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Wartime Diaries
Everything in this corner of the world changed on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
All around us, friends, family, colleagues, people have died. People are missing. People have been kidnapped. There’s a lot of uncertainty and we’re all involved in dozens of initiatives but we’re also going to bring you some voices and testimonies that try to paint a picture of these devastating times.
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- Short Episode
- 14:56
- 2024
Robbie Gringras
Last week, after nearly 14 months of war, bombardments and suffering, Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement. While we... -
- Short Episode
- 31:20
- 2024
Shaked Kestleman
On November 30, 2023, Yuval Kestleman from Mevaseret Zion was driving to work. He stopped at a red light at... -
- Short Episode
- 18:58
- 2024
Anwar Ben Badis
The war has, among many other things, been incredibly tough on parents. Simply understanding what’s going on – factually, emotionally,... -
- Short Episode
- 18:44
- 2024
Gadi Ezra
38-year-old Gadi Ezra recently published his first book, a memoir about his service in Gaza. He lives in Tel Aviv... -
- Short Episode
- 1:11:20
- 2024
One Year
This is an episode we never wanted to air. One that marks a year of war and a year of... -
- Short Episode
- 14:34
- 2024
Sapir Bluzer
Today’s episode is about one inspiring woman, whose energy and work have impacted the day-to-day lives of hundreds of thousands... -
- Short Episode
- 15:01
- 2024
A Tale of Two Bus Stops
Today’s episode is a bit different – a story, not of a person, but of a bus stop. Or really,... -
- Short Episode
- 10:51
- 2024
Toby Einhorn
Today is Tu B’Av – the less commercial, more Mishna-bound, Jewish version of Valentine’s Day. The war has, it goes... -
- Short Episode
- 18:41
- 2024
Maryam Younnes
Though the escalating tension on Israel’s northern border has been part of the war from the very start, our collective... -
- Short Episode
- 15:52
- 2024
Michael Vivier
For the last nine-and-a-half months, we’ve been experiencing different kinds of battlefields: There are actual battlefields, where people fight and... -
- Short Episode
- 23:31
- 2024
Amira Mohammed and Ibrahim Abu Ahmad
Arab-Israelis, or Palestinian Citizens of Israel, or Palestinian-Israelis – all these definitions are obviously complicated and personal and have hefty... -
- Short Episode
- 24:51
- 2024
Moriah Cohen
On Saturday, four hostages – Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov – were heroically rescued by... -
- Short Episode
- 21:30
- 2024
Lihi Lapid
Lihi Lapid is a celebrated photojournalist, columnist and best-selling author – of children’s books, cookbooks and award-winning novels. She’s also... -
- Short Episode
- 25:15
- 2024
Amit Halivni Bar-Peled
It’s Yom HaZikaron again, Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror. Since the start of the war, 1511 Israeli... -
- Short Episode
- 18:34
- 2024
Tzvika Mor
Forty-seven-year-old Tzvika Mor is from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, near Hebron. His son, Eitan, was kidnapped from... -
- Short Episode
- 28:57
- 2024
Mishael Zion
Next week, millions of Jews around the world will sit down at their Passover tables, for what will invariably be... -
- Short Episode
- 21:58
- 2024
Walter Bingham
The horrific events of October 7th reminded many people of the darkest chapter in Jewish history – the Holocaust. And... -
- Short Episode
- 26:56
- 2024
Shai Davidai
In the immediate aftermath of October 7th, Shai Davidai – an Assistant Professor at Columbia University – became an unlikely... -
- Short Episode
- 26:47
- 2024
Idit Ohel
Alon Ohel – a talented young jazz pianist – was kidnapped from the Nova party on October 7th, and has... -
- Short Episode
- 14:46
- 2024
Sharon Gutman Gilor
One of very few positive outcomes of this war is that the ongoing debate surrounding the participation of female soldiers... -
- Short Episode
- 19:26
- 2024
Aliza Raz-Melzer
There has been endless talk of the “Home Front” during this war. The “Home Front,” as in what goes on... -
- Short Episode
- 18:38
- 2024
Noam Tsuriely
Some 350,000 Israelis have been called up to reserve duty since the start of the war, in what has been... -
- Short Episode
- 17:27
- 2024
Maya German and Benjamin Fainsod
Today’s “Wartime Diary” takes us to a place that is, under normal circumstances, one of the most visited sites in... -
- Short Episode
- 22:06
- 2024
Hugo (Uri) Wolaj
The war has been going on for over three months, and many of us have settled into some sort of... -
- Short Episode
- 2:20
- 2024
100 Days
Today is the hundredth day of the war. And, though our Wartime Diaries series continues, we want to stop, mark... -
- Short Episode
- 19:28
- 2024
Charlene Seidle
Upwards of $1 billion in donations have been sent to Israel since the start of the war. For years Charlene... -
- Short Episode
- 26:47
- 2023
Omer Ohana
The war has brought many new people into the limelight: For nearly three months we’ve been hearing countless stories of... -
- Short Episode
- 16:11
- 2023
Issa Kassissieh
It’s a sad Christmas Eve in Jesus’ homeland. The alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City, the streets of Nazareth, the churches... -
- Short Episode
- 20:40
- 2023
Shira Masami
More than 200,000 Israelis – from both the South and the North – have been forced to leave their homes... -
- Short Episode
- 22:29
- 2023
Riyad Ali
Since the start of the military operation in Gaza, countless reports by journalists embedded with the IDF troops have appeared... -
- Short Episode
- 18:18
- 2023
Adam Ben Shabath
As has been said many times in the past, identity is like an onion: There are layers of family and... -
- Short Episode
- 20:48
- 2023
Shalom Weil
As of today, more than 400 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the war. Each one of those deaths, of... -
- Short Episode
- 25:05
- 2023
Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin
Many of you have probably heard, or read about, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, the parents of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin,... -
- Short Episode
- 24:41
- 2023
Elliot Cosgrove and Mishy Harman
Last week, our host Mishy Harman was interviewed by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove for the Park Avenue Synagogue Podcast. And as... -
- Short Episode
- 17:19
- 2023
Doron Krakow
This war is a humbling experience for us all. People — no matter who they are or what they normally... -
- Short Episode
- 16:11
- 2023
Hagit Maoz
Almost immediately after the start of the attack of October 7th, as rockets were being launched at Jerusalem, and sirens... -
- Short Episode
- 19:02
- 2023
Datya Itzhaki
In the summer of 2005, the government of Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. The roughly 8,000 residents of the 21... -
- Short Episode
- 14:50
- 2023
Hai Ashkenazi
53-year-old Hai Ashkenazi from Tel Aviv is an archeologist, but never imagined he would find himself excavating a 21st-century Kibbutz.... -
- Short Episode
- 15:41
- 2023
Ronit Farm
Normally Chavat Ronit – or Ronit Farm – is a high-end event venue north of Herzliya. Ra’anan Arizon’s seventy dunams... -
- Short Episode
- 18:47
- 2023
Chaya Gilboa
Chaya Gilboa is a Talmud teacher, an activist, a flaming redhead, and was – for the last three years –... -
- Short Episode
- 16:20
- 2023
Faiz Abu Sabehan
Over the last five weeks we’ve spoken to many families of hostages. That’s how we met Faiz Abu Sabehan, whose... -
- Short Episode
- 20:57
- 2023
Mishka Ben-David
Mishka Ben-David might seem – at first – like a harmless and cuddly grandpa, but the truth is that he’s... -
- Short Episode
- 9:55
- 2023
Agi Mishol
77-year-old Agi Mishol is one of Israel’s most prominent, beloved and widely-read poets. Over the years she’s won practically every... -
- Short Episode
- 23:41
- 2023
Sahar Vardi
Israel is in the midst of a brutal war it didn’t want and didn’t initiate. And here at Israel Story... -
- Short Episode
- 14:58
- 2023
Louish Rijal
Among the thousands of people who had the terrible misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time... -
- Short Episode
- 19:23
- 2023
Angela Buchdahl and Shlomo Nisanov
The nature of the attacks on October 7th, together with certain subsequent reactions around the world, have blurred the lines... -
- Short Episode
- 16:22
- 2023
Gidon Lev
There’s a lot of Holocaust rhetoric in the air. ‘Never Again’ slogans have resurfaced, Netanyahu has said – on several... -
- Short Episode
- 7:21
- 2023
Noga Friedman
45-year-old Ido Rosenthal from Moshav Ben Shemen served in an elite commando unit and was killed on the first day... -
- Short Episode
- 16:11
- 2023
Matti Friedman
The war caught everyone by surprise, of course, and since it broke out at the tail end of the chagim,... -
- Short Episode
- 13:03
- 2023
Alon Shalev
Many people sprung into action since October 7th. And yet, at the very same time, many Israelis feel… lost. Not... -
- Short Episode
- 11:55
- 2023
Tomer Oshri
During normal times Tomer Oshri – a 48-year-old history teacher from Jerusalem – works at JDC-Israel and runs an educational... -
- Short Episode
- 17:58
- 2023
Adva Gutman Tirosh
Even today, nearly three weeks after the devastating attacks of October 7th, there are still hundreds of people who are... -
- Short Episode
- 10:37
- 2023
Raz Newman
Israel has, of course, branded itself as the Start-Up Nation. And in many ways, Raz Newman is the classic Israeli... -
- Short Episode
- 19:49
- 2023
Sivan Avnery
For months Sivan Avnery – a physical therapist from Kfar Shmaryahu – was active in the demonstrations against the judicial... -
- Short Episode
- 14:52
- 2023
David Broza
There’s a long tradition of musicians and entertainers performing on the frontlines during times of war. And, indeed, almost immediately,... -
- Short Episode
- 17:35
- 2023
Yarnin Peled
Wars are often told through numbers – of the dead, the wounded, the missing, the misplaced. But behind each one... -
- Short Episode
- 14:51
- 2023
Mor Maisel
This war has forced many people to reevaluate their identities and political sensibilities—not an easy task during these shocking and... -
- Short Episode
- 16:24
- 2023
Hedai Offaim
During this dark time, Israeli civil society has risen to the occasion. Hedai Offaim – a chef, farmer and social... -
- Short Episode
- 12:21
- 2023
Ofer Tamir
After the entire team of Kibbutz Kissufim’s dairy farm was murdered, Ofer Tamir from Nahalal rushed down south to rescue... -
- Short Episode
- 11:58
- 2023
The Eulogy for Roi Rotberg
In 1956, Moshe Dayan – then the IDF’s Chief of Staff – delivered a eulogy for a fallen member of... -
- Short Episode
- 12:35
- 2023
Katherine Leff
Despite everything, life continues amid the horror. For Katherine Leff, this meant going ahead with the day she’d been dreaming... -
- Short Episode
- 13:16
- 2023
Itai Kramer
At age 50, Itai Kramer is no longer obligated to serve in the reserve forces, yet he volunteered anyway. Itai... -
- Short Episode
- 14:17
- 2023
Ariel Markose
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been called up to reserve duty. But what about the families they leave behind?... -
- Short Episode
- 13:31
- 2023
Sasha Ariev
Everything in this corner of the world has changed since Saturday, October 7. All around us, friends, family, colleagues, people...
Additional Stories
We are obviously not the only ones doing this kind of work.
Check out some other wonderful projects collecting wartime stories and testimonies:
