Podcasts by Jew Oughta Know

167. Israel at War, Explained: The United Nations from 2023-12-11T01:46:55

Why is the relationship between Israel and the United Nations so bad? Historical events, the makeup of the UN, and its relentless condemnations of Israel explain why Israel no longer considers the ...

166. Israel at War, Explained: The West Bank from 2023-12-04T21:37:13

The West Bank — what many Jews call Judea and Samaria — is another sector of this war that is boiling over with tension and violence. While Israeli forces arrest thousands of Hamas terrorists, fana...

165. Israel at War, Explained: The Hostage Deal from 2023-11-28T00:45:08

After seven weeks of fighting, Hamas and Israel agreed to a deal to release some of the Israeli hostages, who have started returning home to great joy and relief. How can we understand this deal i...

164. Israel at War, Explained: "Never Again" from 2023-11-17T00:15:21

“Never Again” evokes the promise of no more genocide, as the world has learned the lessons of history and the Holocaust. But “Never Again” has a different connotation for the Jewish People — and he...

163. Israel at War, Explained: "From the River to the Sea" from 2023-11-11T01:29:06

Hamas’ massacre unleashed a worldwide wave of hatred and vilification against Israel and the Jewish People, summed up in the noxious idea of “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” — a c...

162. Israel at War, Explained: The Options for Gaza from 2023-11-05T23:43:23

Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza is underway. It is difficult, dangerous, and deadly fighting that has already claimed dozens of Israeli soldiers. The goal is to eliminate Hamas. But what about aft...

161. Israel at War, Explained: The PR War from 2023-11-01T03:29:16

In the constant struggle to keep up with what’s happening, how can we understand what we’re seeing on the news? The media ecosystem often accepts Hamas’ claims uncritically, while Israel’s are subj...

160. Israel at War, Explained: Iran&Hezbollah from 2023-10-24T22:46:16

What does Iran have to do with Israel’s war against Hamas? A lot! We’re zooming out to look at Iran and it’s proxy army, Hezbollah, the terrorist group threatening to start a war along Israel’s nor...

159. Israel at War, Explained: Hamas&Gaza from 2023-10-19T03:10:16

Day Eleven of the war between Hamas and Israel. For years Israel has brought sick Palestinian children into Israel for lifesaving medical care. Hamas responded by sadistically massacring Israeli ch...

158. Israel at War, Explained. Oct 15 from 2023-10-15T19:23:44

Unimaginable savagery in the worst attack on the Jewish People since the Holocaust. It's a declaration of war by Hamas, the genocidal group dedicated to the complete destruction of Israel. What's g...

157. Israel 1967-1977: Scenario 21 from 2023-08-13T16:01:31

Black September cruelly murders 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The local police are helpless to resist, the rescue operation goes wrong, the world watches on live TV, and Golda Me...

156. Israel 1967-1977: Black September from 2023-08-06T14:22:30

A civil war in Jordan between King Hussein and the PLO threatens to bring in Israel and its neighbors. Though a victory for Jordan, it created one of the most deadly terrorist groups that Israel wo...

155. Israel 1967-1977: The "Not Nice Boys" from 2023-07-17T00:38:14

The early 1970s saw the rise of the Israeli Black Panthers — a movement of young Mizrahi Jews fed up with systematic inequality and social discrimination that left Jews from the Middle East and Nor...

154. Israel 1967-1977: The Eighteen from 2023-07-02T14:30:58

Israel was founded to provide a safe place for Jewish life to flourish. But by the late 1960s, millions of Jews remained trapped in the Soviet Union, refused the emigration visas necessary to leave...

153. Israel 1967-1977: Settlements: Hebron from 2023-06-26T02:59:01

Rabbi Moshe Levinger was all in favor of building settlements in the West Bank, but with a twist: he thought confrontation with the Israeli government, rather than cooperation, was the way to achie...

152. Israel 1967-1977: Golda from 2023-06-11T14:43:50

Palestinians hit on a winning formula for attacking Israel and publicizing their own cause: airplane hijackings. And Prime Minister Levi Eshkol dies, replaced by Israel’s first (and so far only) fe...

151. Israel 1967-1977: The Three No's from 2023-06-04T15:35:37

The Six Day War did not mean the end of fighting, just a new phase. At a summit in Khartoum the Arabs rejected peace, negotiation, and recognition of Israel, leaving violence as the only acceptable...

150. Israel 1967-1977: The Second Settlement: Kfar Etzion from 2023-05-14T15:53:37

Israel's second settlement in the Occupied Territories was Kfar Etzion, established in the West Bank on the ruins of a destroyed Jewish kibbutz. It was the first settlement of the Religious Zionism...

149. Israel 1967-1977: The First Settlement: Merom Golan from 2023-04-30T16:19:58

Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territory began just five weeks after the Six Day War, in a small community called Merom Golan on the Syrian border. This was not a right-wing nationalist endeav...

148. Israel 1967-1977: The Occupation Begins from 2023-04-23T17:00:44

Today we’re laying the conceptual foundations of the Occupation and Israel’s decisions immediately after the Six Day War. Having found itself in charge of an empire — territory three times its own ...

147. Israel 1967-1977: The Jerusalem Decisions from 2023-04-09T17:32:34

In the days and weeks following the Six Day War, Israel made three big decisions regarding Jerusalem: to raze the Mughrabi Quarter to create a central plaza in front of the Western Wall, to bestow ...

146. Israel 1967-1977: The Seventh Day from 2023-04-02T15:55:51

For six days Israel fought. On the seventh day it rested. What was the impact on Israelis, and Jews around the world? How did they come to understand the greatest Jewish military victory in two tho...

145. Israel 1967-1977: The Six Day War from 2023-03-26T15:53:54

On June 5, 1967, Israel destroyed the air forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in a matter of hours, kicking off what would become one of the greatest victories of modern military history. Israel tho...

144. Israel 1967-1977: "The Temple Mount Is In Our Hands" from 2023-03-26T15:29:26

Season 7 begins! This is an action-packed season exploring ten crucial years in Israel, 1967-1977. We'll hear about wars and The Occupation, triumphant rescues and the tragedy of the Munich Olympic...

143. Current Events: West Bank Violence, Explained from 2023-03-01T02:18:29

Why the sudden burst of horrific violence in the West Bank this week? Hamas is making a play to take over the West Bank, ratcheting up attacks on Israel. And Israeli settler extremists are embolden...

142. Current Events: Israel's Judicial Crisis Explained from 2023-02-23T00:06:24

Why are hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesting in the streets? Why are global headlines screaming about the end of Israeli democracy? The country is griped by a profound crisis over the indep...

141. Current Events: Israeli Elections 2022 from 2022-11-06T16:10:29

140. Ten Philosophers: Mordecai Kaplan from 2022-09-25T17:39:29

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan redefined Judaism as an “evolving religious civilization” in need of reconstruction for the 20th century. He emphasized Jewish peoplehood, in all its complexity and diversity,...

139. Ten Philosophers: The Baal Shem Tov from 2022-09-18T15:54:42

Joy. Attachment. Intention. The Baal Shem Tov - Master of the Good Name - inspired millions of Jews in Eastern Europe by uniting ideas in mystical Judaism with daily life. He turbo-boosted Jewish i...

138. Ten Philosophers: Baruch Spinoza from 2022-09-11T15:11:17

Baruch Spinoza, it is said, wrote a book "forged from Hell by the Devil himself," rejecting 1600 years of medieval philosophy in favor of pure reason. He so angered the religious authorities that h...

137. Ten Philosophers: Isaac Luria from 2022-08-28T22:38:07

Isaac Luria is taking us into the realm of the visionary and mysterious. We’re looking into the role of kabbalah — mystical Judaism — in our everyday lives. How can an infinite God create our fini...

136. Ten Philosophers: Maimonides from 2022-08-21T16:26:47

Maimonides says that you might be perplexed. Your intellect tells you that the stories in the Hebrew Bible can’t be scientifically true, but your faith tells you that they are. Maimonides is here t...

135. Ten Philosophers: Judah HaLevi from 2022-08-07T15:15:02

In 1141 CE, Judah HaLevi mysteriously disappeared on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, giving rise to legends about the scholar who became Judaism's most celebrated poet. He wrote the Kuzari, a stirring d...

134. Ten Philosophers: Saadia Gaon from 2022-07-24T21:58:33

Saadia Gaon single-handedly saved Judaism from splitting apart in the 10th century. He was the first great Jewish medieval philosopher and the spiritual father of Judeo-Arabic culture, defending Ra...

133. Ten Philosophers: Rabbi Akiva from 2022-07-11T04:31:15

132. Ten Philosophers: Philo of Alexandria from 2022-06-26T22:45:51

131. Ten Philosophers: Hillel the Elder from 2022-06-19T15:46:03

Starting off Season 6 with one of the all-time greatest Jewish thinkers: Hillel the Elder, from the 1st century BCE. The sage who summarized the entirety of the Torah while standing on one foot, Hi...

130. TFTYOS: Back to the Beginning from 2021-10-31T19:09:52

Season Finale. What does it mean to be an Israelite? A Jew? A Hebrew?

129. TFTYOS: Who Wrote the Bible? from 2021-10-17T22:23:06

Who wrote the Hebrew Bible, when, and how? Boiling a huge topic down to the basics: a thousand-year long literary tradition built by authors across the centuries, compiling story after story to arr...

128. TFTYOS: The Birth of Judaism from 2021-10-03T20:22:09

Amidst weeping and rejoicing, the priest-scribe Ezra reads from the Scroll of Teaching before all the people gathered in Jerusalem. The governor Nehemiah records the moment that Judaism burst onto ...

127. TFTYOS: The Babylonian Exile: Return from 2021-09-26T22:25:33

King Cyrus the Great of Persia sacks Babylon and frees the Jews from their captivity. Now what? Some exiles return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but find that it isn't quite so easy to reinte...

126. TFTYOS: The Babylonian Exile: Creativity from 2021-09-19T16:30:10

The exile in Babylon upended the essential pillars of Israelite religion: king, god, temple, and land. The Israelites responded with immense theological creativity, reimagining these core tenets to...

125. TFTYOS: The Babylonian Exile: Crisis from 2021-08-29T22:03:58

The People of Israel began the Babylonian exile as Israelites and emerged as Jews. How? By responding to the greatest crisis in their history with an explosion of religious creativity and innovatio...

124. TFTYOS: The Lost Book from 2021-08-22T19:38:03

While repairing the Temple in Jerusalem, King Josiah’s high priest, Hilkiah, found a (supposedly) long lost ancient scroll of teaching. This law book, called torah, legitimized Josiah’s religious r...

123. TFTYOS: A Tale of Two Kings from 2021-08-16T02:23:55

Where is hell? Ask King Manasseh, perhaps the single worst king in Israelite history. Thankfully he was succeeded by his grandson, Josiah, one of the absolute best.

122. TFTYOS: Hezekiah's Hinge Moment from 2021-08-09T01:22:37

King Hezekiah was one of the most beloved kings of Israel, despite a rocky reign that saw the Assyrians take most of Judah. Hezekiah built up Jerusalem (many of his works can still be seen today, i...

121. TFTYOS: The Fall of Israel from 2021-08-01T23:17:37

After two hundred years, the Kingdom of Israel falls to the Assyrians in 720 BCE. The prophet Amos blames it on social injustice -- the capture of wealth by the rich neglected the poor, violating t...

120. Evil Queens, Hapless Kings, and a Prophet Who Doesn't Die from 2021-07-25T16:06:08

Introducing the prophets! We start with Elijah, the prophet who appears at Passover every year but never actually died. He goes up against the evil queen Jezebel and her husband, Ahab, King of Israel.

119. TFTYOS: The Split from 2021-07-18T15:53:12

Shortly after King Solomon's death, in 931 BCE, the United Monarchy split into two separate Israelite states: the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. The king of Judah threatened to flog th...

118. TFTYOS: The Glory and Fall of King Solomon from 2021-07-11T15:01:08

The reign of King Solomon was the golden era of the United Monarchy. He built the most important structure in Jewish history: the Temple in Jerusalem. Despite his achievements, he also fell into di...

117. Current Events: The Siege of Balfour from 2021-06-23T23:16:20

Last week saw an historic upheaval in Israeli politics as Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted from power after 12 years as Prime Minister, replaced by the most diverse government in Israeli history. What...

116. TFTYOS: Why Jerusalem? from 2021-06-13T15:52:56

How did Jerusalem become the holy city of Judaism? In about 1000 BCE King David set up his royal palace in this small Canaanite city and turned it into the capital of the Israelite people. It was a...

115. Current Events: Roadblocks from 2021-06-03T16:20:19

What’s the deal with Israeli settlements? A look at how the settlements began, why they were built, and why they remain. It’s the great paradox: the Occupation is necessary for Israel’s security bu...

114. TFTYOS: The Men Who Would Be King from 2021-05-23T22:54:24

The Israelites demand a king. Was this a sign of failure or success? The prophet Samuel warns against it, but Saul becomes the first king of Israel. He soon faces a rival in David, the greatest kin...

113: Current Events: The Power Imbalance from 2021-05-21T01:07:45

Is this a fair fight? This week we're pushing back against the charges that because Israel holds all the power, its attacks on Gaza are unjust.

112. TFTYOS: The Era of the Judges from 2021-05-16T16:35:22

For two hundred years the Israelites relied on judges for leadership, not kings. This era offers a powerful role for women and some of the oldest stories that make it into the Hebrew Bible.

111. Current Events: Sheik Jarrah, Jerusalem, Hamas from 2021-05-13T20:04:10

Fighting erupted on multiple fronts this week between Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab-Israelis. What's going on? Go beyond the headlines and social media hot takes for an in-depth look at why this...

110. TFTYOS: The Covenant from 2021-05-09T21:37:03

Where does the name Yahweh come from? Who got to be considered an Israelite? How can we understand the sacred bond between God and the People of Israel that forms the bedrock of Judaism today?

109. TFTYOS: The Hitchhiking God from 2021-04-25T20:54:58

How did monotheism start? The Israelites worshipped a national god named Yahweh — the same god that Jews worship today. But where did Yahweh come from? How did the Israelites meet him? And was he t...

108: TFTYOS: Conquest or Settlement? from 2021-04-18T21:21:42

How did the Israelites end up in Canaan (modern day Israel)? In the Hebrew Bible the Israelites claim to have taken Canaan through military conquest. But the historical record says that’s doubtful....

107: TFTYOS: Did the Exodus From Egypt Ever Really Happen? from 2021-04-11T22:33:44

It’s the most famous event of Jewish history: the exodus from Egypt of millions of Israelite slaves, thanks to the power of their God and the prophet Moses. But did it ever really happen?

106. TFTYOS: Princes of Egypt from 2021-04-05T00:48:10

Egypt ruled Canaan…until it didn’t. With empires collapsing all over the Mediterranean region, new peoples suddenly had the space to emerge. Like the Israelites. But also their arch-nemeses, the Ph...

105. TFTYOS: The Flood Stories of Mesopotamia from 2021-03-28T15:15:41

Noah and the Flood, the origins of Abraham and Sarah, and the laws of the Book of Exodus, are just a few examples of how deeply influenced the Israelites were by Mesopotamian culture and ideas, whi...

104: TFTYOS: A Rift In the World from 2021-03-21T15:18:20

Kicking off Season 5: The First Thousand Years Or So! This episode we’re looking at how the land of Israel was formed millions of years ago, the early humans who lived there, and why the building o...

103. Israel 1948-1967: The Israeli Dream from 2020-09-27T18:00:14

Season 4 Finale. The miracle that was the creation of Israel is threatened by a recession, cultural fault lines, and a deep sense of gloom. As a terrifying war looms, Israelis are left considering ...

102. Israel 1948-1967: The Waiting Period from 2020-09-13T23:22:25

For three weeks, known as "hamtanah," Israelis waited as military, diplomatic, and political forces drove them towards war with the Arabs.

101. Israel 1948-1967: Israel&America from 2020-08-30T21:36:28

A short primer on Israel's relationship with American Jews and America's presidents in the 1950s and 1960s. Ben Gurion and American Jewry have a little argument, while Kennedy and Johnson develop b...

100. Israel 1948-1967: Meet Yasser Arafat from 2020-08-24T00:06:18

Yasser Arafat starts Fatah, a Palestinian militia, to attack Israel. The Arab countries form the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO) to counter Fatah's influence. And Israel finds itself ...

99. Current Events: Israel-UAE Peace Deal from 2020-08-16T23:18:42

On August 13, 2020, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced a peace agreement. This is only the third time an Arab country has made peace with Israel. Here's what you oughta know!

98. Israel 1948-1967: The Spies from 2020-08-16T23:03:41

From stealing fighter jets to stealing secrets, Israel's spies are the stuff of legend. Some ended in triumph, and others tragedy. They all played a critical role in Israel's security during the 19...

97. Israel 1948-1967: Water, Water! from 2020-08-09T22:22:28

Israel’s innovations in water use spread around the world, helping to lift millions out of poverty and famine. The National Water Carrier brought water to every corner of the country. But water was...

96. Israel 1948-1967: The Events of Wadi Salib from 2020-07-13T01:39:42

The police shot an unarmed member of a discriminated group, riots followed, and a social change movement spread throughout the country. Not the United States in 2020, but Israel in 1959. In the ong...

95. Israel 1948-1967: The Teenage Years from 2020-07-05T19:07:17

Hebrew, the kibbutz, the military, and politics were achieving big things and undergoing big changes, as Israel entered its teenage years in the 1960s. And David Ben Gurion, the man who personified...

94. Current Events: Are Jews White? from 2020-06-29T02:31:34

Are Jews “white” here in America? The extreme right says no, the radical left yes. The American Jewish experience has been multifaceted. And there are Jews of Color.

93. Current Events: Black-Jewish Relations from 2020-06-15T01:16:38

What does Judaism "say" about the racial justice protests of 2020? And what is the history of black-Jewish relations in the United States?

92. Israel 1948-1967: The Eichmann Trial Part 2 from 2020-05-25T01:29:35

Part 5 of 5. Eichmann's trial continues with his defense: I was only following orders. The judges consider a verdict and sentence. The trial had a tremendous impact and changed Israeli culture.

91. Israel 1948-1967: The Eichmann Trial Part 1 from 2020-05-25T01:26:41

Part 4 of 5. After his capture by Israel in 1960, Adolf Eichmann goes on trial in Jerusalem. Holocaust survivors capture the attention of the whole nation as they testify to their harrowing experie...

90. Israel 1948-1967: Eichmann In the Safe House from 2020-05-18T00:47:27

Part 3 of 5 on Eichmann's trial and capture. In Part 3, the Israeli Mossad team is holed up with Eichmann in their Buenos Aires safe house, while trying to figure out how to smuggle him out of the ...

89. Israel 1948-1967: Eichmann Captured from 2020-05-18T00:45:09

Part 2 of 5 on Adolf Eichmann's trial and capture. In Part 2, how Israel tracked him down in Argentina, and staged the operation to grab him.

88. Israel 1948-1967: Eichmann On the Run from 2020-05-18T00:40:54

Part 1 of 5 on a deep dive into the search, capture, and trial of Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann. In Part 1, Eichmann is on the run from the Allies after World War Two.

87. Israel 1948-1967: The Samson Option from 2020-04-26T18:41:30

Does Israel have nuclear weapons?

86. Israel 1948-1967: The Sinai Campaign from 2020-04-19T15:45:44

Israel enters the world stage in 1956 as a country to be reckoned with. Israel provokes a war with Egypt in secret cahoots with Britain and France. It was a local conflict wrapped in a regional one...

85. Israel 1948-1967: Eulogy for Roi Rotberg from 2020-03-29T15:13:19

How should Israel respond to terrorism? The government was divided in its response to attacks from Jordan and Egypt: aggressive retaliation, or restraint and diplomacy?

84. Israel 1948-1967: Sde Boker from 2020-03-22T17:03:22

Prime Minister David Ben Gurion abruptly quits and heads off to Sde Boker, a desert kibbutz. Meanwhile, the Israeli government is rocked by political scandal, and Ben Gurion ends up right back wher...

83: Israel 1948-1967: The Jewish State, Religious Version from 2020-03-15T18:24:59

Is Israel a theocracy? Or just a Jewish democracy that doesn't separate synagogue and state? And who gets to be counted as a Jew in the Jewish State? The second part of our look at how Israel put t...

82. Israel 1948-1967: The Jewish State, Secular Version from 2020-02-24T03:10:53

How do you put the "Jewish" in the Jewish State? One way is through secular Jewish culture: the Hebrew language, archaeology, and even the Hebrew Bible itself.

81. Israel 1948-1967: Blood Money from 2020-02-09T16:57:55

West Germany offered to pay Israel reparations for the Holocaust, touching off a heated and violent debate over whether Israel should accept. Was it a critical windfall for a poor nation, or nothin...

80. Israel 1948-1967: The Law of Return from 2020-02-02T23:45:16

Who is a Jew, according to the State of Israel? And where do you put all the new immigrants when there isn't enough housing? And what is the impact on Mizrahi Jewish refugees and Palestinian land a...

79. Israel 1948-1967: On Wings of Eagles from 2020-01-26T18:00:40

The Palestinians weren't the only refugees. Nearly one million Jews were pushed out of the Middle East and North Africa in revenge for the creation of Israel. Ancient Jewish communities were uproot...

78. Israel 1948-1967: The Nakba (Catastrophe) from 2020-01-19T17:56:17

For the Palestinians who left Israel -- whether by force or voluntarily -- Israel's War of Independence was a nakba (catastrophe). The war's end in 1949 left over 720,000 Palestinian refugees. Why ...

77. Israel 1948-1967: Narratives from 2020-01-13T01:33:30

The War of Independence left multiple narratives in its wake, from the Jews who lost 1% of their population to the war, to the Arab-Israelis who fell under martial law.

76. Israel 1948-1967: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Just Vote Left All the Time from 2019-12-08T18:32:03

Don't know your Prime Minister from your President? Israeli politics has been big in the news in 2019 -- so here's how the government works, and why Israel voted left for the first thirty years of ...

75. Israel 1948-1967: Expulsion from 2019-12-01T18:52:17

When the IDF seized the town of Lydda from Arab forces during the War of Independence, Ben Gurion ordered the expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians. Was it justified? Was it just?

74. Israel 1948-1967: Twenty Miles from Tel Aviv from 2019-11-25T03:19:25

The War of Independence continues as the Egyptian army uses the Gaza Strip to make a run for Tel Aviv. They were stopped by the new Israeli Air Force, which had to source parts, planes, and pilots ...

73. Israel 1948-1967: The Almost Civil War from 2019-11-18T02:32:30

Barely a month after declaring independence, a fight on the beach in Tel Aviv almost splits Israel in two. As the army struggles to supply the Jewish side of Jerusalem, the Israel Defense Forces an...

72. Israel 1948-1967: The First Day from 2019-11-04T02:41:11

Within hours of declaring independence, Israel was invaded by five Arab armies. In the middle of an existential war, the government made its first decision: to proclaim Israel open for Jewish immig...

71. Israel 1948-1967: The Declaration from 2019-10-27T17:11:21

On May 14, 1948, just a few minutes before Shabbat, David Ben Gurion declared the new State of Israel. Reading from the Declaration of Independence, which just barely made it to the secret ceremony...

70. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: the Ark of the Covenant from 2019-07-14T18:27:35

Straight out of Indiana Jones, the Ark of the Covenant just might be the single greatest missing relic of all time. A fitting finale to Season 3, it disappeared quite suddenly in the 6th century BC...

69. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Messiah from 2019-07-07T18:26:09

It's the end of the world as we know it. The Messiah might already be here, but who is he, what's going to happen, and when?

68. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Dead Sea Scroll Treasure from 2019-06-30T18:02:01

Sixty-four clues. A vast treasure two thousand years old. Billions of dollars in buried gold. All engraved on a copper scroll hidden away in a cave near the Dead Sea that was found in 1952.

67. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Iraqi Jewish Archive from 2019-06-24T00:34:33

The U.S. military found a treasure trove of Jewish artifacts in the basement of Iraq's intelligence headquarters. Who should get it: Iraq, the United States, or the Iraqi Jewish community in America?

66. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: Gilgal Refaim from 2019-06-16T22:35:57

Around 5,000 years ago someone built a massive, Stonehenge-like structure on the Golan Heights in Israel. But we have no clue who or why -- was it an ancient race of giants?

65. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: Holocaust Mysteries from 2019-06-10T02:13:48

Three unsolved mysteries from the Holocaust: the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, who betrayed Anne Frank, and the wartime actions of Pope Pius XII.

64. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Ten Lost Tribes from 2019-06-02T19:39:03

We lost ten Israelite tribes 2,500 years ago, but we might have found a few still around today in some unlikely places.

63. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: Was Christopher Columbus Jewish? from 2019-05-19T15:54:48

Christopher Columbus might possibly have been Jewish. Either way, Jews played a central role in his 1492 Voyage of Discovery.

62. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Lost Menorah from 2019-05-12T23:27:47

The original menorah that you use at Hanukah went missing around 1,600 years ago. We know the Romans had it last. Was it destroyed? Misplaced? Hidden in the Vatican? There are all kinds of rumors, ...

61. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Golem from 2019-05-05T16:25:46

Something both living and dead has been hidden up in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue in Prague for the last 500 years.

60. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: The Schneerson Collection from 2019-04-28T16:02:59

There is legal and diplomatic fighting (with celebrities!) between Chabad, Russia, and the United States over who is the rightful owner of tens of thousands of texts amassed by the leading rabbis o...

59. Unsolved Jewish Mysteries: King David's Tomb from 2019-04-21T16:44:24

Kickoff to Season 3 on Unsolved Jewish Mysteries. Where is the tomb of King David, ancient Israel's greatest ruler?

58. The Decision from 2019-02-10T16:59:26

Season finale on the History of Zionism. A look back at the full sweep of Zionism as the Jewish world waits for Ben Gurion to decide on declaring the Jewish State.

57. Original Sin from 2019-02-03T19:13:49

In the push to take back Jerusalem Jewish fighters commit a horrible atrocity at Deir Yassin. The Arabs follow in kind. Just a few days before independence, the future Jewish state is in doubt.

56. Civil War in Palestine from 2019-01-27T17:10:11

Palestine descends into civil war between Jews and Arabs immediately following the UN's vote for partition. Jewish communities come under siege while Ben Gurion orders the Jews not to retreat from ...

55. Partition from 2019-01-20T22:30:14

Is there a just way to partition Palestine between Arabs and Jews? The United Nations considers that question, and November 29, 1947, goes down as an historic day for the Jewish People.

54. The Ship That Launched a Nation from 2018-11-18T22:36:04

Jewish resistance, not by killing people, but by rescuing them. The Haganah's difficult Aliyah Bet operation to bring Holocaust refugees to Palestine gets a huge PR boost.

53. The Sergeants Affair from 2018-11-11T14:24:56

Menachem Begin pushes the bounds of morality in the final blow of the Jewish resistance against the British.

52. Prison Break! from 2018-11-05T05:00:40

The Irgun busts their guys out of prison.

51. The Downward Spiral, and Then Boom from 2018-10-28T16:35:23

The Jewish defense groups join together to resist the British, culminating in a defining terrorist attack on the King David Hotel in 1946.

50. The Hunting Season from 2018-10-21T20:39:56

The Lehi assassinates a high-ranking British official, and the Jews turn on each other in a minor Zionist civil war.

49. Dearest Mother, A Million Thanks from 2018-10-07T23:41:21

Hannah Senesh, Haviva Reik, and the only rescue mission sent to Europe by the Yishuv.

48. Begin's War Begins from 2018-09-30T18:10:37

Menachem Begin, a man of many contrasts, bursts onto the scene to take over the Irgun.

47. The Warrior Gods from 2018-09-16T21:22:15

Israel's iconic heroes get their start as special operations soldiers during World War Two, and the Irgun gets a new leader.

46. The National Sport from 2018-09-09T17:44:09

As the threat to European Jewry rises to desperate levels, the Zionist movement launches a secret, high-risk rescue operation, and prepares for war.

45. The Anonymous Soldiers from 2018-09-02T18:16:41

Jewish fighters of the Irgun wage a campaign of terrorism during the Arab Revolt.

44. Is This How Zionism Ends? from 2018-08-26T21:21:04

From out in the Atlantic Ocean the Zionist movement suffers serious setbacks in 1939, while the Palestinian national movement plays a destructive zero-sum game.

43. You Two Need to Separate from 2018-08-12T17:45:21

The Great Revolt continues as Britain comes up with a novel idea: what if we partitioned Palestine to create two separate states for Arabs and Jews? Interesting idea -- but will anyone go for it?

42. Add Nazis, Stir from 2018-08-05T21:57:58

Arab nationalism turns towards violence. The Zionists try to defend Jewish immigration. And the British try to preserve stability in the region. Then the Nazis start meddling in Palestine.

41. The Deal With the Devil from 2018-07-01T22:48:35

The Zionists in Palestine cut a deal with the Nazis to save Jewish lives. But it will cost Chaim Arlosoroff his.

40. 1929 from 2018-06-24T22:47:14

The nature of the Arab-Jewish conflict completely changed in 1929, when the Arabs massacred Jews throughout Palestine. With the British in charge, the Arabs rioting, and the Nazis just over the hor...

39. Current Events: Iran, Jerusalem, Gaza from 2018-05-21T23:24:14

38. Einstein, and Other People Ben-Gurion Didn't Like from 2018-04-22T22:23

Einstein, Ben-Gurion, Weizmann, and Jabotinsky all bring different ideas about Zionism to the Roaring Twenties in Palestine.

37. Building the Iron Wall from 2018-04-09T03:03:04

Vladimir Jabotinsky, the founder of right-wing Zionism, argues with mainstream Zionism over relations with the Arabs, Jewish immigration, and Jewish territory in Palestine.

36. So It Begins from 2018-04-02T00:29:42

The Arab-Israeli conflict begins at Tel Hai on March 1, 1920. These first instances of violence set the precedent for the next century of Jewish-Arab relations.

35. Lord Balfour Has Something To Declare from 2018-03-25T15:38:54

Part 2 of the Balfour Declaration. It's vague and messy, but it promises a Jewish homeland. And the Jews and Arabs came so close to reaching an agreement on how to live together in Palestine.

34. The British Are Coming from 2018-03-18T19:49:20

A hundred years ago the British issued the Balfour Declaration, promising to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Today we're looking at why the British were interested in Palestine in the first ...

33. To Arms! from 2018-03-11T18:25:38

The first Jewish fighting unit in nearly two millennia takes to the battlefield of World War One, while an espionage unit back in Palestine goes up against the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

32. Meet Me at the Kibbutz from 2018-03-04T21:45:12

WANTED: Renewed Jewish Homeland Seeks Socialist, Revolutionary-Minded Gender Equality Activists to Perform Hard Labor, Drain Swamps, Debate Ideology, and Build Out Their Jewish Minds and Bodies on ...

31. In the Land of Poetry from 2018-02-26T01:01:43

As the century turns, two waves of Jewish immigration come to Palestine. Immortalized through poetry and the building of lasting institutions like Tel Aviv, these immigrants set the stage for the f...

30. Interview: The Trial of SS Officer Oskar Groening from 2018-02-04T22:38:27

Today I interview Kathy Kacer and Jordana Lebowitz, who have written a book, To Look a Nazi In the Eye. It's an account of Jordana's experience attending the 2015 trial of Oskar Groening, a Nazi SS...

29. Hanukah -- One Bad King and a Bunch of Non-Kosher Oil from 2017-12-18T02:22:10

You know the story of Hanukah -- or do you?

28. M'daber Ivrit? (Speak Hebrew?) from 2017-12-10T21:59:11

How to revive a language that hasn't been spoken for 18 centuries? The Jews had been working to revive Hebrew for decades, but it was the Zionists -- led by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and his family -- who...

27. Who Came First? from 2017-12-03T19:11:21

Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the Arab natives of Palestine. Who came first -- the Jews or the Arabs? And how did the early Zionists feel about the Arabs?

26. The New Jew from 2017-10-02T04:59:06

It's not enough just to create a new Jewish homeland. We need a New Jew. Physically strong, spiritually renewed, and connected to the land through hard physical labor. The big picture of Zionism th...

25. Let's Bring the Jewish from 2017-09-24T19:44:55

In contrast to Herzl, Ahad Ha'Am wants "a Jewish state, and not merely a state for Jews." As the Zionist movement takes off at the turn of the century, a new branch, the Cultural Zionists, form to ...

24: Zionism is a Tree from 2017-09-18T02:11:56

What is Zionism? It's a tree. And Theodore Herzl outlines his vision of what the Jewish state should look like.

23. J'Accuse! from 2017-09-03T16:52:38

The trial of Alfred Dreyfus in France rallied Western European Jews around the idea of Zionism, and gave one man in particular, Theodore Herzl, a really big dream about creating a Jewish state.

22. The Czar Is Dead from 2017-08-27T17:20:44

We begin the story of modern Israel with the assassination of Czar Alexander II in Russia, in 1881. How the Jewish community responded tells us a lot about the origins of Zionism.

21. Live from the Western Wall… from 2017-08-12T18:03:13

Live recorded at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I'm kicking off Season 2. I'll be delving into modern Israel -- the rise of Zionism, the creation of Israel, the Palestinian conflict. Look out for t...

20. The End of an Era from 2017-08-12T18:02:27

The Book of Genesis comes to an end as the Israelites go back and forth between Canaan and Egypt. Joseph has to decide between revenge and reconciliation. And we close out the era of the patriarchs...

19. Fashion Forward…to Egypt! from 2017-08-12T18:00:47

We know from the story of Moses and the Exodus (and our recent Passover Seders) that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. But how did they get there in the first place? It has to do with Jacob's fa...

18. Run, Jacob, Run! from 2017-08-12T17:59:37

On the run from both Laban and Esau, Jacob wrestles with a strange being, earning him the name "Israel". He arrives back in the Promised Land to build an altar to God, but tragedy strikes his belov...

17. Two Wives for the Price of Two from 2017-08-12T17:58:17

Jacob crosses the threshold on the hero's journey, dreaming of a ladder with angels going up and down. He marries both Rachel and Leah, who then compete with each other to produce male heirs. This ...

16. The Jason Cake from 2017-08-12T17:56:42

Esau sells his birthright -- the family inheritance -- to his younger brother, Jacob, who connives with his mother, Rebecca, to deceive his father, Isaac. But the story is also a metaphor for the h...

15. Isaac, the John Adams of Jewish History from 2017-08-12T17:55:13

Abraham sends his servant to find Isaac (the under-appreciated patriarch) a wife. We meet Rebecca, a decisive and kind woman who seizes her destiny to become a Jewish leader.

14. The Death of Sarah and Abraham from 2017-08-12T17:53:04

Judaism's second holiest site is the cave where Sarah and Abraham are buried. But for someone so connected to the Promised Land, Abraham still felt like a stranger.

13. Fortunate Son from 2017-08-12T17:51:47

Abraham attempts to sacrifice Isaac but is stopped at the last second. Why did he do it?

12. Current Events: Settlements and Amona from 2017-08-12T17:50:20

Taking a break from the Bible to catch up on current events in Israel this past week: the evacuation of Amona, a West Bank settlement, and the Knesset's approval of a law that allows Israel to seiz...

11. Sodom and Gomorrah from 2017-08-11T22:38:20

Justice, divine punishment, hospitality, sexual deviancy, kindness to strangers, people getting turned into salt -- all this and more as Abraham argues with God, and opens up a new relationship bet...

10. The Couple From Ur from 2017-08-11T22:37:15

We begin the story of a great adventurer: Abram, and his wife Sarai. Starting at the age of 70, Abram will travel across the known world, sell his wife as a mistress to Pharaoh, kill some kings, ci...

9. Friends In (Actually High) Places from 2017-08-11T22:33:39

So there was a major flood, Noah built an ark, and successfully landed it back on dry land. What happened next connects today's Jews with the Armenian people across a familiar historical narrative....

8. Nudity! Snakes! Murder! from 2017-08-11T22:32:31

The human adventure begins. And almost comes to a crashing halt. From eating from the forbidden tree, to getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden, to lying to God, to murdering brothers, what are t...

7. The Beginning of All Things from 2017-08-11T22:31:09

We begin at the beginning! With nothing, and go from there. The Book of Genesis gives us two stories of creation, but they're different. So which is the "real" story?

6. Whole Lotta Books from 2017-08-11T22:29:38

There are a lot of books that make up the Hebrew Bible. And everyone from Leonard Cohen to U2 quote them frequently. Get the quick info on what's in the Hebrew Bible, what the whole thing is about,...

5. The Guy Who Found the Torah from 2017-08-11T22:27:40

In the year 622 BCE, while cleaning out the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Hilkiah found a scroll that would change the course of Western civilization. It also made the King of Judah look good. Which ra...

4. Current Events: UNESCO from 2017-08-11T00:00:41

UNESCO, an agency of the United Nations, recently voted in favor of a resolution condemned by Israel as negating the Jewish historical presence in the Old City of Jerusalem. What's the story? What ...

3. Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews from 2017-08-10T23:57:56

The names we call ourselves -- Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews -- says a lot about where we come from and who we believe ourselves to be as a people. Come learn about the origins of these terms and h...

2. The Jewish Calendar from 2017-08-10T23:56:33

For our second episode, we'll introduce the Jewish calendar -- how the days, months, and years work, why the Jewish holidays move around the secular calendar, and we got to the Jewish year 5,777.

1. Welcome to Jew Oughta Know! from 2017-08-09T01:15:42

Welcome to the first episode of a new podcast -- Jew Oughta Know! In this episode we'll cover the basics of what this podcast is about, and get your started on the great journey that is learning ab...