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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

37:54

IsraAid After October 7: An Unprecedented...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/01/27

In Part 2 of this two-part Unpacking Israeli History series on Israeli humanitarian aid, Noam Weissman follows IsraAid as it responds to the trauma and displacement inside Israel after October 7—building emergency schools, delivering psychological first aid, and supporting devastated communities. Then the story turns to an unprecedented chapter: IsraAid quietly helping facilitate aid and essential services for civilians in Gaza, navigating Israeli security concerns, international NGO bureaucracy,

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54:00

Why Does Israel Rush into Disaster Zones? IsraAid...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/01/20

After October 7, stories about Israeli humanitarian aid can sound like hasbara—a Hebrew term for public diplomacy or advocacy meant to improve Israel’s image. So in Part 1 of this two-part series, Noam Weissman asks a harder question: why does Israel keep rushing into disaster zones, often at real risk and with little strategic payoff? The episode traces Israel’s early “soft diplomacy” under Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir, then turns to IsraAid, Israel’s leading humanitarian NGO, through its work in

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69:35

Hard Conversations About Israel: 4 Real-Life Case...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/01/13

In this follow-up conversation, Noam Weissman and emotional attunement expert Toba Hellerstein move from theory to practice—using real-world case studies to explore how people are actually talking about Israel right now. Drawing on listener emails and educator questions, they tackle common scenarios like responding to social media posts about “ending the occupation,” navigating influential podcasts, addressing concerns about Gaza without triggering antisemitic labels, and supporting Jewish students

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34:43

Israel Open Mic: What Does “Israel’s Right to Exist”...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2026/01/06

Complete our 2025 survey: ⁠https://unpacked.bio/uihsurvey⁠Book for the Jerusalem Marathon "Return, Reconnect, and Run for Resilience" tour: ⁠sababatravel.com⁠ In this Open Mic episode, Noam responds to a listener, Aviva's question: what does it even mean to say “Israel has a right to exist”—and who gets to decide that “right”? Noam argues that the debate is really about Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He makes the case that the more urgent conversation is about how Israel exists,

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31:13

Ma'alot Revisited: When Terrorists Came for the Children

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/12/30

Complete our 2025 survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/uihsurvey⁠⁠⁠⁠Help us take Unpacked podcasts further by supporting our crowdfunding campaign: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/podgift2025 Noam revisits one of the most devastating episodes in Israeli history—the 1974 Ma’alot school hostage massacre—and explains why, after October 7, this story feels more urgent and unbearable than ever. What began as a joyful field trip marking Israel’s 26th birthday—over a hundred religious high school students

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55:39

Intelligence Operations that Shaped Israel’s Story...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/12/23

Complete our 2025 survey: ⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/uihsurvey⁠⁠⁠ Help us take Unpacked podcasts further by supporting our crowdfunding campaign: ⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/podgift2025 How do you get people who don’t talk to talk? In this special live Unpacking Israeli History, Noam Weissman sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and Israeli intelligence expert Ronen Bergman (author of Rise and Kill First) for a smart, funny, and deeply human look at the Mossad, Shin Bet, and Israel’s

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24:03

The Bondi Beach Massacre and the Meaning of Peoplehood

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/12/16

Complete our 2025 survey: ⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/uihsurvey⁠⁠Help us take Unpacked podcasts further by supporting our crowdfunding campaign: ⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/podgift2025 In the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre, Noam tells three Hanukkah stories about Jews choosing light anyway, a menorah in Bergen-Belsen, hostages lighting candles in captivity, and a defiant window in Nazi Germany. Then an epilogue from Billings, Montana, when a community answered antisemitism with thousands of menorahs in

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41:05

When Sadat Came to Jerusalem (re-release)

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/12/09

Complete our 2025 survey: https://unpacked.bio/uihsurveyBook for the Jerusalem Marathon "Return, Reconnect, and Run for Resilience" tour: sababatravel.com Help us take Unpacked podcasts further by supporting our crowdfunding campaign: https://unpacked.bio/podgift2025 In a moment when debates feel existential, it’s worth remembering that history can still turn sharply. That’s why we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes: the story of the weekend Anwar Sadat came to

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67:38

The Hebron Massacre and the Myths Fueling Today’s...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/12/02

Noam Weissman talks with journalist and author Yardena Schwartz about her book Ghosts of a Holy War and how the 1929 Hebron massacre helped ignite the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They trace the century-long thread of the cry “Al-Aqsa is in danger”—how Grand Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini weaponized it in 1929, tied it to his alliance with Nazi Germany, and how those myths continue to fuel violence from the Hebron riots to the Second Intifada to Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood.” Along the way, they explore

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37:48

Revisiting the Hebron Massacre: Myths and Their...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/11/25

This week, we’re revisiting one of the most overlooked yet consequential chapters in the Arab–Israeli conflict: the 1929 Hebron Massacre. In just two days, 67 Jews were murdered and an ancient community was destroyed—all sparked by a lie about Jewish plans to take over Al-Aqsa, a false rumor whose fear and fury have echoed for generations. Understanding this story is essential to understanding the region itself. We’re re-releasing this episode now because next week, Noam sits down with journalist

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31:50

Israel Open Mic: Understanding the Green Line and...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/11/18

In this Israel Open Mic episode, Noam answers two listener questions: What is the Green Line, really? And why does Israel have a President if the Prime Minister holds the power? He breaks down the history behind Israel’s 1949 Armistice Line, its role before and after 1967, and why it still shapes debates today. Then he explains the surprisingly limited—but symbolically important—role of Israel’s President. Clear, concise, and driven by your questions. Click here for the source used in this

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55:16

30 Years After Rabin with Haviv Rettig Gur (Part 2)

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/11/11

Thirty years after Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, Noam Weissman sits with Journalist Haviv Rettig Gur to unpack what changed on November 4, 1995—and what didn’t. Was Oslo doomed, or did Rabin’s murder briefly revive it? How did incitement shape the 1990s—and how is Rabin taught (or not) in Israeli schools today? We revisit Rabin the general and statesman, the rise of Netanyahu-era politics, and why Left/Right labels no longer map cleanly onto Israeli life.This episode was sponsored by Debra and

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26:47

Remembering Yitzhak Rabin on the 30th Anniversary of...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/11/04

BOOK NOW FOR OUR LA SHOW - Nov 12 at Sinai Temple with special guest Ronen Bergman. Last stop for 2025! Use the coupon code UIH20 to get a discount on your tickets: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/UIHLA25Thirty years after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv, we revisit one of the most defining moments in Israeli history. Originally released in Season 1, this episode now features new reflections from host Noam Weissman. It traces Rabin’s journey from Palmach fighter

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40:27

Eli Sharabi: Surviving Hamas and Choosing Life

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/28

BOOK NOW FOR OUR LA SHOW - Nov 12 at Sinai Temple with special guest Ronen Bergman. Last stop for 2025! Use the coupon code UIH20 to get a discount on your tickets: ⁠⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/UIHLA25In one of the most powerful episodes of Unpacking Israeli History, host Noam Weissman sits down with Eli Sharabi, survivor of 491 days as a Hamas hostage, to share his story of faith, endurance, and unimaginable loss. In his bestselling memoir Hostage, Eli recounts life 50 meters underground—facing

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47:23

How It Feels to be Israeli Right Now: A Conversation...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/21

BOOK NOW FOR OUR LA SHOW - Nov 12 at Sinai Temple with special guest Ronen Bergman. Last stop for 2025! Use the coupon code UIH20 to get a discount on your tickets: ⁠⁠https://unpacked.bio/UIHLA25So much of what we read about Israel is politics and war. But this episode explores a different angle: what does it feel like to live through this moment? Noam sits down with writer and Times of Israel editor Sarah Tuttle-Singer, author of Jerusalem Drawn and Quartered, for a raw, empathetic conversation

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20:45

An Empty Chair for 251 Hostages: Two Years After...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/13

BOOK NOW FOR OUR LA SHOW - Nov 12 at Sinai Temple with special guest Ronen Bergman. Last stop for 2025! Use the coupon code UIH20 to get a discount on your tickets: ⁠https://unpacked.bio/UIHLA25Two years after October 7, 2023, host Noam Weissman reflects on how Israel—and he himself—have been haunted by absence and by loss. Now the last living hostages are home and a ceasefire begins. Noam shares the story of an empty chair at his family’s Shabbat table. The chair began as a symbol of hope for the

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41:54

Two Years Since October 7th: A Conversation with...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/06

BOOK NOW FOR OUR LA SHOW - Nov 12 at Sinai Temple with special guest Ronen Bergman. Last stop for 2025! Use the coupon code UIH20 to get a discount on your tickets: https://unpacked.bio/UIHLA25It's been two years since October 7, 2023—the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. To commemorate, Noam revisits a powerful conversation (originally aired on Wondering Jews) with award-winning journalist Amir Tibon, author of The Gates of Gaza and a survivor of the attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. They

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77:56

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Palestinian Statehood and the...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/03

Gaza-born activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib joins Noam Weissman for the series finale and a fierce, heartfelt debate on Palestinian statehood. While they grapple with the meaning and limits of Palestinian statehood, Ahmed shares his vision of “radical pragmatism,” shifting from resistance to nation-building. Ahmed and Noam take a look back at the history and possible transitional paths forward in a conversation grounded in friendship and a shared hope for dignity and security for both peoples.Check

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75:23

Einat Wilf: Palestinian Statehood and Why Peace Failed

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/10/01

Noam Weissman sits down with Dr. Einat Wilf — former Knesset member, public intellectual, and one of Israel’s sharpest voices — for a provocative conversation about Palestinian statehood. Once a passionate believer in Oslo’s “land for peace,” Wilf’s experiences led her from optimism to skepticism about whether a two-state solution is possible. She argues the conflict is rooted not in borders or land swaps but in the refusal to accept Jewish sovereignty. Noam presses Einat on Gaza disengagement,

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64:43

Samer Sinijlawi: Building Palestinian Statehood from...

Unpacking Israeli History ·

2025/09/30

In our two-part series on Palestinian statehood, we traced the history and politics behind decades of failed attempts. But for Palestinian activist and political leader Samer Sinijlawi, the real story isn’t just about UN votes or diplomatic resolutions. It’s about whether Palestinians and Israelis can build a shared future with their own hands. In this candid conversation, Noam and Samer explore why lasting peace must be created from within, and why he still believes it’s possible. This episode

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