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PODCAST

Unpacking Israeli History

Join self-confessed history nerd Dr. Noam Weissman on a journey through the fascinating and sometimes controversial events and personalities that have shaped Israel’s past and present. Each week, Noam explores the layers of Israeli history, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the cultural forces at play—drawing on a variety of sources and perspectives. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or simply looking to better understand this complex region, you’ll find a nuanced, authentic, and

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All Episodes

64:55

The Battle for Jerusalem: Ammunition Hill

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/06/23

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! In June 1967, Israeli paratroopers fought one of the Six Day War's bloodiest battles to reunify Jerusalem. Ammunition Hill, a fortified Jordanian stronghold carved into the limestone hills of East Jerusalem, became the key to the Old City. What followed was four hours of chaos, courage, and carnage in a maze of narrow trenches. This episode unpacks the battle, its heroes, and the complicated legacy

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64:41

Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman (Special...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/06/16

Rabin's life is the story of Israel itself. But who was the real Rabin? Known as a peacenik, he was in fact "Mr. Security;" a soldier-statesman whose life and death still echo through Jewish history. Noam Weissman joins Yael Steiner and Jonathan Schwab over at Jewish History Nerds for a special crossover episode on Yitzhak Rabin through the lens of Itamar Rabinovich's Yitzhak Rabin: Soldier, Leader, Statesman from the Jewish Lives series. Two Unpacked shows, three hosts, one conversation you

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44:17

Hezbollah Revisited: The Origins of Iran's Most...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/06/09

To understand why Iran and Israel are fighting, you have to understand Hezbollah. Noam Weissman revisits the story of Iran's proxy in Lebanon, which has been causing trouble for Israel since its founding in 1982. Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d68bkgIiKIwWRCn75DGaiWry9N3Oi_rPh6-X1fn_i8Q/edit This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Sarala and Danny Turkel. To sponsor an episode or to be in touch, please email noam@unpacked.media. Check out this episode

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42:50

The Scandal That Changed Israel Forever: The Rotten...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/06/02

In 1954, a group of young Jewish idealists in Egypt were recruited by Israeli intelligence to plant bombs in Western institutions, only to be betrayed by their own double agent handler before the mission even began. Arrests, torture, a show trial, two executions, and a suicide followed. Back in Israel, the fallout was just as devastating: forged documents, cover-ups, and a bitter vendetta between Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon and Prime Minister David Ben Gurion that tore the ruling party apart. This

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31:54

The Scandal That Changed Israel Forever: The Lavon...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/05/26

The scandal that changed Israel forever began with a failed secret operation in Egypt in 1954. Young Egyptian Jews, recruited by Israeli intelligence, were sent on a mission meant to protect the Jewish state. But the operation collapsed in betrayal, arrests, torture, and cover-ups. The fallout shattered public trust, ripped apart Israel’s leadership, and transformed the country’s politics for decades to come. Part 1 sets the stage: the fragile world of Egyptian Jewry, the fear gripping six-year-old

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39:33

How to Kill Israeli Self-Criticism

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/05/21

Israel is no stranger to self-examination. In 1948, Ben-Gurion distributed a poem accusing Israeli soldiers of murder. In 1982, hundreds of thousands demanded accountability after Sabra and Shatila. In 2016, the IDF convicted Elor Azaria. But in a post-October 7 world of delegitimization and libels leveled at the Jewish state, that tradition is under strain. Noam unpacks the controversy around Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times column, explores Israel’s long, remarkable history of holding itself

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56:06

Real abuse, Reckless Reporting: Haviv Rettig Gur...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/05/19

Journalist Haviv Rettig Gur joins Noam to respond to Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column alleging sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. They examine the sourcing, the suspicious timing relative to a major Hamas sexual violence report, and ask the hardest question: how do Jews stay morally serious about real problems within Israeli society when the world holds them to a standard applied to no one else?Listener note: this episode contains strong language. Read and listen to

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50:17

Masada: The Making of a Myth (Part 2)

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/05/12

Get tickets https://www.92ny.org/event/ghosts-of-a-holy-war for Ghosts of a Holy War: A Conversation with Yardena Schwartz, Dr. Noam Weissman and 92NY's Rabbi David Ingber. 19 May Tuesday. 7:30 PM ETHow did an ancient story of mass suicide become the cornerstone of Israeli national identity? In Part 2, Noam traces Masada's unlikely revival, from forgotten footnote to rallying cry in the shadow of the Holocaust. But the story rests on a single source: Josephus, a man who surrendered to Rome and

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44:20

Masada: The Siege That Became a Legend (Part 1)

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/05/05

A mountaintop. A siege. A mass death that became legend.But what if the story of Masada isn’t what we think it is? In this episode, we go back 2,000 years to the final days of the Jewish revolt against Rome, where a group of rebels made a choice that would echo through history. Along the way, we unpack the factions, the violence, and the devastating collapse of Judean society, and we ask a simple but unsettling question: How much of this story is history, how much is myth, and what does it mean

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67:28

Live with Rachel Goldberg-Polin: Grief, Faith and Hersh

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/29

When Rachel Goldberg-Polin buried her son Hersh, she heard part of herself go into the ground with him. Recorded live before nearly 1,000 people at Temple Judea in Miami, Rachel joins host Noam Weissman to discuss her new memoir, sharing how writing became a way to survive unbearable grief and asking what it means to keep going when the person who was your whole world is gone. Drawing on Jewish theology, Viktor Frankl, and a prophetic journal entry Hersh wrote as a teenager, Rachel wrestles with how

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71:11

Live from London with Scott Galloway: Why the Jewish...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/28

Scott Galloway is one of the most influential voices in the world. He's a professor, bestselling author, and podcaster with millions of followers. What most people don't know: he's also proudly Jewish. Recorded live in London, Noam sits down with Galloway for a rare, unfiltered conversation about his Jewish awakening after October 7th, why Israel keeps losing the story war, and why he's no longer staying quiet.Notes on Being a Man by Scott

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35:28

What Hasan Piker Got Wrong About Einstein and Zionism

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/23

Hasan Piker weaponized Albert Einstein on Pod Save America to condemn Zionism. But he left out most of the story. Noam addresses Piker's troubling statements about Einstein by tracing his full relationship with Zionism, exposing how a confident but incomplete portrait collapses under the weight of the full historical record.The Problem with Hasan Piker's Einstein Story, by Yair Rosenberg: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/deep-shtetl/ Check out our past episodes of Unpacking Israeli

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73:06

Israel's Greatest Paradox with Micah Goodman

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/21

Why did Israel's enemies, Sinwar, Khamenei and Nasrallah, all believe Israel was on the verge of collapse? Israeli philosopher Micah Goodman joins Noam to reveal the deep misreading of Israeli society at the heart of that miscalculation. They unpack why Israel's hybrid of radical individualism and fierce collectivism is its greatest strategic asset, and why the world keeps getting it wrong. Here is a link to Micah Goodman's work: https://micahgoodman.com/en/books/ Note: This episode was

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58:22

Is Israeli-Palestinian Peace Still Possible? Ittay...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/14

Host Noam Weissman sits down with Ittay Flescher, educator and education director at Seeds of Peace in Jerusalem, for an honest conversation about whether Israeli Palestinian peace is still possible after October 7th. Ittay, author of The Holy and the Broken, walks Noam through the major frameworks for resolving the conflict, from the two state solution to his preferred model, a confederation. Noam presses on trust, polling trends, and the enormous risks any peace proposal carries. Ultimately, this

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38:03

Revisiting Osirak: The Airstrike That Shocked the World

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/04/07

We're revisiting one of our most important episodes: the story of Operation Opera, Israel's 1981 surprise airstrike on Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, because the questions it raises feel more urgent than ever. As Israel confronts Iran, what do you do about a threat that isn't fully here yet but you believe is coming? Begin faced that exact dilemma, defied the entire world, and established the Begin Doctrine in the process. With Passover approaching, a holiday about the courage to act before it's too

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66:46

Holy Wars and Sacred Ground: Live from Atlanta with...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/03/31

In this special live episode from Atlanta, Noam Weissman sits down with journalist and author Yardena Schwartz to explore two of the most contested places on earth: Al-Aqsa and Hebron. Drawing on Yardena's book Ghosts of a Holy War, they unpack six pivotal but underknown moments in the conflict's history, from the 1903 Kishinev pogrom to the 1977 Mahapach. Along the way, they trace how disinformation, religious identity, and competing claims to sacred ground shaped the crisis we see today.Please

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38:58

Israel Open Mic: What Does the Shekel Reveal About...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/03/24

A listener question about Israel's currency sends Noam on a fascinating journey through Jewish history. From secretly printing Israel's first bills in New York to battling hyperinflation to the surprising decision to put poets on today's shekel. Four currencies, 78 years, and one remarkable story about what a country's money says about its soul.Here is a link to Jewish History Nerds: The Roman Coins that Celebrated the Fall of Judea

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36:07

The Kibbutz Movement : From Frontier Defense to...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/03/17

In Part 2 of our series on the history of the kibbutz, Noam Weissman explores how these communal villages helped shape Israel’s borders, identity, and culture. From frontier defense and the battles of 1948 to privatization and change, the kibbutz movement evolved dramatically, yet its core ethos of community and collective responsibility still endures.Here is the link to learn more about Kibbutzim: https://kibbutzvolunteers.org.il/program Here is a link to sources used in the

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55:25

The Iran War Explained with Haviv Rettig Gur

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/03/12

As war between Israel and Iran intensifies, Noam Weissman sits down with journalist Haviv Rettig Gur to unpack what’s really driving the conflict. Is this about stopping Iran’s nuclear program, American strategy, or Israeli politics? Using a “Pick Your Theory” framework, they examine the biggest explanations, and what this historic moment means for Israel and the Middle East. This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored in memory of Leo Bernstein and also by Andrea and Larry

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35:29

The Kibbutz Movement: Israel’s Radical Social...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/03/10

What is a kibbutz, and why did it play such an outsized role in Israeli history? In Part 1 of this two-part series, Noam Weissman traces the origins of the kibbutz movement back to Degania, the first kibbutz, founded in 1910 by young Jewish pioneers of the Second Aliyah. He explores the ideals that shaped early kibbutz life—socialism, egalitarianism, collective labor, and a deep connection to the land—along with radical experiments in communal living. This episode examines how the kibbutz helped

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