This Week Unpacked

Benny Gantz, Israel’s Defense Minister, recently declared that the country was designating six Palestinian NGOs (or “nongovernmental organizations”) as terror groups. Why? Are these NGOs really connected to terrorist organizations? And what do Israelis think about these designations?

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See more about Entebbe: https://jewishunpacked.com/operation-thunderbolt-the-raid-on-entebbe/

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Sources

https://www.jns.org/gantz-names-six-palestinian-ngos-as-terror-groups-us-asks-israel-to-clarify/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson%27s_Field_hijackings

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/on-this-day-israeli-minister-rehavam-zeevi-assassinated-by-terrorists-20-years-ago-682206

https://www.idf.il/en/articles/palestinian-terror/today-we-remember-the-fogel-family-massacre/

https://twitter.com/NGOmonitor/status/1451499358092939265

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-rushing-to-defend-terrorism-linked-ngos-20211029-mn47va7rczf3pdtiw2uissy6ty-story.html

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/israel-must-prove-blacklisted-ngos-funded-terrorism-editorial-682904

https://www.jns.org/israeli-security-services-uncover-finance-network-linking-european-ngos-to-palestinian-terror-group/

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-great-damage-labor-party-head-condemns-classing-palestinian-ngos-as-terror-groups-1.10324241

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/.premium-a-stain-upon-israel-1.10318621

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/palestinian-ngos-human-rights-workers-or-agents-of-terror-683414

https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/10456

https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/19058.html

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/palestinian-ngos-human-rights-workers-or-agents-of-terror-683414

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

There are now 100,000 trained and ready fighters in Hezbollah, according to its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. This week, we explore: what is Hezbollah? What is its history, and its relationship with Israel? And how worried should we be?

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See more about the Lebanon War: https://jewishunpacked.com/sabra-and-shatila-what-happened-and-why-it-matters/

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Sources

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/03/Iranian-View-of-Israel/387085/

https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/the-amia-daia-bombing-terror-in-argentina   https://www.adl.org/resources/glossary-terms/hezbollah   https://www.ajc.org/news/ajc-praises-germanys-ban-of-all-hezbollah-activities   https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Country-Reports-on-Terrorism-2019-2.pdf   https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2019-03-08/will-hezbollahs-rise-be-its-downfall   https://unpacked.education/israel-and-iran-from-allies-to-archenemies/   https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/beirut-barracks-blown-up   https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-energy-envoy-to-visit-lebanon-will-discuss-maritime-border-talks-with-israel/   https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-mediator-hochstein-says-lebanon-israel-maritime-talks-need-be-quick-al-hadath-2021-10-21/   https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/lebanon-touts-new-opportunity-for-maritime-border-talks-with-israel-682682   https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-a-change-hezbollahs-boast-of-100000-fighters-is-not-aimed-at-israel/   https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-has-hezbollah-become-too-big-to-fail-1.10316189  

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

 

This year in Israel is a sabbatical year, also known as a shmita year. We’ll explain what that is, and what the practical implications are for Jews all over the world.

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Sources

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19MiVPVA19C6GJB9KufhQiM_1JV7amB_l/view

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-israelis-who-buy-farmland-to-let-it-lie-fallow/ https://buy.otzar-haretz.co.il/english/ https://www.jpost.com/opinion/rabbinic-leadership-must-harmonize-shmita-halacha-with-good-of-society-676596 https://shmitaproject.org/about-project/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force navigator, has been missing since 1986. Recently, the Mossad carried out an operation to find out any new information about his fate. In this week’s episode, we explore Israel’s philosophy to never give up, and never leave a soldier behind.

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Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/why-is-israel-still-searching-for-ron-arad/

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Sources

https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Gifts_to_the_Poor.8.10?lang=bi https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Gittin.4.6?lang=he-en&utm_source=etzion.org.il&utm_medium=sefaria_linker https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-israel-must-do-everything-to-bring-soldiers-home-1.10276763 https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/prisoners-dilemma-137099 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/the-ron-arad-saga-national-trauma-or-national-obsession-681380 https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-israel-s-obsessive-worship-of-the-dead-1.10272770 https://unpacked.education/video/eli-cohen-the-mossads-master-spy/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=weekly-21-10-12&utm_campaign=ued-reengagement https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-israel-must-do-everything-to-bring-soldiers-home-1.10276763 https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/10/07/wife-of-missing-navigator-ron-arad-defends-operation/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

After hundreds of Iraqi leaders spoke out for normalizing relations with Israel, and potentially joining the Abraham Accords, but then very quickly retracted their call. Rivky tells the whole story, including the history of Jewish Iraq, and asks, what should we make of this story?

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Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/why-did-iraqis-call-for-peace-with-israel/

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Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/opinion/israel-uae.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/iraq-abraham-accords-israel-sunni-shiite-11632495291

https://www.memri.org/jttm/iran-backed-iraqi-militias-response-normalization-conference-erbil-we-will-attack-israeli

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_country

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-expulsion-that-backfired-when-iraq-kicked-out-its-jews/

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/iraq-virtual-jewish-history-tour

https://unpacked.education/video/resolution-181-the-zionist-dream-comes-true/

https://unpacked.education/video/six-day-war-project/

https://unpacked.education/podcast/the-yom-kippur-war-a-national-catastrophe/

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iraqi-ambassador-inappropriately-quoted-by-media-on-israel-and-palestine-595336

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44466573

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44466573

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/calls-peace-israel-backfire-after-iraqi-conference-n1280301

https://www.facebook.com/210288219549415/posts/402912500286985/?d=n

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/despite-calls-for-peace-iraq-israel-normalization-still-a-distant-dream/

https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/30/iraq-israel-iran-palestine-abraham-accords-middle-east-relations/

https://www.facebook.com/IsraelinIraqi

https://twitter.com/naftalibennett/status/1441807050728742912

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

After the U.S. House of Representatives voted for Iron Dome funding, calls for the death of bipartisan support for Israel were heard from Jewish media all over the country. But...is it true? And, backing up - why does Israel even get foreign aid from the U.S.? Is it different than other types of aid? And what are people saying about it? Rivky breaks down everything you need to know.

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Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/was-the-temporary-blocking-of-iron-dome-funding-a-turning-point/

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Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz5WI8VZC1A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=j6aZH4egHCg

https://news.yahoo.com/yes-wept-aoc-explains-why-203300617.html

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hOiNo95QUvneEXbaULj4H?si=UU9DeMMIQYyZfGMTVU63nw&dl_branch=1

https://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/181-web-UPDATED.pdf

https://jewishinsider.com/2021/04/betty-mccollum-legislation-israel-aid/

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjvsmjt7k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04m1TtlfCOk

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/aid-israel-michael-oren

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/opinion/israel-democrat-bowman-jayapal-tlaib.html

https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-baleful-significance-of-the-democrats-iron-dome-fiasco/

https://www.jns.org/survey-finds-nearly-two-thirds-of-jewish-students-feel-unsafe-half-hide-identity/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hOiNo95QUvneEXbaULj4H?si=90d32b86200f4330

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3g3N-b2Hb4&t=1089s

https://jewishunpacked.com/does-israel-represent-all-jews-the-great-debate/

https://jewishunpacked.com/the-great-debate-around-german-reparations/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

For September, we're doing something different. Presenting, Unpacking Israeli History.

Begin and Ben Gurion had some epics battles, but one of the biggest ones happened in 1952, as these two Israeli giants battled about whether to take German reparations after the Holocaust. In this episode, Noam looks all the way back at this crazy story, and leaves us asking, who was right?

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Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Alan Fisher and Barbara Sommer, and Jon and Rachie Teller.

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Learn more about Unpacked: https://jewishunpacked.com/about/

Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked 

See the full season of Unpacking Israeli History here: https://jewishunpacked.com/podcast-series/unpacking-israeli-history/

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Sources

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/ta-nehisi-coates-reparations.html

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/67de380e-8b71-412c-8d06-70af9b31da25

https://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/displaced-persons/daily2.htm

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-breaks-50-year-record-for-most-rainfall-613693

tastecooking.com/truth-israeli-couscous/

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144226014.pdf

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/07/700356426/thousands-of-israelis-now-call-berlin-home-and-make-their-cultural-mark

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/labor-and-internment-camps-in-north-africa

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110255386.100/html

http://auschwitz.org/en/history/punishments-and-executions/

https://blog.nli.org.il/en/reparations-agreement/

https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/28248/1001729.pdf?sequence=1

https://www.aicgs.org/2019/11/the-september-1952-reparations-agreement-between-west-germany-and-israel-the-beginning-of-a-remarkable-friendship/

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/german-holocaust-reparations

Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul, by Danny Gordis

Ben-Gurion: Father of Modern Israel, Anita Shapira

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

For September, we're doing something different. Presenting, Unpacking Israeli History. On Nov 10, 1975, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 3379, determining that Zionism is "a form of racism and racial discrimination.” That’s quite a loaded description! In this episode, Noam Weissman breaks down what led to this infamous resolution, the UN’s relationship with Israel, and what it means to us, almost 50 years later.

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Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Alan Fisher and Barbara Sommer, and Jon and Rachie Teller.

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Learn more about Unpacked: https://jewishunpacked.com/about/

Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked 

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/video/un-resolution-3379-is-zionism-racism/

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Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr1ioQIxa4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpC2HdL-95M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv8Hqlubst4&t=44s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7chKW7H6s8M

https://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/761C1063530766A7052566A2005B74D1

https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-nostalgic-for-the-ussr-on-the-kibbutzim-1.5233153

https://www.marxists.org/subject/jewish/caution-zionism.pdf

https://www.jta.org/1952/10/07/archive/bonn-charges-ussr-exports-nazi-anti-semitic-films-to-arabs

Sachar, A History of the Jews in the Modern World

http://proceedings.informingscience.org/InSITE2019/InSITE19p035-070Cohen5666.pdf

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/the%20khartoum%20resolutions.aspx

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB106419296113226300

https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/642340?ln=en

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/10/23/issue.html

https://content.ecf.org.il/files/M00901_UNGARes3379DebateEnglish.pdf

https://www.jta.org/1975/11/12/archive/kristallnacht-at-the-united-nations-100000-in-rally-to-protest-against-anti-zionist-resolution-mass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuJXdAvPCrU&t=252s

https://unwatch.org/moynihans-moment-the-historic-1975-u-n-speech-in-response-to-zionism-is-racism/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/12/17/un-repeals-resolution-linking-zionism-to-racism/70349a7c-ae07-40ea-b37d-ee711e0636eb/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

For September, we're doing something different. Presenting, Unpacking Israeli History.

Have you heard about Israel's secret nuclear weapons in Dimona? Yeah, we haven't either. In this episode, Noam digs deep into how Israel's not-so-secret nuclear program came to be, and asks, does the nuclear program make Israel safer?  

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Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Alan Fisher and Barbara Sommer, and Jon and Rachie Teller.

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Learn more about Unpacked: https://jewishunpacked.com/about/

Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked 

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/unpacking-operation-solomon-30-years-later/

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Sources

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.2968/066004008

https://journals.sagepub.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/sage/journals/content/bosb/2010/bosb_66_4/066004008/20170817/images/large/10.2968_066004008-img2.jpeg

https://americanhistory.si.edu/subs/history/timeline/different/nuclear_deterrence.html

https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/The-Khrushchev-era-1953-64

https://books.google.com/books?id=si1oUnk5N3QC&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/background-and-overview-israel-war-of-independence

https://gould.usc.edu/why/students/orgs/ilj/assets/docs/18-1%20Seidman.pdf

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/israel-studies-an-anthology-israel-s-economy:

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cohen-israel.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Suez-Canal

https://books.google.com/books?id=jGtVsBne7PgC

https://www.jstor.org/stable/30245572?seq=1

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/france

https://fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/

https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/israeli-nuclear-program

jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/nuclear-test-ban-treaty

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/israel/documents/reveal/index.html

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-a-standoff-with-the-u-s-almost-blew-up-israel-s-nuclear-program-1.7193419?v=1623033435057

https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/dc.html?doc=5983539-National-Security-Archive-Doc-04-Director-of

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10801564#:~:text=Eventually%2C%20a%20U.N.%2Dbrokered%20ceasefire,heavily%20populated%20Palestinian%20West%20Bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/truth-israels-secret-nuclear-arsenal

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/world/middleeast/29nixon.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/7/newsid_3014000/3014623.stm

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/21/international/middleeast/israeli-who-revealed-nuclear-secrets-is-freed.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/15/truth-israels-secret-nuclear-arsenal

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/09/the-point-of-no-return/308186/

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/select-quotations-of-david-ben-gurion

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

For September, we're doing something different. Presenting, Unpacking Israeli History.

You might have heard of the Beta Israel, the community of Israel’s Ethiopian community. In this episode, Noam Weissman tells their story - not only their rich Jewish heritage and history, but also the story of how they got to Israel, in Operation Solomon, and their integration into Israeli society over the last thirty years. It’s thrilling, inspiring, but also complicated, and difficult at times. In other words, it’s a microcosm of the entire state of Israel, and the Jewish community the world over.

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Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Alan Fisher and Barbara Sommer, and Jon and Rachie Teller.

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Learn more about Unpacked: https://jewishunpacked.com/about/

Visit Unpacked on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/unpacked 

Teaching about this topic? Check out our relevant educator resources here: https://unpacked.education/unpacking-operation-solomon-30-years-later/

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Sources

https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-backlash-barkan-winery-says-ethiopian-workers-to-work-as-usual/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/11/10-key-findings-about-jewish-americans/ft_2021-05-11_jewishkeyfindings_01/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32813056

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beta-Israel

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-history-of-ethiopian-jewry/

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/timeline-of-ethiopian-jewish-history

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/who-are-the-ethiopian-jews

https://minorityrights.org/minorities/beta-israel/

https://tamidnyc.org/passover-around-world/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/outcry-as-barkan-winery-shuns-ethiopian-workers-over-doubts-of-their-jewishness/

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-07-29-1996211101-story.html

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ethiopian-jewry-no-longer-a-lost-tribe/

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/op-ed-contributors/rabbi-ovadia-yosef-and-the-ethiopian-jews-328178

https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/halakhah/teshuvot/19861990/saltzman_ethiopian.pdf

https://www.aish.com/sp/so/My-Treacherous-Journey-across-the-Ethiopian-Desert.html

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-lifts-sweeping-ban-on-ethiopian-israeli-blood-donations-1.5483820

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ministry-lifts-ban-on-ethiopian-blood-donations/

https://www.enp.org.il/en/background.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kebra_Nagast

https://www.torahmusings.com/2017/12/rav-ovadya-yosef-whether-ethiopian-jews-need-reconvert/

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/11/10-key-findings-about-jewish-americans/ft_2021-05-11_jewishkeyfindings_01/

Lewin-Epstein, Noah; Cohen, Yinon (18 August 2019). "Ethnic origin and identity in the Jewish population of Israel". Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 45 (11): 2118–2137.

Steven Kaplan, "A Brief History of the Beta Israel", in The Jews of Ethiopia: A People in Transition

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media