemy. Accordingly, they had no interest in respecting a border regarding which they had signed an armistice. Infiltrators, that were called fedayeem would sneak into Israel to tend unmanned farmland, to loot border villages, or to carry out violent and often deadly attacks and then return across the border where they would be commended rather than condemned for the mayhem and murder which they had committed. In the early 1950s there were thousands of attacks each year resulting in the murder of several hundred Israelis.

Something had to be done, resulting in the IDF forming Special Forces Unit 101. After the murder of Susan Kanias and two of her children in a fedayeem raid in 1953, Unit 101 carried out their first reprisal in the West Bank village of Qibya. Overnight everyone learned that the rules of engagement had radically changed.

Credits:

Euro News: Qibya village sheds no tears for Ariel Sharon

Politics and Prowess: Meir Har Zion: A National Hero

Edward Sturm: The Man in the Hathaway Shirt Ad Made David Ogilvy Famous

Unpacked, History of Israel Explained: Moshe Dayan: Iconic Military Leader

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Having already explained in our previous podcast on this subject (S5 E1) that there are people who “give in order to take,” which is far from the ideal, in this episode we explore the concept proposed by Joseph Telushkin of “Imaginative Kindness.” When implemented – which is a cinch – it enables one to harvest so much more mileage from one’s kindness.

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

Why Four, and why not a peace treaty? All of this will be explained in this episode that details the difference between an armistice and a peace treaty. Israel’s warring neighbors were battered and humiliated in Israel’s War of Independence, which they were so confident would result in Arab triumph. Exhausted and losing ground by the day they wished to conclude the war, but how do you arrive at an agreement with an enemy that you do not recognize. Ultimately, that is what an armistice can accomplish.

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

A vast program of public works was initiated by the Israeli Government to provide employment opportunities for the refugee immigrants who were mainly unskilled. Likewise, the Jewish National Fund embarked upon a nationwide forestation project that totally transformed the landscape of the country.

After figuring out how to absorb the greatest number of immigrants the world has known, Prime Minister Ben Gurion had to deal with other burning issues such as how to deal with the deeply religious residents of Israel referred to as “Haredim.”

Critical attention also had to be devoted how to secure Israel’s borders when each neighboring country was hostile and sought Israel’s destruction. This resulted in the Army Reserves for every able-bodied soldier.

Audio Credits:

What Happened to Mizrachi Jews of Arab Countries | The Jewish Story |Unpacked

Golda Meir – The Matriarch of Israel Documentary | The People Profiles

Transforming Israel’s Barren Terrain into Green Forests | Greening Israel The Official Documentary | The Israel Guys

Hareidim and the IDF | Center for Israel Education | Whiteboard Video

IDF Band - Machar

i24 News | Insight – IDF Reservists: Citizen Soldiers

Why Don’t Ultra Orthodox Jews Serve in the IDF | Today Unpacked

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

In 1950 the Israeli Parliament passed a dramatic and symbolic law known as The Law of Return. This would finally bring an end to the description of “The Wandering Jew.” The Law also brought a formal end to the execrable White Paper of 1939 (by the British Government) and a symbolic overturning of the Nuremberg Laws which the Nazis employed to determine who was Jewish. The Law of Return employed the same (non-halachic) status: if you were Jewish-enough to be condemned to death by the Nazis, then you were Jewish enough to be deserving of the protection of the State of Israel.

Jewish refugees from Arab countries had to flee for their lives (and not everyone was so fortunate) to the State of Israel, resulting in the arrival of 850,000 desperate refugees.

Israel cared for her brethren and saw to it that they would not be referred to or be looked upon as refugees. And yet, the primitive conditions in which they were originally housed in transit camps or ma’abarot was appalling.

Audio Credits: 

What Happened to Mizrachi Jews of Arab Countries | The Jewish Story |Unpacked

Untold Exodus of Jews From Arab Land | Stand With Us

Jewish Refugees From Arab Countries | Stand With Us

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

Teller From Jerusalem takes an emboldening look at the compulsion of moral sensitivity to engage in kindness. We break down and analyze with stories (as usual) what it does for the recipient and what it does for the giver. Why is it that kindness matures a person and strips them of self-centered instincts?

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

When the second truce in Israel’s War of Independence went into effect on July 18, 1948, Israel was militarily in a far better position than it had been at the outbreak of the War. Still, work was still very much cut out for the nascent IDF as Egyptian forces had pressed so deep into the Negev that they were able to menace the key artery linking Tel Aviv to the southern towns and Jewish settlements. Israel’s innovative, young commander of the Negev campaign was Yigal Allon. In order to break the Egyptian hold, he would have to get his troops to the south undetected.

Allon’s soldiers discovered an ancient route built by the Romans 2000 years earlier, known as the Ruheiba Trail. The Egyptians logically expected an Israeli assault from the conventional route and were totally unprepared for an enemy that materialized out of nowhere from a trail that was concealed and provided natural cover.

Audio credits:

Trailer: To Cast a Giant Shadow

Pacific Front Untold – Flying the Hump vs The Burma Road

Kings and Generals – The First Arab-Israeli war 1948

The Armchair Historian – Brutal Urban Combat - Battle for Fallujah 2004

Fox News – Fallujah General details the True Challenges of Gaza Invasion

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

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

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

TFJ invited eloquent and dynamic Alex Traiman, CEO of Jewish News Syndicate, to explain the current situation in the Middle East. Alex Traiman is a go to for accurate news analysis and uncensored perspective on what lay behind current events. In this eye-opening interview (recorded On November 25, 2024) Mr. Traiman provides a fascinating understanding of Prime Minister Netanyahu who is constantly reviled by the Left and the Media without ever acknowledging the man’s incredible fortitude and leadership.

The JNS Jerusalem Bureau Chief also lucidly explained how recent events have shattered myths and conceptions such as, “The devil we know is better than the devil we do not know,” “Good fences make good neighbors,” “Our enemies care more about their economic well-being than they do about killing Jews.” With trenchant examples, Traiman explains how each one of these concepts was faulty and has proven to be a notion that misled policy with tragic consequences.

There was also the military misconception that believed that troops on the ground were not necessary if there was the proper monitoring and surveillance in place. In his hallmark way of looking at the positive, Traiman recognizes the current war as an opportunity to repair the false concepts which will enable Israel to emerge stronger and smarter.

For up to the minute news analysis by competent experts one is advised to check out JNS.com and JNS TV.

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© 2025 Media Education Trust llc

TFJ takes a serous look at cheerfully greeting others and smiling. From explaining the origin of the smiley emoji to the classic, true story of how a life was saved thanks to a cheerful greeting, this podcast (as always) gives substantial background to a rarely considered matter. More significantly, it will awaken dormant and atrophied friendliness muscles which should be a part of the daily fitness of every respectful and caring human being.  

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© 2024 Media Education Trust llc