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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

religion & spirituality judaism

All Episodes

38:58

After the Massacre: Remembering October 7

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/10/06

Three years after October 7, Noam Weissman visits the Tkuma car graveyard, Kibbutz Be’eri, and Netiv Ha’Asara to ask how Israelis remember tragedy while rebuilding their homes and lives. Through conversations with survivors and community members, this episode explores grief, resilience, Zionism, Jewish memory, and the responsibility to tell the stories of those who were lost, as well as those determined to carry on.Here are links to episodes about the October 7th massacre by Hamas from our

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58:48

What Would Rav Kook Think of Religious Zionism Today?

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/10/01

In the third and final episode of our series on religious Zionism, Noam Weissman explores how every major debate within religious Zionism, from West Bank settlements and the Haredi draft to the relationship between faith, ethics, and nationalism, leads back to Rav Abraham Isaac Kook.Noam is joined by scholar Yehudah Mirsky, author of Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution, to discuss the mystic, chief rabbi, and foundational thinker whose complex legacy continues to shape Israeli religious and

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61:20

The Fight for the Soul of Religious Zionism

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/30

UPDATED: In part 2 of his series on Religious Zionism, Noam traces a movement as it moves from the sidelines to the center of Israeli life, and asks what happens when religious certainty collides with political reality. The story moves through the founding of Gush Emunim, the theological rupture of Oslo, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, and the earthquake of the 2005 Gaza disengagement. It ends by examining where the movement stands today. This is a story about land, redemption, and the danger

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51:51

The Fight for the Soul of Religious Zionism

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/29

In part 2 of his series on Religious Zionism, Noam traces a movement as it moves from the sidelines to the center of Israeli life, and asks what happens when religious certainty collides with political reality. The story moves through the founding of Gush Emunim, the theological rupture of Oslo, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, and the earthquake of the 2005 Gaza disengagement. It ends by examining where the movement stands today. This is a story about land, redemption, and the danger of being

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51:36

Who Put God into Zionism?

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/22

In Part 1 of our series on Religious Zionism, Noam Weissman traces how Jewish longing for Zion evolved into a religious movement that reshaped Zionism. From early rabbinic thinkers to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the founding of Israel, and the Six-Day War, this is the story of how religion and Zionism became intertwined. What happens when a dream of redemption collides with the realities of a modern Jewish state, and what does that mean for Israel today?Here is a link to sources. Special thanks to

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50:35

Don’t Leave Zionism to the Extremists – with Yossi...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/15

What does it mean to be a Zionist? Yossi Klein Halevi has asked, and lived that question in radically different ways. He tells Noam Weissman about his journey from the Jewish Defense League and the Zionist right to the settler movement and political center, and explains how his views on Israel, the Palestinians, democracy, and Jewish identity have evolved.Yossi Klein Halevi If you like this podcast, you’ll love SAPIR, the quarterly journal of ideas edited by Bret Stephens. Subscribe for FREE at

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52:20

Tel Hai: Rethinking Israel's Founding Myth

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/08

Tel Hai is a small historic site in the Galilee where, in 1920, a tense standoff between Jewish farmers and Arab fighters erupted into a deadly firefight. Among the dead was Joseph Trumpeldor, a one-armed war hero already legendary before Tel Hai. Within days, the battle became one of the founding myths of the State of Israel, immortalized by Trumpeldor's famous last words and a national narrative of sacrifice. Noam Weissman unpacks what actually happened at Tel Hai, how the myth was built and

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64:55

Special Crossover: Can Israelis And Palestinians Ever...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/03

Will the war ever truly come to an end? Can two populations with so much pain find common ground? Or is the hurt too deep, too vast to overcome? There are no questions more urgent than these, and there is no better guest to wonder with than Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Palestinian activist and author of Hamas And Its Two Million Hostages. In this special crossover episode originally aired on Wondering Jews, Ahmed shares with Noam his own own tragic story of loss, why he holds Hamas responsible for

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33:56

Good Jews Only? Confronting New York Magazine's...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/09/01

Noam Weissman unpacks the firestorm aroundNew York Magazine’s"Habibi City" issue and traces the deeper historical pattern behind it: the demand that Jews prove they belong by disavowing Zionism, Israel, and sometimes each other. From Poland’s 1968 “anti-Zionist” purge to today’s SWANA purity tests, this episode is about the seductive pull of belonging, and the old politics of exclusion dressed up in today’s language of identity, justice, and solidarity. Here's a link to sources. Follow Noam on

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63:50

Durban 2001: How Zionism Became a Dirty Word

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/08/25

In August 2001, Jewish delegates arrived at the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban expecting to fight bigotry. Instead they walked into what Tom Lantos called the most sickening display of hatred for Jews since the Nazi period. Noam traces how Durban revived "Zionism is racism," seeded the modern BDS movement, and still shapes how the world sees Jews and Israel today, closing with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and his question of whether the Jewish people are alone or simply apart. Here's a link

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64:58

Why Israeli Elections Never Produce a Clear Winner

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/08/18

How do Israeli elections actually work? Israelis don't vote directly for prime minister, no party has ever won a majority, and a party with just a handful of Knesset seats can sometimes hold the keys to government.Noam Weissman sits down with former Knesset member Rachel Azaria to unpack coalition building, the 3.25% electoral threshold, the power of Haredi and Arab parties, and why Israeli politics can look so confusing from an American perspective. They also explore the biggest divides shaping

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39:58

Live from Camp Tel Yehudah: Teens Talk Antisemitism,...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/08/13

What do Jewish teens really think about Israel? Noam Weissman takes the podcast to Camp Tel Yehudah for a special live episode, exploring Israel, October 7, Jewish identity, and the future of peace. Their answers might surprise you.Listen to this raw, honest conversation about Israeli history, Jewish identity, and the questions shaping the next generation of Jewish leaders. This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is sponsored by the Marcus Foundation. To sponsor an episode or to be in touch,

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40:42

Israel's Eurovision story: Boos, ballads, and...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/08/11

A little Israeli boy from a poor Yemenite family grew up, transitioned, and became the most scandalous, fabulous Eurovision winner in history: meet Dana International. In part 2 of our Eurovision series, the story continues through PingPong's Syrian-boyfriend fever dream, Netta's chicken-noise feminist anthem, and the raw, post-October 7th performances of Eden Golan, Yuval Raphael, and Noam Bettan. Even with low jury scores and boycotts, Israeli songs keep winning the public's heart. Eurovision was

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30:59

Israel's Eurovision story: How a Middle Eastern...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/08/01

Why does Israel compete in Eurovision if it's not even in Europe? In Part 1, Noam Weissman unpacks how Israel went from Eurovision newcomer to music powerhouse, exploring the songs, stars, and surprising moments that put the Jewish state on Europe's biggest stage. It's a story of glitter, geopolitics, and Israeli identity. And the biggest Eurovision moment was still to come.This episode is sponsored by Friedkin Philanthropies and the Koret Foundation, and is inspired by ISRAEL 21c If you want to

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43:44

Live from Camp Lavi: Teens Take on Israel's Toughest...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/07/28

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you!It's summer. Where else do you want to be? Sleepaway camp, obviously. Unpacking Israeli History packed its bags and went to camp. Noam Weissman fielded questions from hundreds of Jewish teens at Camp Lavi, in a live show like no other. Real questions from real campers on the moments in Israeli history that spark the fiercest debates: the Altalena Affair, the Entebbe rescue, Zionism, where

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35:32

Israel Open Mic: Is the Palestinian flag Illegal in...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/07/21

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! A man is detained over a kippah bearing both the Israeli and Palestinian flags. Was it legal? Noam unpacks the surprising history of the Palestinian flag, why Israel once banned it, and why it remains one of the country's most contested symbols. Here are pictures of Alex Sinclair's

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61:55

Should We Retire the Word ‘Zionism’? With Haviv...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/07/14

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Noam sits down with Haviv Rettig Gur in Jerusalem to unpack why Israel feels like a tinderbox, whether it's time to retire the word "Zionism," the debate over Palestinian identity, and what the future holds for the US Israel alliance. Fresh off three intense days traveling the country, from the Gaza border to Jerusalem's Old City, Haviv challenges assumptions on the left and the right, offering

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33:42

50 Years Since Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/07/07

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to hear from you! Fifty years ago, Air France Flight 139 took off from Tel Aviv on the morning of June 27, 1976. No one could have suspected that the soon-to-be-hijacked flight was about to lead to one of the world's most daring and risky rescue missions. To mark 50 years since the raid, we're bringing back one of our favorite episodes: Noam unpacks Operation Thunderbolt, Israel's secret operation to rescue the

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77:06

Nas Daily: The Identity Crisis October 7 Forced Me to...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/06/30

Please fill out this short survey. Go to: ⁠unpacked.bio/podsurvey⁠. We want to hear from you! Does identity define us or limit us? Noam searches for answers with Nuseir Yassin, better known as internet personality Nas Daily. Nas Daily, has 68 million followers and a media company reaching 300 million people a month. He is also Israeli and Arab, and the world keeps telling him to pick one. This is not a political episode. It's a conversation about identity, belonging, and what it costs to hold

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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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