This Week Unpacked

Israel’s new government is made up of eight parties that don’t see eye to eye with one another on many key issues. Will this government of clashing ideologies actually work, and what can we learn from the theory of a “team of rivals”?

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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/israels-disengagement-from-gaza/ 

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Sources

• https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/opinion/naftali-bennett-for-israel-two-state-is-no-solution.html
• https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/05/israel-yair-lapid-netanyahu-elections/
• https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/israel-new-government-netanyahu-explained
• https://www.npr.org/2012/11/15/165220138/doris-kearns-goodwin-on-lincoln-and-his-team-of-rivals
• https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1400187236432371712
• https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/editors-note/337719/in-israel-a-test-of-decency-and-unity-over-ideology/
• https://twitter.com/bezalelsm/status/1405163627557134345
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-you-need-to-know-about-israels-diverse-new-government/id1339492752?i=1000525933852
• https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-this-fractious-coalition-gives-me-hope/
• https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/shin-bet-chief-elected-officials-must-stop-the-violent-incitement-670200
• https://unpacked.education/podcast/the-assassination-of-yitzhak-rabin/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGxU-C2DfOE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6vipTtT-uY

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Pew’s recent survey of American Jewry brought some odd results. Are we more religious, or less religious? More diverse, or even more siloed? Do we feel connected to Israel, or feel more apart than ever? This week, Avi and Sara unpack the Pew study, and ask, what is the future of Judaism in America?

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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/israels-disengagement-from-gaza/ 

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Sources

• https://jewishunpacked.com/what-we-can-learn-about-the-future-of-judaism-from-pews-new-survey-of-american-jews/
• https://www.pewforum.org/2021/05/11/jewish-americans-in-2020/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Last week, a surprise coalition was formed between a motley crew of characters and parties from all over the political spectrum, all in an effort to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and usher in a new era in Israeli politics.

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

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

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Sources

• https://jewishunpacked.com/who-is-naftali-bennett-and-what-does-israels-new-government-look-like/
• https://jewishunpacked.com/why-did-raam-an-arab-islamist-party-partner-up-with-israels-first-kippah-wearing-prime-minister/
• https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/how-did-bennett-win-israels-prime-minister-race-after-the-election-670076
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55UxLCjHwlc&t=93s
• https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-leading-religious-zionist-rabbis-tell-public-to-do-everything-to-block-new-gov-t-1.9877748
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/netanyahu-trump-capitol-mob-siege/2021/06/06/40a1d10e-c68a-11eb-89a4-b7ae22aa193e_story.html?
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-public-prefers-bennett-lapid-govt-to-election-but-few-expect-it-to-last/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Last month, a wounded IDF veteran with PTSD set himself on fire in an act of protest, leading to a government plan to reform care for veterans with PTSD.

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

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

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Sources

• https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-vet-with-ptsd-warned-he-may-hurt-himself-before-self-immolation-report/
• https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/1618745120-main-tel-aviv-highway-brought-to-a-standstill-in-protest-at-poor-treatment-of-soldiers-with-ptsd
• https://jewishunpacked.com/why-zionism-is-still-important-to-so-many-today-opinion/
• https://jewishunpacked.com/the-unique-phenomenon-of-the-idfs-lone-soldier/
• https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/fundraiser-in-memory-of-itzik-saidyan-to-save-lives-of-1500-report-666647
• https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/new-budget-to-improve-treatment-of-idf-disabled-veterans-667418

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

30 years ago, this week, was Operation Solomon, the famous Israeli airlift that brought more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in less than 36 hours. We’ll remember Operation Solomon and ask, how has the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel fared in these 30 years?

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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/israels-disengagement-from-gaza/ 

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Sources

• https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/final-aliyah-flight-to-bring-jewish-ethiopians-to-israel-lands-661647
• https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/meet-the-first-ethiopian-born-minister-in-israel/
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/lt-yod-to-become-first-ethiopian-israeli-air-force-pilot/
• https://idanraichelproject.com/en/album/the-idan-raichel-project/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nss3FsrgJo
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/policeman-who-killed-ethiopian-israeli-teen-charged-with-negligent-homicide/
• https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-to-compensate-ethiopian-rabbis-for-decades-of-discriminatory-funding-1.8851682
• https://unpacked.education/sigd-celebrating-the-history-and-culture-of-ethiopian-jewry/

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

How did a small neighborhood in East Jerusalem lead to such a big crisis? Sheikh Jarrah has become a focal point for the current situation in Israel. Avi and Sara unpack the complex history of Sheikh Jarrah and how what started thousands of years ago is playing out in real time today.

We’re not trying to show that the Palestinians are wrong and the Israelis are right, or vice versa. We’re educators and journalists who try to dig into complex stories, and explain each one in a way that is deeper and more nuanced than how they are often presented.

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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/israels-disengagement-from-gaza/ 

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Sources

• https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-east-jerusalems-sheikh-jarrah-palestinians-brace-for-battle-over-evictions/
• https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-204525/
• https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/shots-fired-at-salem-border-crossing-in-west-bank-two-terrorist-killed-667513
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-to-decide-on-jerusalem-day-flag-march-amid-fears-of-escalating-violence/
• https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1391681115757363200
• https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-sends-reinforcements-to-gaza-border-as-hamas-issues-ultimatum-on-jerusalem/
• https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1390344775837130752

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Unpacked is a division of OpenDor Media

Polarized. In more and more areas of life, that’s how the world increasingly feels. Whether on social media, our favorite YouTube channel, or at our schools and universities, it’s easy to spend our days in an echo chamber, hearing ideas we agree with, and not even encountering the ideas we disagree with.

But is there any way to break out of these silos? To see the bigger picture, in a way that helps us understand stories, in all of their complexity — and empathize with the people impacted by those stories.

Introducing our hosts: Avi Posen, a Jewish educator living in Haifa and Sara Himeles, a writer living in New York City.

Polarization affects every community, and we think everyone could benefit from breaking through echo chambers and reaching outside of their silos. In this podcast, we’ll focus on how we can achieve this in the diverse Jewish world.

Whether you live in Israel, or the Diaspora; identify with the political right, or left; or are Orthodox, Reform, or not observant at all, if you’re curious about current events in the Jewish world, this podcast is for you.

Each week, we’ll unpack the most interesting, controversial news stories from Israel and the Jewish world. We’ll give you the history and context behind each story, and share multiple perspectives on the issue.

We’re not here to prove a point, or tell you what to think; we’re here to uncover, excavate, and explore each story.

And we guarantee you’ll leave each episode more informed, compassionate, and empathetic, with an expanded perspective of the people and ideas influencing today’s Jewish world.

So join us. Follow and listen wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes every Tuesday.

This Week Unpacked is brought to you by Unpacked, a division of OpenDor Media.