Journeys

Promoting coexistence through the environment... and vice versa

Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:29:57 +0000

Originally from California and now based in Israel, Rabbi Yonatan Neril is the Founding Director of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development in Jerusalem.

"We're using the environment as a way to bring people together and promote co-existence," he explains, "while at the same time using interfaith cooperation as a way to amplify the environmental message."

Rabbi Neril joins host Allison Kaplan Sommer in the TLV1 studio to explain how he came to integrate both interfaith and ecology into his work, and why he believes that environmentalism goes beyond politics, and should bring together people of all faiths, nationalities, and ethnic backgrounds to work towards building a better future.

Playlist:

Raz Hartman - Ki Lishuatcha
Raz Hartman - Hamakom Sheli
Raz Hartman - Va'ani
Shivi - Ani Nahar
Shivi - Lev Tahor

Joel Mokyr

Tue, 23 Dec 2014 12:06:53 +0000

A world-renowned economic historian and an award winning author, Prof. Joel Mokyr is originally from the Netherlands; he made Aliyah with his mother and sister after the Second World War, and for the past 40 years he has been living in Illinois and teaching at Northwestern University.

Prof. Mokyr is particularly interested in the economic history of technology and population, and he is currently researching the intellectual and institutional origins of modern economic growth. He joins host Ilene Prusher to discuss his work and his journeys.

Playlist:

Shlomo Artzi - Ze Ma Shenishar

Osnat Paz - Shir Shalechet Aduma

Moshe Datz - Anshey Hageshem

Margalit Tzanani - Re’ach Menta

Achinoam Nini - Tarnegol Ben Gever

The Jewish educator who "adopted" one of her students

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:54:03 +0000

Debbie Goldsmith is the Director of Aardvark Israel, a gap year program in Israel for Jewish students, which she co-founded with the late Keith Berman, a Jewish educator who died of a heart attack last month. Berman was a guest on “Journeys” in October, 2013.

Goldsmith has worked in the field of Jewish and Zionist education for almost 20 years, and has led Jewish educational tours to Ethiopia and Holland. She joins host Rogel Alpher to discuss how her program introduces young adults to Israel without sugar-coating its complexities

Goldsmith also speaks about the personal journey her professional work has taken her on. A few years ago she decided to help a former student of the program who was arrested for buying drugs and sentenced to community work; she took him in to live in her home, and he has since become a part of her family.

Playlist:

Matisyahu - Sunshine
Idan Raichel Project - HaBayta
Shlomi Levi and Suiss - Save Me From Falling
Zodiac
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole - Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World
Rami Kleinstein - Matanot Ketanot

Robin Twite on calling Israel "home"

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:31:15 +0000

For 30 years, Robin Twite worked for the British Council, a registered charity specializing in international cultural relations. He served as one of its representatives in Israel at various points from 1958 to 1989, helping to found the Council for Higher Education and the Open University.

Originally from Rugby, England, Twite didn't meet any Jews growing up, and the first time he came across Israel was when he noticed a Christadelphian poster in his hometown that read: "Peace will only come to the world when the Jews return to Jerusalem." But after years spent working in Israel, and after marrying an Israeli, he decided to stay and make it his home.

Twite believes that Israel must serve as a home for the Jewish people, but that it is making a huge mistake by hanging on to the territories - not only because of the Palestinians' rights, but because it warps Israeli society. For this reason, he joined IPCRI, an Israeli-Palestinian NGO devoted to promoting peace and understanding, whose environmental program he has directed for 15 years. Through the environment, Twite says, people can work together. He can be contacted about this work at robin.twite@gmail.com.

Twite joins host Rogel Alpher to discuss the changes he has witnessed in Israel throughout his eventful time here.

Playlist:

Greensleeves
Ofra Haza - Shibboleth Basade
Noami Shemer - Shirat ha Assavim
William Blake - Jerusalem

Doug Altabef on rethinking the American dream

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:14:25 +0000

Fewer than six years ago, Doug Altabef was living in Westchester, New York, and was a senior partner in a Manhattan-based boutique money management firm. Today, he lives with his wife and their youngest of four children in Rosh Pina, Israel, and is a board member of a number of Israeli NGOs, including the Israel Independence Fund (IIF) and Im Tirtzu.

The Altabefs had a comfortable life in New York, and their decision to make Aliyah was not a trivial one - their three eldest children stayed in the States. But, Altabef explains, “There is life, and then there is seeking greater meaning in life,” adding, “The American dream is a wonderful dream, but it’s maybe not the ultimate dream. And maybe the ultimate dream is not one that’s founded on material things, but one that’s founded on meaningfulness in one’s life.”

Altabef tells host Rogel Alpher that the opportunity to raise their youngest daughter as an Israeli and the desire to contribute to the building of a young country were enough to persuade the family to make the move.

Playlist:

The Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine
Al Jolson - Toot Toot Tootsie Goodbye
Carole King - Been To Canaan
Gali Atari - Ma She'at Ohevet

The very first woman of the wall

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 13:25:52 +0000

In December 1988, Bonna Devora Haberman, an Olah from Canada living in Israel, attended an international conference of female Jewish leaders. There, one of the participants initiated a group prayer at the Western Wall that was going to be attended by women from all different streams of Judaism, and would be the first autonomous group prayer to take place at the women’s section of the Wall in Jewish history.

When the administrator of the Wall, Rabbi Yehuda Getz, was asked for his opinion about the occasion, he said that although it did not offend Jewish law, it would not be accepted by the community of Israel.

That evening, moved by the spiritual occasion she had experienced, Haberman decided that she would convene a group prayer at the Wall every month until it was accepted in Israeli society, because, as she says, "The Torah belongs to women as much as to men." Thus, the Women of the Wall movement was born.

The rest of the story is a complicated tale that involves violence, politics, and the Supreme Court. Haberman, a scholar, writer, and playwright, shares the story with host Rogel Alpher.

Playlist:

Yonat Rechokim (piyut)
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach - Even As A Shepard
Melanie Safka - I Don't Eat Animals
Achinoam Nini - Boi Kala

Dr. Dina Wyshogrod teaches us how to live in the moment

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 09:10:13 +0000

Dr. Dina Wyshogrod is a clinical psychologist specializing in anxiety disorders and the Founding Director of MBSR-ISRAEL, the Israeli Center for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.

She shares her journey into the method of MBSR, which she decided to bring to Israel - her adoptive homeland - as her own Zionist contribution.

"I teach people how to live more fully in the moment," she explains. "Most of our stress comes not so much from the experiences we're having at the moment but our perceptions of those experiences... No matter what's happening to us, the moment is the safest place to be."

Dr. Wyshogrod also explains how she ended up taking Israelis on trips to India, and talks about the process that led her to write a memoir of her mother's experiences in the Holocaust, Hiding Places: A Mother, a Daughter, an Uncovered Life (SUNY Press, 2012).

Playlist:

Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton - Can’t Find My Way Home (Live at Crossroads Guitar Festival, 2007)
A. R. Rahman - Jai Ho
Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken
Jennifer Berezan - In These Arms, A Song For All Beings

Meet the man behind Secret Tel Aviv

Thu, 27 Nov 2014 10:09:46 +0000

If you're an expat living in Israel and you've moved here in the past few years, you've most likely heard of Secret Tel Aviv - a Facebook group, website, and newsletter that together form the largest active English-speaking community in Israel.

The man behind the initiative is 34-year-old Jonathan Stark, a strategy consultant from Manchester, UK, who made Aliyah in 2009. On this episode of Journeys, we host Stark to hear about some of the challenges facing new Olim.

Whether you're contemplating making Aliyah, have recently moved to Israel, or just happen to know someone who has, tune in to hear how the Secret Tel Aviv community may be able to help.

And if you're in Tel Aviv today or tomorrow, check out Secret Tel Aviv's two-day Expo event, where 25 sought-after Olim businesses will be showcased.

Playlist:

Barry Louis Polisar - All I Want Is You
Oasis - Wonderwall
Dean Martin - That's Amore
Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg - The Next Episode
Bob Sinclair - Love Generation

How novelist Ayla Adler found inspiration in the Negev

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 09:51:42 +0000

When Ayla Adler, a teacher of writing at the University of Michigan, was 40 years old and mourning the death of her brother’s baby, she had a sudden, unexplained desire to visit Israel for her upcoming birthday.

With no intellectual or emotional connection to the Jewish state, she left her home in Ann Arbor and embarked on what she hoped would be a profound journey - and it was. Adler explains to host Rogel Alpher how her one-week trip to Israel slowly unfolded into a several-year journey.

In the summer of 2006, with the Second Lebanon War raging and no friends or family around her, Adler began spending time in the Negev, which she first encountered by complete chance. There, the ideas for the novel Measuring Rain began to flow.

After a brief return to the States, she decided to take a year off from teaching and come to live in the Negev. During this year, she met all the people who inspired the characters in her novel: A Bedouin woman, an Ethiopian Jew, and an Eritrean asylum seeker.

Now, seven years later, she is living in Mitzpe Ramon and working on the final revisions to her novel.

Playlist:

Gad Tidhar - Moon
Tom Waits - Grapefruit Moon
REM - Love Is All Around (unplugged on MTV)
Faran Ensemble - Rain

Finding a spiritual home in Israel

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:10:06 +0000

When Thomas Hubl was a 19-year-old medical student in Vienna, he found himself meditating for long periods every day without any instruction or guidance. During the next several years, he began to explore different spiritual traditions, until he eventually dropped his studies - despite his love for science and medicine - and went into retreat.

Today, Hubl is a celebrated contemporary spiritual teacher with an increasingly large international body of students. He also propagates spiritual science, which he claims is not a contradiction in terms. The core of Kabbalah and Judaism, he says, is similar to the scientific approach to the development of an inner journey.

Hubl talks about his collaboration with a German institute, which tested him and his students with an MRI machine in order to measure the effect of meditation on the brain. A developed meditation technique, Hubl explains, can stop the area in the brain responsible for daydreaming from producing random thoughts: "You start mastering your thinking, instead of your thinking mastering you."

Hubl has found a perfect home for his work in Israel, where he believes there is a strong spiritual dimension. He has led large-scale healing events, bringing together hundreds of Israelis and Germans to address the collective wounds of the Holocaust. Germans, Hubl believes, have inherited their ancestors' traumas in a genetic sense, just as Jewish Israelis define themselves as being second or third generation to the Holocaust.

Playlist:

Leonard Cohen - Anthem
Keith Jarrett - Cologne Concert part 1
David Grey - Babylon
Coldplay - Fix You
U2 - A Beautiful Day

The guy fighting to export Israeli music

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 12:49:50 +0000

"My vision is to do what Bjork did for Iceland or what Abba did for Sweden," says Jeremy Hulsh, the 36-year-old founder and managing director of Oleh! Records - Israel's Music Export Office. "Every morning I put on my boxing gloves and I pick a fight with somebody that I feel needs to know about what's happening out there."

Hulsh, originally from Chicago, was a college representative for Sony Music at the age of 19, and a mid-level executive at Columbia Records, overseeing 18 states for the label, by the time he was 24. During what he calls "an early midlife crisis," he decided to leave his prestigious job and make Aliyah.

In Israel, Hulsh discovered a vibrant music scene. There is definitely talent in Israel, he says, but he believes that the Israeli music industry has a limited understanding of its potential. For this very reason, Oleh! Records will hold its third international live music conference and showcase, Tune-In Tel Aviv, later this week; the event will host panelists and speakers from major festivals, booking agencies, and labels, and will showcase Israeli musicians in different venues in Tel Aviv.

Playlist (all musicians will be performing at Tune-In Tel Aviv 2014):

Tatran - Anew (live)
Acollective - Happiest Of All Memorial Days
Garden City Movement - Move On
Tamir Grinberg - I Was Made To Love Her
Dorine Levy - There For Me
Buttering Trio - Mean To Me
SKYROADS - Beyond The Doors
Adi Ulmansky - A.D.I

Cherchez la femme in Jewish history

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 12:54:08 +0000

When Professor Renee Levine Melammed began her academic studies as a student of religion, she noticed that most of the history books she found were written by male historians and were focused on men. Determined to "find the women," as she says, she wrote her PhD thesis on the women of Spanish Crypto-Judaism.

Her Ashkenazi heritage notwithstanding, she is fascinated by Sephardic culture at the scholar as well as personal level.

"I know Spanish, Ladino and Arabic and I married a Yemenite who is unbelievably tied to his heritage," she says.

A professor of Jewish history at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, her main areas of practice include the Marranos of Spain and the Spanish Inquisition.

She began her academic career in 1975, as an instructor of the Hebrew language at Brandeis University, and has since held posts as visiting professor at Harvard and Yale, as well as other universities in the United States and in Israel.

Her latest book, 'An Ode to Salonica: The Ladino Verses of Bouena Sarfatty' - which recently won the Canadian Jewish Book Award - explores the world of a feisty partisan heroine who in her poetry described the Jewish life before, during and after the Nazi invasion of Greece.

Playlist:

The Four Tops - Walk Away Renee

Yasmin Levy - Irme Kero

How a pioneer of Ambient Electronica became a Zionist

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 11:00:15 +0000

Internationally acclaimed musician Roland P. Young, widely recognized as a forerunner of the musical genre Ambient Electronica, began as a classically and jazz trained clarinet and saxophone player. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Young boasts an exceptionally diverse African American, Native American and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. His first interest in his Jewish roots came only when, as a young sympathizer of the Black Panther movement, he heard about their Israeli equivalent, that was led by young Mizrahi radicals. Through them, he became a Zionist, and after dividing most of his adult life between San Francisco and New York, Young and his wife made Aliyah in 2013. In recent years he has been enjoying a renaissance of his music, following reissues of his early albums on the Japanese label EM Records.

Playlist - all songs by Roland P. Young: Crystal Motions
Twirling
Rolling
Dearest
Montage
Tea Bells
Motif Of 1
BalloBalla Music

In Tel Aviv, every day is good for Guinness

Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:00:55 +0000

Dublin-born Robert Segal is the founding owner of Molly Bloom's, the first Irish pub in Tel Aviv, which has grown in the past decade and a half to a franchise of three branches throughout the city.

Growing up as a Jew in Ireland, Segal initially sided with the Protestant minority and took no interest in Irish culture. Eventually, he says, he "wanted to become more Irish than the Irish themselves," but it didn't detract from his wish to make Aliyah. Eventually, Segal managed to combine both worlds.

Playlist: Horslips - March Into Trouble / Trouble With A Capital T
U2 - Bad
Everything But The Girl - Love Is Where I Live
Van Morrison - Days Like This
Tom Waits - Alice

Kenny Roger on the Church of Scotland's Middle East mission

Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:29:42 +0000

Kenny Roger is the Church of Scotland's Middle East Secretary. Originally from Glasgow, he first visited Israel in 2010, when he was working as the World Mission Finance Manager of the Church’s offices in Edinburgh.

Impressed with the land in which "the Bible comes alive," Roger went back to Scotland with the hope of securing a role within the Church’s facilities in Israel. And he did; in April 2013, the Roger family moved from Edinburgh to Jaffa, where the children attend the 150-year-old Tabeetha School, an English language school managed by the Church of Scotland, in which Christian, Jewish, and Muslim children study together.

Roger explains the role played by the Church of Scotland, which has had a presence in Israel since the mid-19th century, in the Middle East. The Church reaches out to the small, often isolated, and sometimes abandoned Christian communities in the region, and aims to give them a voice by telling their story. Roger describes visiting members of the tiny Christian community - 1,303 strong - in Gaza before the recent war broke out, and then finding out that some of them had endured loss and destruction over the summer.

Roger also talks about the positives and negatives of being a Scot abroad: He managed to remain "on the fence" in the Scottish Independence debate, but misses good rugby and good haggis.

Playlist:

Ennio Morricone - 'The Mission' Theme
Amy Macdonald - Caledonia
The Proclaimers - Sunshine On Leith
Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons

Hilik Magnus: The godfather of search and rescue

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:39:21 +0000

Traveling to far-flung corners of the earth is very common in Israeli society, especially among youngsters who've just finished their mandatory military service. But travelers cannot be prepared for every scenario, and unfortunately not all disasters can be prevented. Just in the past month, the Israeli media has been flooded with stories of missing travelers in Peru and Nepal.

When disaster strikes, a search and rescue team is required: This is where Hilik Magnus comes in. A renowned rescuer who travels worldwide with his team of experts in order to locate wayward hikers, Magnus is also the founder of a family-run company, Magnus International Search and Rescue.

He joins Rogel Alpher in studio to explain how he came to work in this risky field, and to relive some of the more extreme search and rescue operations he's conducted in his twenty-odd years in the business.

Playlist:

Arik Einstein - Pgisha LeEin Ketz
Naomi Shemer - Kibuy Orot
HaDudaim - Danni Boi
Yossi Banai - Erev Eroni
Idan Raichel - Mima'amakim
Yossi Banai - Ahava Bat Esrim

Marina Toshich's ode to the oud

Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:40:46 +0000

Born an only child in Sarajevo, Marina Toshich was influenced by the culturally diverse music scene found in the streets of the Bosnian capital.

Throughout her life, Marina experimented with cultural activities ranging from plastic art, piano, horseback riding, and swimming at the 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

After the Gulf War in 1991, and before the start of the Bosnian war, she arrived in Israel. Marina never imagined that out of all of her hobbies, the oud, a very rare instrument in Bosnia, would ultimately become her life and career.

Playlist:

Jedan dan života (Un dia da vida) - Mama Huanita
Josipa Lisac - O Jednoj Mladosti
Bijelo Dugme - Požurite Konji Moji - Šta Bi Dao Da Si Na Mom Mjestu
Derya Türkan - Uğur Işık - Nikriz Peşrevi
Recitation of the Qur'an by a young child

Alice Bialsky's Russian rock rebellion

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:01:47 +0000

Alice Bialsky was born in Moscow the year the Soviet tanks crushed Prague. The only child of two Jewish dissidents, she was brought up to hate the communist regime. In the years of her youth she found refuge in the emerging Russian punk/rock and roll scene, which was very critical of the Soviet Union and its ideology.

When she turned 22, Bialsky made Aliyah with her mother and settled down in Tel Aviv, where she was able to break free of her past and start a new life; she pursued a career as a documentary filmmaker.

But her Russian roots did not stay buried: A few years ago Bialsky began writing her debut novel, which tells the story of a rebellious adolescent growing up in Moscow's punk rock scene during the last days of the communist regime. Her semi-autobiographical work, 'The Crown is Not Heavy' (in Russian) or 'We Saw the Night' (in Hebrew), was published by a prestigious Russian publishing house, and has recently been translated into Hebrew and published in Israel.

Playlist:

Franz Schubert - Trio Opus 100
Aukzion - Debris
Bob Dylan - Sara
Nina Simone - Love Me Or Leave Me
The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want

Solar Zionism: Meet Israel's leading green pioneer

Wed, 08 Oct 2014 09:50:44 +0000

Named by CNN as one of the top six “Green Pioneers” worldwide, entrepreneur, financier and activist Yosef Abramowitz is co-founder of Israel’s leading solar power enterprises, Arava Power Company and Energiya Global Capital – where he currently serves as CEO and President.

Most recently, his company established and financed the first utility-scale solar field in eastern Sub-Saharan Africa. The project, which is being built on land owned by a youth village inhabited by orphans of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, will provide training for them and is expected to supply about eight percent of Rwanda’s energy needs.

Playlist:
Shyne – Solar Energy
Madonna – Like A Prayer
Sarah Silverman – That’s What I Wish
Yosef Abramowitz with Rwandian kids – This Little Light Of Mine
Matisyahu – Sunshine
The Beatles – Here Comes The Sun

Dani Dayan, the secular settler leader

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 14:10:17 +0000

Born in 1955 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family that immigrated from Ukraine, businessman and political activist Dani Dayan knew from an early age that he would eventually come to Israel.

In 1971, when he was 15, he made Aliya with his family. His knowledge of Hebrew helped him and his family settle quickly. Following his army service (where he became a Major), Dayan established and managed an information technology firm - not what he had ever envisioned himself doing.

In 2004, he sold his shares in the company and began a political career. Dayan was Secretary-General of the Techiya right-wing movement and a candidate for the Knesset in the 1988 and 1992 general elections.

From 2006, Dayan served as the Chairman of the Yesha Council. Despite being a key figure in the largely religious settlement movement, Dayan is secular.

Playlist:

Mercedes Sosa - Alfonsina Y El Aar
Yardena Arazi - Bat HaDayag
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Arik Einstein - Shir HaShayara
Sisu Et Yerushalaim
Arik Lavie - Rai, Rachel, Rai

Dr. Harinder Mishra: From the banyan to the olive tree

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 14:52:30 +0000

Dr. Harinder Mishra was born in a small Indian village in Bihar, near Kolkata. He walked four kilometers to his primary school every day, where he had lessons under a banyan tree with 400 children of different age groups, taught by one lone teacher - a local farmer who would take the strongest children to work in his fields during the rainy season.

After a bad episode with his teacher, he was sent to a boarding school where he was exposed to a completely different kind of education, which set him up for a university career - a world away from the children with whom he had grown up.

During the research for his PhD thesis, which was based on Israeli social policy, Dr. Mishra met his future Israeli wife.

The two decided to base themselves in Israel, and after working for several years as a lecturer on Indian Studies at the Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities, Dr. Mishra now works as a journalist for an Indian news agency and as an adviser for American companies looking to invest in India.

Playlist:

David Broza - Mitachat LaShamayim
Leonard Cohen - Lover Lover Lover
Asha Bhosle - Katra Katra Milti Hai
Lata Mangeshkar - Pankh Hote Tu Ud Aati Re

Rogel Alpher with Akin Ajayi – Journeys

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 13:19:47 +0000

Brought up in London, 6 year old Akin Ajayi had to change his residence to the hot-noisy-sweaty-crowded Lagos. Lagos is the largest city in southwestern Nigeria. He treated that as an adventure, but went through stages where he felt homesick. Although his English was impeccable Akin had a tough time making new friends as his Yoruba was quite poor. After the beginning of his first year in college Akin’s parents moved back to London. He had the opportunity of joining them, but if he did this he would’ve had to retake all his final exams, if he decided to stay In Nigeria he would be able to finish up his studies there. Eventually Akin chose to stay in Nigeria, his decision was heavily based around the fact that he would have no parental supervision.

As a bachelor he reunited with his family in London and realized that he made the wrong decision in becoming a lawyer. Akin then started searching for a new path and along the way he gained a lot of interest and experience within the field of children psychology. It was within this path that led Akin to Maya, an Israeli Jew who he fell in love with. In 2007 they built their home in Israel. It was another brand new start for Akin who is now a journalist whose main topic of writing is about literature.

In a peculiar way Israel and Nigeria have a few things in common, a fact that made Akin’s acclimatization easier.

Playlist:

Shuffering and Shmiling – Fela Kuti
Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) – Stevie Wonder
Anotherloverholenyohead – Prince
Being Boring – Pet Shop Boys
Off Minor – Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane
I Have A Dream – Martin Luther King Jnr

Comedian Yisrael Campbell: A tale of three conversions

Mon, 22 Sep 2014 12:54:29 +0000

Orthodox Jewish comedian Yisrael Campbell was born in Philadelphia in 1963. Originally named Christopher, he was raised a Catholic, and decided to convert to Judaism after a lengthy spiritual search that began when he was recovering from a drug and alcohol addiction at the age of 16.

This decision took him on a long journey, during which he underwent two more conversions: From Reform to Conservative, and finally from Conservative to Orthodox.

His standup comedy show, 'Circumcise Me,' debuted in New York in 2009, where it ran five to six times a week for several months at the Bleecker Street Theatre. Most recently, it featured a this summer's Edinburgh Fringe festival.

Campbell joins host Rogel Alpher to discuss his remarkable and unconventional life story, accompanied, as always, by a dash of humor.

Playlist:

John Prine - That's The Way That The World Goes Round
Louis Armstrong - Struttin' With Some BBQ
Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarigle - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Neshama Carlebach - Return Again

Black belt Aliyah: Filipino martial artist Jon Escudero

Wed, 17 Sep 2014 12:33:10 +0000

Jon Escudero is a Master of 'Arnis,' a Filipino martial art that uses mainly cold weapons. His interest in martial arts started early, when his father used to take him to see double features of kung-fu and ninja movies.

In 2006, he met his Israeli wife at an international martial arts festival in the Philippines. She became his student, and it soon developed into a lasting relationship; so when she invited him to go back to Israel with her, he didn't think twice.

Once in Israel, Escudero opened Lightning Scientific Arnis, a training center which seeks to offer a window into Filipino culture by way of this unique martial art.

Playlist:

Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting
Black Eyed Peas - Bebot
Boston Pops Orchestra - The Imperial March (Star Wars)
Bamboo - Nopyi

Dr. Weed: Meet Israel's world-renowned cannabis researcher

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 11:11:34 +0000

Dr. Lumír Hanuš, an analytic chemist, is a leading authority in the field of cannabis research. He started working with cannabis and hashish in his native Czechoslovakia in 1970.

Following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ushered in a democratic regime, he was invited to do research at the Hebrew University, where he first described - together with an American molecular pharmacologist - the structure of Anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter.

In this conversation with Rogel Alpher, he explains that many of the beliefs about the dangers of the drug are false, and that it has very strong medicinal qualities, even though it is widely recognized as a palliative drug.

Playlist:

Moravanka Jana Slabáka - Moravská beseda - 3. díl: Rostó, rostó, rostó
Karel Kryl - Nevidomá Dívka
Yehuda Poliker - Boker Yom Rishon
Nigel Kennedy - J.S. Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, BWV1060 - I - Allegro

Ashkelon's one-man iron dome

Wed, 10 Sep 2014 11:30:50 +0000

The summer of 2014 has been one of the most intense in Dr. Alan Marcus' life. The 66-year-old Bostonian is Director of Strategic Planning and Chief Resilience Officer for the rocket-battered city of Ashkelon, where he has lived for the past 40 years.

Marcus set up a groundbreaking "Geographic Information System," enabling the Homefront Command to provide instant assistance and aid to populations and buildings within the missile impact zones in the city.

The system he developed is one of the reasons the City of Ashkelon has been chosen to be part of the Rockefeller Foundation's '100 Resilient Cities' network project. It's also one of the reasons he feels safe there.

Dangerous? Not at all, he says.

Playlist:

Bob Dylan - House Of The Rising Sun

Paul Simon - Kodachrome

Pentangle - Cruel Sister

Matti Caspi - Brit Olam

An Israeli left-wing rabbi: Not a contradiction in terms

Mon, 08 Sep 2014 11:11:40 +0000

Despite this summer's hostilities, former MK and minister Rabbi Michael Melchior is still convinced that Israeli-Palestinian peace is within reach.

"If we build it the right way," he says, "and Hamas are included in a package that will include justice for the Palestinian people, they will be willing to go along with peace."

Rabbi Melchior was the leader of Meimad, a religious left-wing political party. It ran in alliance with the Labor party until 2009, and since his departure from the Knesset Rabbi Melchior has been involved in numerous civil society initiatives.

Unlike many in Israel's predominantly secular peace camp, Rabbi Melchior claims that religion is is a crucial element for peace-making.

Playlist:

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach - Keli Ata
Kobi Oz - Elohai
Shuli Nathan - Shirat Ha'asabim

Spinning the conflict: 'Hasbara,' the next generation

Mon, 01 Sep 2014 10:35:41 +0000

"If you look at Israel like a company, we have a very strong crisis management department, but no marketing," says Joanna Landau, the founder and executive director of Kinetis Ltd., a grassroots organization that seeks to boost Israel's image in the world.

Shying away from old-fashioned hasbara, it attempts to highlight the many things Israel has to offer to the world. If Paris equals romance and the US equals freedom, she says, Israel equals innovation.

Landau is aware of Israel's problems, but sees the glass half full: There are many benefits to the conflict, she argues; Israel owes its vibrant, creative atmosphere to the endemic political uncertainty.

Playlist:

Monty Python - Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

Elton John - Daniel, My Brother

TYP - D.I.S.C.O.

Shlomo Artzi - Shir Baboker Baboker

The torchbearer of the Jewish people

Wed, 27 Aug 2014 13:00:16 +0000

Olympic racewalker Shaul P. Ladany's life has been strewn with challenges - far more strenuous than his decades-long training regime.

Born in the former Yugoslavia in 1936, Prof. Ladany was sent to the Nazi death camp Bergen-Belsen when he was just eight years-old. After surviving the Holocaust, he made Aliyah with his family in 1948 and started an academic career at the same time as an athletic one.

His athletic accomplishments include winning the gold medal in the 100km walk at the World Championships in 1972, first place at 28 Israeli national walking championships, and six US championships. He received worldwide attention in 1972 as one of a handful of Israeli Olympians to survive the Munich Massacre.

Now Emeritus Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Prof. Ladany has authored over a dozen books and 120 scholarly papers. He still holds a world record in the 50-mile walk, and the Israeli national record in the 50km walk.

Playlist:

‘Hatikvah’ sung at Bergen-Belsen (April 23rd, 1945)
Israel Military Band - Anachnu Meoto Hakefar

Iron lady: Sculptress Dina Merhav retraces her steps

Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:42:12 +0000

Dina Merhav is a sculptress who specializes in outdoor iron constructions - the fourth generation of her family to work with the industrial metal. She has installed works in Israel, China, India, the US, Croatia and beyond.

A Holocaust survivor, Merhav was born in Vinkovci, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). She was only five years old when the Germans invaded her homeland in 1941, and her father, who was a Royal Yugoslav Army officer, was captured and imprisoned. Merhav then fled with the rest of her family to Italy, and eventually arrived in Switzerland. After the War, her family reunited and made Aliyah.

Merhav joins Rogel Alpher to retrace those steps that brought her family to Israel, and she explains why she waited until 2010 to return to the town of her birth.

Playlist:

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata
Efrat Rotem - Avinu Malkenu
Astrud Gilberto, João Gilberto and Stan Getz - Garota de Ipanema
Efrat Rotem - from Bellini's Romeo and Juliet

Japanese calligraphy artist Kazuo Ishii

Wed, 20 Aug 2014 10:47:09 +0000

Originally from Saitama, Japan, Kazuo Ishii is a calligraphy and ink artist. Together with the deep study of these traditional arts with Japanese and Chinese masters, he has also studied martial arts, zen, and meditation, which have become an integral part of his lifestyle.

In 1997, Ishii came to live in Kiryat Tivon, Israel. His works have been exhibited in various museums and galleries, and some have been purchased by the Israel Museum of Art.

Besides working as an artist, Ishii also teaches his artistic tradition in Israel: He has opened the Shiboku Studio, which gives Israelis the opportunity to study calligraphy and ink painting with him, alongside courses and lectures that he gives in various academic institutions around the country.

Playlist:

Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Guqin - Guan Shan Yue
Theme from "The Last Emperor" OST
Shika no tohne (Japanese "Shakuhachi"music)
Riley Lee - Long Forgotten Rememberings
Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

Mehereta Baruch-Ron: From an Ethiopian village to deputy mayor of Tel Aviv

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 11:57:38 +0000

Mehereta Baruch-Ron is Deputy Mayor of the Tel Aviv municipality. Originally from Ethiopia, she embarked on a long journey to Israel via Sudan with two of her sisters when she was just 10 years old. Her parents bought her first pair of shoes for her in preparation for the trip to Israel.

She joins Rogel Alpher to share stories from her incredible transformation: From a child growing up in an African village with no electricity or running water, to a successful theatre-actress-turned-politician in Israel.

Playlist:

Shlomo Gronich & Lahakat Shva - Hamasa LeEretz Israel
Pharell Williams - Happy
Bob Marley - Is This Love
Idan Raichel - Mima'amakim

Getting to the 'core' of the Holocaust

Thu, 14 Aug 2014 16:17:12 +0000

Prof. Dan Michman is Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem. Originally from Amsterdam, he has played a major role in teaching and researching the Holocaust since the 70s, while it was still an emerging academic field.

Prof. Michman has published numerous books and articles, in a variety of languages, on the history of Dutch Jewry, Israeli society, and various aspects of the Holocaust: From historiography to ghettos, Jewish leadership to refugees, migrants and survivors.

He joins Rogel Alpher in studio to discuss, amongst other things, his research on the 'core' of the Holocaust, which he believes was a much larger enterprise than a genocide of Jews.

Playlist:

Merck Toch Hoe Sterck
Chazan Prof. Hans Bloemendal - Boruch Habbo
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
Gilbert Becaud - Nathalie
Yonatan Razel - Katonti

Carlo Strenger on the Israeli Homo Globalis

Mon, 11 Aug 2014 11:09:57 +0000

Dr. Carlo Strenger, originally from Basel (Switzerland), is an existential psychoanalyst, philosopher and political commentator, and Professor of Psychology at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the impact of globalization on meaning, and on personal and group identity.

As a commentator he writes primarily on Israeli politics and the Middle East conflict in his blog on Haaretz, "Strenger than Fiction," as a columnist in Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and occasionally in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Huffington Post and Foreign Policy.

He joins Rogel Alpher in the studio to explain some of his theses, including the complexity of the modern Jewish identity.

Playlist:

Leonard Cohen - First We Take

Manhattan Bach - Cello Suite No. 2

Verdi - Requiem, Quid Sum Miser

Sinead O'Conner - Nothing Compares To You

The secret life of Walter Bingham

Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:47:50 +0000

Walter Bingham, host of "Walter's World" - a weekly magazine program on Arutz Sheva National Radio - is the oldest working field journalist in Israel. Bingham was born in Germany in 1924 and was later registered to make Aliyah to Palestine at the age of 12. The British mandate authorities never granted him a permit to Palestine, but he was selected for a place aboard the 'Kindertransport' to the UK just days before the outbreak of WW11. His journey to the promised land ended ten years ago, when he finally made Aliyah to Israel. From his days as a teenager during the War to his awaited move to Israel, Bingham has had some remarkable adventures: he was drafted by the British army and saw front line action during the Invasion of Normandy, he interviewed Nazi personnel before they were convicted at the Nuremberg Trials, he appeared on two films of the Harry Potter series as a wizard and has single-handedly flown a plane from Europe to Israel and back. Tune in to hear more episodes from his eventful life.

Playlist:

Herman Fenigstein - Ich Fuhr Aheim

Gali Atari - Ein Li Eretz Aheret

The Leslies - We're Going To Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line

"Hatikvah" sung at Bergen-Belsen (April 23rd, 1945)

Ilana Shemesh makes labour more natural

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 12:40:45 +0000

'I had no idea I would evolve into a natural birth freak,' says Ilana Shemesh, an Israeli pioneer in the field of home-births. Shemesh, who has delivered approximately 7,000 babies, started her career within the mainstream hospital system as a midwife. In what she describes as a 'slow and evolutionary process,' she began realizing that hospitals and doctors were not placing the physical and emotional needs of their patients at the top of their priority lists. She joins Rogel Alpher in studio to explain how mothers and babies are affected by unnecessary procedures in the conventional birthing process, and why more women should choose natural home-birth.

Playlist: Judy Cohain - Magic Home Birth
The Obstetricians Song
Helen Reddy - I Am Woman
Peter, Paul and Mary - We Shall Overcome
The Beatles - Let It Be
Peter, Paul and Mary - If I Had A Hammer

Dr. Lionel Bobot brings some 'je ne sais quoi' to Israel's tourism industry

Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:56:07 +0000

Summary:

Born in Tunisia and raised in France, Dr. Lionel Bobot made Aliyah with his family nearly three years ago. When he moved here, Dr. Bobot set himself the goal of developing tourism in Israel, primarily from France. He started by establishing the first Israeli branch of the International Hotel Management School Vatel, where he served as director until May 2014. He also hosted a show called "Les Enjeux de l'Economie" ("Economic Stakes") on French TV, which focused on Israeli tourism, economics and gastronomy, and had over 500,000 viewers.

He is now the International Project Manager of Tadmor School in Herzliya, a public culinary institute. He joins Rogel Alpher to discuss the potential he sees in the Israeli tourism industry, and to explain how and why he managed to bring Yoplait to Israel in the late 90s.

Playlist:

Gali Atari with Milk & Honey – Hallelujah
Michel Fugain – Fais Comme L'oiseau
Charles Aznavour – Emmenez Moi
Claude Haddad – L'hymne A L'Alya
Pharrell Williams – Happy
Shirley Bassey – Where Do I Begin (Away Team Mix)
"So French So Tasty" – French Gastronomic Week in Israel 2014 (commercial tune)

Solar Zionism: Meet Israel's leading green pioneer

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:14:38 +0000

Named by CNN as one of the top six "Green Pioneers" worldwide, entrepreneur, financier and activist Yosef Abramowitz is co-founder of Israel's leading solar power enterprises, Arava Power Company and Energiya Global Capital – where he currently serves as CEO and President.

Playlist:

Shyne – Solar Energy

Madonna – Like A Prayer

Sarah Silverman – That's What I Wish

Yosef Abramovich with Rwandian kids – This Little Light Of Mine

Matisyahu – Sunshine

The Beatles – Here Comes The Sun

A Modern Orthodox rabbi's struggle against Israel's religious establishment

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:49:02 +0000

"Kafka himself couldn't have made this up," says Modern Orthodox Rabbi Dr. Seth (Shaul) Farber, the founding director of ITIM, an organization that helps Israelis and/or Jews navigate the substantial religious bureaucracy in Israel.

In opposition to Israel's Orthodox establishment, Rabbi Farber strongly supports civil marriage; Jewish life, he says, is essential for the future of the State of Israel, and alienating people from it may be disastrous in the long term.

Playlist:

Yonatan Razel – Vehi Sheamda

The Beatles – Yesterday

Simon & Garfunkel – Sound Of Silence

Yehuda Poliker – Le'an At Nosa'at (Where Are You Going)

Naomi Shemer – Lu Yehi (Let It Be)

The psychology of a British-Israeli, Shabbat-observing agnostic

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:23:38 +0000

Dr. Eli Gottlieb is the director of the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem and a research psychologist, focusing on cultural psychology. His research examines the relationship between cognition, culture and identity, and how the development of each is affected by education.

Drawing on his experience as an educator – as the former National Director of Bnei Akiva in Great Britain and Ireland as well as a trainer of youth counselors for the Jewish Agency – he has carried out empirical research dedicated to cross-cultural variation in the development of religious beliefs and spirituality during childhood and adolescence.

Dr. Gottlieb believes that his own complex identity as a British-Israeli, Shabbat-observing agnostic, is an innate advantage in his field of expertise.

Playlist:

Elvis – Surrender

The Beatles – Two Of Us

Nick Cave – Into My Arms

Beastie Boys – Intergalactic

The Stone Roses – I Wanna Be Adored

Shlomo Artzi – Ometz (Courage)

The Smiths – Ask

Escape from Lebanon: How Jonathan Elkhoury became Israeli

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:17:27 +0000

Twenty-two-year-old Jonathan Elkhoury was born in South Lebanon to a Christian family. His father was a soldier in the South Lebanon Army, which was supported by Israel in its struggle against the PLO and Hezbollah during the 1982 Lebanon War and beyond. When Israel evacuated its forces from Lebanon in 2001, Elkhoury's family was endangered and his father was forced to flee to Israel, leaving his family behind – they only managed to join him a year later.
Jonathan joins Rogel Alpher in the studio to tell the story of his family's complicated escape to Israel, and his subsequent integration into Israeli society, where he has thrived – he was awarded the Health Minister's Shield for his National Service work at Rambam Hospital. But despite feeling 'Israeli,' he still has dreams of returning to Lebanon and reuniting with the rest of his family.

Playlist:

Farirouz – Waynoun

Joseph Attieh – Lebnan Rah Yerja'a

Fairouz – Bhebak Ya Lebnan

Sarit Hadad – Ga'aguim

Beyonce – I Was Here

Charice – Note To God

From the Caribbean to the Middle East: The soulful grooves of Hillary Sargeant

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 13:21:44 +0000

Hillary Sargeant is a Trinidad-born singer based in Israel, whose sound has been described as "a journey of ethnic and African rhythms, from the Caribbean to the Middle East, that transcends messages globally with soulful grooves and textures of diverse cultures," and has been compared to the music of Curtis Mayfield, Sade, Fela Kuti, Nina Simone and Salif Ketia.

Sargeant, originally a classical music singer, moved to Israel in the mid-80s when her uncle, renowned musician Vin Cardinal, invited her to perform with him in Tel Aviv. A survivor of breast cancer and economic hardships, Sargeant established her solo project in 2007 with a debut single called "Fanga," and has since performed with her band worldwide.

Playlist:

Hillary Sargeant - Who I Am (Back To Blackness); Fire & Blood; Sad Situation; Aye Ben Kilima
Hues Corporation - Rock The Boat
Roberta Flack - Tradewinds

Tottenham 'Yid' David Newman on politics, academia and Jewish London of yore

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:36:00 +0000

British-Israeli political geographer Prof. David Newman, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, is the founder of the university's much-maligned Department of Politics and Government, which has been accused of having an anti-Zionist slant. The controversy culminated in a 2012 decree from the Higher Education Council ordering the department to shut down, which was later overturned.
Though labelled by his right-wing opponents as anti-Israeli, Prof. Newman plays a leading role in fending off calls made around the world to boycott Israeli academics and universities.

Originally from North London and an avid supporter of London's Tottenham Hotspur ('Spurs') Football Club, Prof. Newman is currently in the process of writing a non-academic book, "Growing Up on the 73 Bus," about his experiences growing up in a Jewish family in London.

Playlist:

Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer

Ralph McTell – Streets Of London

Naomi Shemer – Lu Yehi (Let It Be)

The Beatles – Let It Be

Adolphe Attia – Ve'al Yede Avadeikha / Zakharti Lakh

Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur

Zemel Choir – Tzadik Ketamar Yifrach (The Righteuos Will Flourish Like The Date Palm)

Alon Oleartchik, a hallmark of modern Israeli music

Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:28:47 +0000

Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Alon Oleartchik is one of Israel's best-known musicians, boasting a career spanning several decades as a singer, composer, producer and bass player.

A former member of 1970s rock band Kaveret – Israel's most successful band of all time, who reunited last year with a sold-out tour – Oleartchik has collaborated with numerous artists over the years, exploring a range of genres from jazz to mizrahi (Oriental). He has released no less than 11 solo albums.

Oleartchik joins Rogel Alpher in the studio for a journey down memory lane to the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, where Kaveret competed alongside Abba, as well as other memorable moments from his eventful life and career.

Oleartchik will perform at Tmuna Theatre in Tel Aviv on Thursday, July 3, at 9pm.

Playlist:

Kaveret – Natati La Chayay (I've Given Her My Life); Golyat

Alon Oleartchik – Ba Lashechuna Bachur Hadash (A New Guy Has Come To Town); Boi Nagid She'ani Shelach (Let's Say I'm Yours)
Alon Oleartchik & Elad Adar – Mastik (Bubble Gum); Holech Hozer (Going, Coming Back); Lo Ro'e Otach (Can't See You)

The Vinograds: From Leeds to Jacob's Ladder, via Bob Dylan

Wed, 25 Jun 2014 10:56:11 +0000

Originally from Leeds, England, Menachem and Yehudit Vinograd met at an afternoon Hebrew class when they were 14. A few years later they were newlyweds living on a kibbutz.

Today they are known in the Israeli Anglo-American community as the founders and producers of the successful and beloved Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival, which began in 1978 and takes place twice a year in northern Israel.

They join Rogel Alpher in the studio to speak about their life's work and share memories from past festivals. They also end up sharing a small but significant anecdote about the time they encountered Bob Dylan on a kibbutz in Israel.

Playlist:

Alex Hood – Botany Bay

Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin'

Arthur Johnstone - Bandiera Rossa

Eva Peron – Don't Cry For Me Argentina

Hans Theessink – Green Green Rocky Road

Akli D – Salam

Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson & Ricky Skaggs – Foggy Mountain Top

Activist Sarah Kreimer works towards Jewish-Arab cooperation and equal rights

Mon, 23 Jun 2014 13:48:57 +0000

Sarah Kreimer is a veteran peace activist: since her move to Israel in the early 80s, she has initiated countless economic and social projects, along with urban planning enterprises, aimed at helping achieve Jewish-Arab cooperation and equal rights. A co-founder of the left-wing organization Ir Amim, where she later served as associate director, Kreimer has recently finished writing a memoir of her years as an activist, titled "Vision and Division in Israel: My Journey Along the Seam." Her book captures her life from many angles, both as a woman dealing with her personal day-to-day struggles - including a battle against breast cancer and the loss of her husband - and as a Jewish Israeli fighting for reconciliation and peace in the Middle East.

Playlist: Joan Baez - Joe Hill
Frank Sinatra - I Did It My Way
The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want
Chava Alberstein - Atta Pele (You're a Wonder)
Kaveret - Golyat
Shoshana Damari - Kalaniyot (Anemones)

Hal Linden

Sun, 22 Jun 2014 14:53:52 +0000

Born in the Bronx as Harold Lipshitz in the 1930s, Hal Linden is an American Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor, and also a singer and musician whose career has spanned more than 65 years with memorable roles on stage, television, in film, and a cabaret-style variety show with which he tours nationally. Perhaps best known for his lead role on ABC’s hit television series “Barney Miller,” which aired from 1975-1982, Linden has also been serving as spokesman for the Jewish National Fund since 1997.

Music:

Hal Linden - In My Own Lifetime

Dean Martin & Judy Holiday - Just In Time

Hal Linden - You're The Top

Barney Miller theme song

Hal Linden - Mac The Knife

Hal Linden - The Parody of the Hungry Years

Bridging impossible gaps: Jewish and Palestinian, conflict and peace

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:44:11 +0000

"I'm in love with people," says Ofer Bronchtein, one of the only two Jewish Israelis ever to be awarded a Palestinian passport. Born in Be'er Sheva, Israel, Bronchtein spent a significant period of his childhood and adolescence in France, and still divides his time - as well as identity - between Europe and the Middle East.

He is the co-founder of the International Forum for Peace in the Middle East, along with Anis el Qaq, who serves today as the ambassador of the Palestinian Authority in Bern. Tune in to hear to his inspiring journey, in which a daily preoccupation with the conflict and a healthy dose of optimism are not mutually exclusive.

Playlist:

John Lennon – Imagine

Jacques Brel – Ne Me Quitte Pas

Ahinoam Nini – HaChayim Yafim (Life Is Beautiful)

Leonard Cohen – The Partisan

Boaz Sharabi – Latet (To Give)

Shlomo Bar – Scharchoret (Blackish)

Ravid Kahalani gives us the Yemen Blues

Wed, 11 Jun 2014 14:32:26 +0000

They were attached to their roots, and as a child Kahalani was taught traditional Yemeni chants and was sent to religious courses with a Yemeni rabbi. He dropped out of school at the age of 15, and after a short stint acting and dancing, he finally realized that his real passion in life was music. He tried his luck with a number of activities, ranging from Serbian church music to a collaboration with the highly acclaimed Israeli musician Idan Raichel. In 2010, Kahalani formed Yemen Blues, whose music has a mixture of Yemeni and West African influences, and fuses funk, soul, blues and jazz. The band's songs are written in a Yemeni dialect of Arabic, with a bit of Hebrew and gibberish thrown in for good measure.

Playlist:

Marie Lou Williams – St Martin De Porres

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues

Prince – The Truth

Habib Koite – Sirata

Yemen Blues – Trape La Verite

Yemen Blues – Baraca

@liorpeleg

National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek: Walking the walk and talking the talk

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 11:02:56 +0000

The latest project of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Salopek, a seasoned and high-flying journalist, has taken him farther than all his previous ones: to the cradle of humanity. As part of the Out of Eden trek, he intends to spend seven years walking from Ethiopia to Argentina, in the footsteps of the first humans, in an attempt to re-enact the discovery of the world. Now in Israel, he joins Rogel Alpher to discuss the aims of the project and his impressions of Israel, somewhere he has never visited before despite having been offered the position of Jerusalem bureau chief on numerous occasions.

You can follow the the "Out of Eden Walk" in real-time by clicking here. National Geographic's Hebrew edition features a profile on the Out of Eden trek through Israel in its May edition.

Playlist:
Oliver Mtukudzi - Todii
Patty Griffith - Useless Desires
Philip Glass - Evening Song Act III Pt. 3 (Satyagraha)
Eliades Ochoa & The Buena Vista Social Club - El Carretero
Edie Brickell with Barry White - Good Times
Yuval Ben Ami - Beirut
Unnamed artists - Baka Pygmy Water Music

A lifetime of shattering glass ceilings

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:30:50 +0000

Ilana Dayan, an investigative journalist best known for her show "Uvda" ("Fact"), has spent her life breaking through gender barriers. She was the first female correspondent for Israeli Army Radio during the First Lebanon War. She went on to become the first female presenter on the Israeli educational show "Erev Hadash." After earning her PhD in law at Yale University, she started the documentary program "Uvda," now the longest-running Israeli prime time show.

Born in Argentina, Dayan says that when she moved to Israel at the age of six, she wanted, more than anything, to become Israeli. "I wanted Hebrew to be the language that runs through my veins," she tells host Rogel Alpher. As time passes, she increasingly embraces the Spanish language. But still, she says that every aspect of her life, from her career in journalism and law to her family life and parenthood, is informed and influenced by her Israeli identity.

Playlist:

Mercedes Sosa - Gracias a la vida
חוה אלברשטיין - שמרי נפשך (Chava Alberstein - Shimri Nafshech)
יהודית רביץ - וידוי (Yehudit Ravitz - Viduy)
Fairouz - Al Bint El Chalabiya
עמיר בניון - ניצחת איתי הכל (Amir Benayoun - Nitzacht Iti Hakol)

Managing the lost and found of the Jewish People

Thu, 29 May 2014 12:40:27 +0000

One day in 1997, while working as Deputy Communications Director for then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Michael Freund received a letter that caught his attention. He didn't know then that it would change the course of his life. It was sent by a small community in northeastern India called Bnei Menashe, who claimed they were descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel and who wished to return to Israel. Freund volunteered to help them and soon discovered that there are 'lost' Jews everywhere who seeking to reconnect with their Jewish roots.
He founded Shavei Israel, an organization that searches for and assists the Lost Tribes of Israel and other "hidden Jews" seeking to return to Zion.

Why curb Israel's birthrate? A Zionist environmentalist weighs in

Mon, 26 May 2014 12:52:28 +0000

Dr Alon Tal, one of Israel's leading environmentalists, manages to keep a good balance between academic research and public advocacy. For the past few years, he's been a member of Ben Gurion University faculty (following stints at the Tel Aviv and Hebrew universities, the University of Otago in New Zealand, Stanford University and Harvard). As an activist, among other things, he founded Adam Teva veDin, the Israel Union for Environmental Defense; the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies; the Green Zionist Alliance; and the Green Movement political party. Although he is a Zionist, American-born Tal is adamant that Israel's high birth rate must be curbed - and here he explains why.

Playlist:

James Taylor - Carolina on my mind
Tom Lehrer - The Elements
Indigo Girls - Love will come to you
Dixie Chicks - Goodbye Earl
Alison Kraus and Union Station - Little Liza Jane

Michael "Mikado" Warschawski: Israeli anti-Zionist activist

Mon, 19 May 2014 11:28:35 +0000

Michael Warschawski (aka Mikado) is a veteran anti-Zionist activist. Born in France to an orthodox Rabbi who had fought as a partisan in WWII, the young Warschawski grew up hearing stories about the expulsion of Jews to camps, before the term "Holocaust" had even been coined.

After moving to Israel in his teens, he witnessed a procession of Arab refugees who had been expelled from their villages during the Six Day War. This was a turning point for Warschawski; he realized that his early conception of the Jews as a tortured people was no longer accurate. This path eventually led him to the radical - then infamous - socialist movement "Matzpen", which fought for nearly two decades against the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Playlist:

Bach-Collegium Stuttgart with Helmuth Rilling - Bach's Cantata No.4: Christ lag in Todes Banden

Bach-Collegium Stuttgart with Helmuth Rilling - Mendelssohn's Elias (Overture)

Michel Corboz - Brahms' German Requiem (First Movement)

Philharmonia Orchestra with Otto Klemperer - Mahler's Symphony (Second Movement)

Sinfonia Varsovia with Jacek Kaspszyk - Preisner's Requiem For My Friend (Lacrimosa)

Sheldon Schorer

Thu, 15 May 2014 09:57:54 +0000

Now a rarity, a Democrat abroad in Israel - Journeys

Sheldon Schorer is the counsel and spokesperson of the Israeli branch of the American Democratic Party. He has served Democrats Abroad in Israel since 1988, in the capacities of counsel and chairman.

Schorer feels that over the past two decades, Israeli-Americans have gradually shifted from supporting the Democrat Party to supporting the Republicans. However, he believes that the Jewish American voter needs to grow up and recognize that Obama acts in Israel's interests, and that maintaining the peace talks should be a mutual interest of all sides involved.

Music:

The Chordettes - Mr. Sandman

"Camelot" from the musical "Camelot"

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

החלונות הגבוהים - בואו ונרים כוסית

אביבה אבידן - יהיה בסדר

@liorpeleg

Learning to live independently with autism

Mon, 12 May 2014 16:05:24 +0000

When Robert Solomon was diagnosed with severe autism, his parents were advised to institutionalize him and move on with their lives. But the young Solomon couple refused and instead sought the best possible treatment for their son. Today, Robert is an independent, happily-married father of two young girls.

Robert's father, Walter Solomon, joined TLV1's Rogel Alpher in the studio to share the story of his son's phenomenal development, which he credits to an unconventional method of treatment developed by the late British neurologist Geoffrey Waldon. But the interview took an unexpected turn as Rogel also began to share his personal story.

Playlist:

Gervase de Peyer - Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (Second Movement: Adagio)

West Side Story - Somewhere

The Lindsay Quartet with Douglas Cummings - Schubert's String Quintet (Second Movement: Adagio)

Neil Diamond - Hell Yeah

Emily Schaeffer

Wed, 07 May 2014 17:50:46 +0000

In 2009, Attorney Emily Schaeffer made it into the "25 Intelligent Optimists of the year" list of the Dutch magazine Ode.

Thirty-five-year-old Schaeffer is a human rights lawyer and an activist, who fights for a cause inside as well as outside the courtroom: After representing the residents of the Palestinian village of Bil'in in a petition against the route of the security barrier built by Israel on the village lands, she demonstrated alongside her clients in their weekly protests, which received significant international media attention. Schaeffer also represents African asylum seekers, with whom she volunteers in her spare time. What's more, she is a vegan who champions animal rights.

Sinead O'Connor - Black Boys On Mopeds

PJ Harvey - A Place Called Home

James - Sometimes

Led Zeppelin - Going To California

Of Monsters And Men - Dirty Paws

R.E.M. - You Are The Everything

Noa May - The War Is Over

Conductor Gisele Ben-Dor

Wed, 30 Apr 2014 12:33:16 +0000

Described by renowned critics as "a ferocious talent" and "a tremendous musician," Uruguay-born orchestra conductor Gisele Ben-Dor has made a name for herself in what is still almost entirely a man's world. She has led the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Israel Philharmonic and many other world-class orchestras. Ben-Dor has played a crucial role in the recent renaissance of Latin American classical music, which she still performs in concerts, festivals and recordings.

Playlist:

Vinicious di Moraes - Garota de Ipanema

Gisele Ben-Dor with Juanjo Mosalini, Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra & Virginia Tola - I'll Postino (Luis Bacalov)

Gisele Ben-Dor with Juanjo Mosalini, Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra & Virginia Tola - Oblivion (Astor Piazzolla)

Gisele Ben-Dor with The London Symphony - Malambo (Alberto Ginastera)

Dudu Tassa & The Kuwaitis - Wen Ya Galub

The secret life of Holocaust survivor Menachem Alter Einhorn

Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:03:56 +0000

Coming out of the ashes of the Holocaust, many survivors chose to leave their old lives behind and start anew. Menachem Alter Einhorn refused to do so. After the war ended, he desperately searched for his wife and children. But after coming to the conclusion that they'd been killed, he remarried and started a new family. As it turned out, he may have jumped the gun.

On this episode of "Journeys," we bring you the unbelievable story of Eli Oren, the son of Menachem Alter Einhorn and his second wife Esther, also a Holocaust survivor. Eli's father never told him that he had had a family before the war, not even on his deathbed. But a few years after his father's death, Oren began researching his roots and soon discovered the great secret that his father kept for decades. His first wife and one of their children had in fact survived the Holocaust.

Song:

Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly - Moonlight Shadow

Acclaimed choreographer Rachel Erdos

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 14:52:13 +0000

British-born Rachel Erdos moved to Israel 12 years ago after having completed a Master's degree in dance, and has since risen to prominence as one of Israel's leading choreographers. During her short yet eventful career, she has created a number of dance pieces, showcased her work in virtually every festival in the country and toured the world - including prestigious venues like Washington's Kennedy Center and London's Royal Opera House - winning prizes and critical acclaim.

Playlist: Irene Cara - Out Here On My Own
Lionel Richie & Diana Ross - Endless Love
Take That feat. Lulu - Relight My Fire
Asaf Avidan - The Reckoning
Modest Mouse - The Stars Are Projectors

Rogel Alpher with Gilad Kahana of The Giraffes - Journeys

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 10:11:39 +0000

Wandering the streets of Tel Aviv is part of poet and singer-songwriter Gilad Kahana's artistic process.

Born in Mexico in 1970, Kahana was repeated uprooted as a child, bouncing between Israel and Mexico until finally settling in Tel-Aviv when he was nine.

Kahana started the acclaimed band 'Girafot' in 1992 along Yair Kass. The band has since released four albums, a documentary and a smartphone app ("Gazoor"). Kahana has also released several solo albums, both in English and Hebrew, and three books.

Kahana discusses his life changing experiences, including an LSD trip which led him to become religious for a year and losing both his parents at an early age.

Playlist:

Gilad Kahana - Independence Day

The Walking Man - My Game

Girafot - Rami Muasham BeAchzakat Samim Kalim (Rami Is Accused Of Light Drug Possession)

Girafot - Halev Hu Teleskopi (The Heart Is Telescopic)

Loco Hot - Nadlan (Real Estate)

Betsy Benjaminson

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:01:44 +0000

The American-born Japanese-to-English translator made Aliyah more than a decade ago. But it was only after she was hired by Toyota's defense law firm in 2010 and gained access to thousands of classified documents, that Betsy Benjaminson breached her veil of anonymity. The giant car manufacturer was in the midst of a legal and public relations crisis at the time, having issued a massive recall of millions of vehicles due to recurrent reports of uncontrolled acceleration, some of which resulted in fatalities. The corporation blamed this on floor mats, mechanical problems and driver error - not internal electronics - but the US Congress and government agencies ordered an investigation.

In the course of her work for Toyota, Benjaminson noticed some discrepancy between corporate correspondence and the technical manuals, and became persuaded that the corporation was hiding the truth about what was causing the acceleration defects. After receiving legal advice from a law firm, Benjaminson began to leak the information to the media, thrusting her into the limelight. This is her story.

Playlist:

Pete Seeger - If I Had A Hammer
Goro Yamaguchi - Mukaiji Reibo
Art Lee with Wadaiko Ensemble TOKARA - Taiko
Shlomo Carleback - Esa Einai
Al Andaluz Project - La Galana y el Mar

Right-wing ideologue - Yisrael Medad

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:42:54 +0000

New York-born Yisrael Medad is a high-profile right-wing journalist and blogger. Medad, the director of educational programming and information resources at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, grew up in the midst of New York's Jewish community, and became politically involved at an early age. In his teens, he joined the revisionist-Zionist youth movement Betar, and took part in its "unofficial" activity - which included, among other things, street fights with German-American neo-Nazis. Medad made aliyah in 1970, and has since been an active member of the settlement movement, in which capacity he was involved in the attempt to establish a Jewish settlement in the Palestinian village of Sebastia, in the 1970s. Join Rogel Alpher for a journey into the mind of a strong-minded right-wing ideologue, who refuses to recognize the Palestinians as a national collective — but that, he says, doesn't exclude the prospect of dialogue.

Music:

Peter, Paul & Mary - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Avraham Stern - Chayalim Almonim

Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

Shlomo Carlebach - Hashmi'eini et Kolech

Regina Spektor - Samson

Michel Kichka

Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:34:36 +0000

Michel Kichka is an award winning illustrator and one of Israel's leading political cartoonists, having published his work both in Israel and abroad for over three decades.

Born to a Jewish-Belgian family, Kichka's father is a Holocaust survivor who was arrested by the Gestapo at the age of 16, and managed to survive Auschwitz, Buchenwald and a series of death marches. Kichka recalls that throughout his childhood, his father lived in the shadow of his memories, unable to speak about what he had gone through during the war. Many years later, in 2012, Kichka published an autobiographical comic book depicting his personal story as the child of a Holocaust survivor: "Second Generation: Things I Never Told My Father." In his book, Kichka also shares the painful memory of his younger brother's suicide, which brought a surprising reversal of his father's life; after having endured the loss of his child, he was overcome with the need to bring back his painful memories, talking endlessly about his experiences from the war.

Playlist:

אריק איינשטיין - שלום חבר
שלמה ארצי - תחת שמי ים התיכון
Jacques Brel - Les Bourgeois
Georges Moustaki Barbara - La Dame Brune
Georges Brassens Chanson pour l'Auvergnat
Don McLean - Starry Night
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

Rogel Alpher with Mizrahi muckraker Sami Shalom Chetrit

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:00:26 +0000

Sami Shalom Chetrit is a man of many crafts. University professor and scholar, author of several poetry, fiction and theory books, documentary filmmaker and educator, Chetrit was born in Morocco and grew up in Israel, and is now based in New York. His diverse background and exceptionally critical mind has led him to ponder the many, often conflicting elements making up his identity. This tension is well reflected in his writing: Throughout his work, Chetrit offers a trenchant analysis of the political history of the Mizrahim (Sephardi Jews) in Israel - in terms of ethnicity and class struggle - as well as Israeli culture, the education system, and the Jewish-Arab conflict.

Playlist:

Fairouz - Sa'altak Habibi (I Asked You My Love)

Amir Lev - Sami

Zohar Argov - Yam Shel Dmaot (A Sea of Tears)

Where Sovietology, feminism and peace activism meet

Mon, 17 Mar 2014 11:21:05 +0000

Widely recognized as an Israeli feminist and peace activist, Prof. Galia Golan is in fact a Sovietologist, Professor Emerita at the Hebrew University and head of the MA program in Government, Diplomacy and Conflict Studies at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Born in Ohio in the late 30s, Prof. Golan started off as a philosophy student at Brandeis University, but after a memorable trip to Eastern Europe she decided to change her major to East European studies, hoping to somehow get involved in the quest of the East European societies for freedom. She later tried to apply for a job at the UN, and - with the help of her mentor, the renowned Marxist philosopher Herbert Marcuse - ended up working as an intelligence analyst for the CIA, in which capacity she foresaw the so-called Prague Spring - the anti-Soviet uprising in Czechoslovakia. Golan immigrated to Israel in the mid-60s, and has since managed to successfully combine an illustrious academic career with high-profile activism.

Playlist: Pete Seeger - Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Barbra Streisand - Memory
Miri Aloni - Song for Peace (Shir Lashalom)

Rogel Alpher with entrepreneur & financier Tal Keinan

Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:09:57 +0000

Israeli-American entrepreneur and financier Tal Keinan is the co-founder and CEO of KCPS Clarity, an Israeli investment management firm, and among the few Israeli investors active in the Palestinian Authority. Born and brought up in the States, Keinan moved to Israel when he was 21 and served as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force for the next decade. He then pursued his career in finance, co-founding KCPS Clarity - Israel's first full-spectrum asset-management firm - whose mission is to play a leading role in forging an Israeli financial services industry of global standing. On this episode of Journeys, Keinan shares his analysis of the present and future state of Israel's economy and politics, and explains why he thinks it is important to end the occupation - both from the eyes of a former military careerist, and from the eyes of a financier.

Playlist:

Led Zeppelin - Your Time Is Gonna Come

Hilary Hahn - Violin Concerto in E-minor, Op. 64

Asaf Avidan - Reckoning Song

Rogel Alpher with modern-day pioneer James Grant-Rosenhead

Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:43:38 +0000

UK-born James Grant-Rosenhead was on his way to become a middle-class lawyer, when a few trips to Israel turned him into a socialist activist and the co-founder of the world's largest urban kibbutz.

Playlist:
Ani Difranco - Not A Pretty Girl
Anu Nosim Lapidim (We Carry Torches)
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead Or Alive (live acoustic version)
Hadag Nachash - Shirat Hastiker (The Sticker Song)
Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker

Hanoch Piven

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 08:28:26 +0000

In 1975, eleven year-old Ernesto Piven arrived with his family from Montevideo, Uruguay and became Hanoch. Initially feeling like an outsider, he used his external perspective while drawing caricatures. When he was rejected by Betzalel, Piven arrived to New York and reached International success - but something was missing.

Ten years later, Hanoch returned to Israel and finally felt he can be himself. His career as an illustrator, caricaturist, and educator has won international success. Today, he divides his life between Barcelona and Israel - just the right balance.

Playlist:
sui generis - aprendizaje
jaime roos - los futuros murguistas
ramones - what a wonderful world
desmond dekker -it pays
אהוד בנאי - בלוז כנעני
David Bowie - rockn roll suicide

Rogel Alpher with the Holocaust survivors' ambassador Colette Avital

Mon, 03 Mar 2014 15:11:00 +0000

An Israeli diplomat and politician who served, among other posts, as Ambassador to Portugal, Consul General in New York and MK for the Labor Party, Colette Avital was born in Romania during the Second World War. Her childhood, she says, was not an easy one. After her family decided to immigrate to Israel, she spent her first several years in the country studying at a French school, which prevented her from assimilating into an Israeli environment. Notwithstanding, she ended up joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, slowly rising through its ranks, braving the numerous glass ceilings she incurred as a woman. After a long and eventful career as a diplomat, she turned to politics and served as Member of Knesset for nearly a decade. Avital has spent the last couple of years as chairwoman of the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors, an umbrella group which represents over 50 organizations.

Playlist:

Yves Montand - Les Feuilles MortesAmalia Rodrigues - Una Casa Portuguesa

Nat King Cole - Unforgettable

Bussa - Kalaniyot

HaGevatron - Hachagiga Nigmeret (The Celebration's Over)

'Micro novelist' Alex Epstein

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:16:15 +0000

Alex Epstein started writing as a young kid, in an attempt to imagine exciting alternatives to his life. The result of this life-long endeavor is his varied oeuvre, consisting of fantastical short stories.

Famous for his so-called micro-fiction - 'one-line stories' - Alex's work has been translated into English, Russian, Greek. In 2003, he was awarded the Israeli Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature.

Drawing on history, mythology as well as day-to-day life, Alex's fiction is hardly ever conventional. He was the first author to publish his short stories entirely on Facebook, inviting readers to interact and comment which, he says, comes in part from his refusal to cooperate with giant publishers and chain book stores.

Actress Sara von Schwarze

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:29:06 +0000

With a name like Sara von Schwarze, the award-winning and critically acclaimed theater actress doesn't have to spell out her origins. She was born in Germany to Catholic parents who, as an act of 1960s rebellion, converted to Judaism and moved to Israel when she was a baby. Torn between her two nationalities, von Schwarze recently came to terms with her split identity by writing her first play, Between Two Worlds, which is loosely based on her life story. The play has been co-produced by Israel's Camrei Theater and the German Staatstheater Stuttgart, and is playing in both countries.

Playlist:
1. Hazel O'Connor - Will You
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Time Warp
3. Marlene Dietrich - Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte
4. Rona Keinan - Mabul (Downpour)
5. Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat

Aya Golan

Sun, 23 Feb 2014 14:20:36 +0000

How did Aidai Seidakmatova become Aya Golan? The 26 year old Kirghiz hardly knew about Israel and was dreaming of living in France. One random encounter with an Israeli tourist on the streets of Bishkek was the first of many coincidences that led the way to Aya's new life, in a new place with a new love.

Playlist:
Joe Dassin - A Toi
Kyrgyz music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlAMfPb6yM
Eminem - Sing for the Moment
Alan Stivell - Brian Boru
Bon Jovi - It's My Life"
Monty Python - Always Look at the Bright Side of Life

Aya Golan

Sun, 23 Feb 2014 13:56:25 +0000

Playlist:

Joe Dassin - A Toi
Kyrgyz music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlAMfPb6yM
Eminem - Sing for the Moment
Alan Stivell - Brian Boru
Bon Jovi - It's My Life"
Monty Python - Always Look at the Bright Side of Life

Rogel Alpher with left-wing icon Uri Avnery

Sun, 16 Feb 2014 13:36:28 +0000

In almost every respect, 90-year-old Uri Avnery is trailblazer. A pioneer of the Israeli peace camp and the man who single-handedly started irreverent tabloid journalism in Israel, Avnery was born in Germany, and immigrated with his family Palestine in 1933, a few months after Hitler's ascent to power. In his youth, he was active in the right-wing paramilitary IZL (Irgun), but soon left in protest of its anti-Arab attitude and terrorist methods.

Famous for crossing the lines during the Siege of Beirut in 1982, he is considered the first Israeli ever to meet with then-PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. Join us in this unusual episode of Journeys, in which Avnery shares - amongst other episodes from his eventful life - his opinions about Zionism, the peace process and the state of the Israeli media.

Playlist:

Arik Einstein - Shir HaEmek (Song Of The Valley)

Avraham Stern - Hayalim Almonim (Anonymous Soldiers)

Shoshana Damari - Shualey Shimshon (Samson's Foxes)

Miri Aloni - Shir LaShalom (Song For Peace)

Politely Rouget

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 09:38:03 +0000

Rogel Alpher with rock legend Ronnie Peterson

Mon, 10 Feb 2014 13:48:00 +0000

One of Israel's most prominent blues and rock'n'roll guitarists and performers, Ronnie Peterson was born in Nuremberg, Germany, to an American father and German mother. His family constantly moved due to his father's military career. Peterson picked up a guitar for the first time when he was three years old, and started performing professionally at the age of 11. In the late 1980s, he was invited to Israel by rock star Shalom Hanoch to play a few gigs, but he immediately felt at home, and that's what Tel Aviv has been for him since.

Linda Menuhin, the "Iraqi Anne Frank"

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:38:37 +0000

Born in Baghdad in 1950, Linda Abdel Aziz Menuhin had a comfortable, well-to-do childhood; the standard of living in Iraq at the time was generally low, but she was fortunate to be the daughter of Jacob Abdel Aziz, a rich and successful lawyer. But then came the Israeli-Arab Six Day War, and the life of Iraq's Jews turned upside down. Looking desperately for an escape route, Menuhin finally managed to escape in 1970. Her father, an Iraqi patriot, was determined to stay put. It was the last time she ever saw her father; it is believed that he was abducted and murdered, although, like that of many others, his fate remains unknown.

Playlist:

Dudu Tassa - Tadini

Fairuz - Habbaytak Bissayf

Naomi Shemer - Al Kol Ele

Oum Kalthoum - El Atlal

Shuli Natan - Yerushalayim Shel Zahav

Enrico Macias - Beyrout

Ulrike Goldenblatt

Sun, 26 Jan 2014 19:34:38 +0000

Born in Erfurt, Germany, in the early 1970s, Ulrike Goldenblatt had a typical East-European upbringing. Her parents weren't big fans of the East German regime, to say the least, and devised an intricate escape plan. When Goldenblatt was in high school, her mother and sister were allowed to travel to the West with a special permission. They hoped that the Communist regime would eventually let the teenage Ulrike, who was left behind, reunite with them. Before the plan could be pursued, the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, and changed Goldenblatt's life forever, albeit a bit too late. Goodbye Lenin, beware: Our protagonist is a blonde, blue-eyed German woman who has ended up living in the Jewish state. Tune in to listen to her story.

Playlist:
Talking Heads - Road To Nowhere

Rachid Taha - Rock The Casbah

Marius Mueller Westernhagen - Freiheit (Live)

2Raumwohnung - Sexy Girl
Bob Marley - Jamming
הדג נחש - רק פה
מאיר אריאל - עברנו את פרעה, נעבור גם את זה

activist Peggy Cidor

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 23:11:14 +0000

Peggy Cidor is a journalist at The Jerusalem Post and an activist in Women of the Wall, a feminist organization which seeks to promote the rights of Jewish women to pray at the Western Wall. Since its establishment 25 years ago, the organization has been subjected to violence by the Orthodox community, and Cidor herself has been targeted on various occasions. Originally from Tunis, Cidor grew under the influence of the French protectorate, and moved with her family to Israel when she was 10 years old. On this program, she shares stories about her family’s move to Israel and her introduction to the local culture, as well as her thoughts on religion, feminism and social affairs.

Playlist:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – Ich Hab Genug

Esther Ofarim – אני השר

Bach – Ebrame

Rabbi Haim Louk – צור שהחייני

Arik Einstein – פרח הלילך

Zvi Zalevsky – שמע קולי

Rogel Alpher with Ambassador Daniel Shek

Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:20:42 +0000

Daniel Shek, a veteran diplomat and the former Israeli ambassador to France, was born in Israel in the mid-1950s to one of the founders of the Israeli foreign service. An ambassador's son, Shek grew up in Jerusalem, London, Paris and Vienna; as a child, life on the road was tough, and Shek made a vow that he would not, under no circumstances, follow in his father's footsteps. However, fate got in the way... On this episode of Journeys, Shek shares many stories from his childhood and career, alongside juicy anecdotes from behind the scenes, including one involving former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Playlist:

1. Esther Ofarim - Bird On A Wire
2. Georges Moustaki - Ma Liberte
3. Brad Mehldau - My Favorite Things (Live in Marciac)
4. Nina Simone - Love Me Or Leave Me
5. Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road (Live 1975-1985)

Bertold Fridlender

Sun, 19 Jan 2014 22:39:25 +0000

Prof. Bertold Fridlender, the president of Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem, was born in Santiago, Chile. He graduated from high school at the age of 16 and finished his PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology when he was 27. Prof. Fridlender has extensive experience in botanical therapeutics and biotechnological research, both in academia and industry, as the former managing director, CEO and board member of several start-ups, and as a senior researcher in charge of developing methods for virus identification. Himself a bulwark against brain drain, Prof. Friedlander is not at all the professor you'd expect. Tune in to get a glimpse of his personal story.

Playlist:

Bizet - L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: Farandole
Barbra Streisand - People
Noel Harrison - The Windmills Of Your Mind
Beethoven - Fur Elise
Violeta Parra - Gracias a la Vida
Arik Einstein - עוף גוזל

Tom Franz

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 20:39:56 +0000

Tom Franz is the much celebrated winner of the latest season of “Master Chef,” the reality TV show and cooking competition. Originally from Cologne, Germany, Franz grew up in a secular Catholic home. In his early teens he happened to meet a group of Israelis with whom he bonded deeply, and something in him changed forever. After years of traveling between Germany and Israel, Franz settled down in Tel Aviv, converted to Judaism, and took a leap of faith when he made the drastic career change from a successful lawyer to a celebrity chef.

Playlist:

Amir Benayun & Micha Shitrit – שמחות קטנות
U2 – One
Caro Emerald – A Night Like This
Mashina – תחזור תחזור

Amir Dadon – אור גדול

Photo by Dan Peretz

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 21:21:24 +0000

Fleur Hassan-Nahoum grew up in Gibraltar, a fascinating land located Southto Spain, which has been under British commonwealth since the 18th century.Besides having an extraordinary childhood in a Spanish-speaking territoryfull of proud British citizens, Hassan-Nahoum's life has also differed fromthat of your next-door-neighbor's given the fact that her father, SirHassan Nahoum, was perhaps the most important politician in Gibraltarianhistory, who fought to bring civil rights to the area.

1. Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star

2. Mecano - Una Rosa Es Una Rosa

3. The Cure - Friday I'm In Love

4. Joni Mitchell - California

5. Rita - בוא

Eytan Schwartz

Sun, 05 Jan 2014 22:07:43 +0000

Eytan Schwartz became a household name in 2005, when he won the extremely popular reality TV show "The Ambassador." He spent the next year in the United States on a public diplomacy mission, primarily on university campuses. Today, Schwartz is Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai's adviser for international affairs. As Rogel Alpher's guest in this episode of Journeys, he recounts amusing anecdotes of his speaking engagements in the US, that sometimes took him to the remotest of areas, and explains how Tel Aviv's reputation as an international center for industrial innovation and creativity, which attracts many educated and professional young Jews from Western countries, should be bolstered

Evan Gary Cohen

Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:16:16 +0000

Evan Gary Cohen, a linguistics lecturer at Tel Aviv University, is the co-founder and current chairman of the gay group in the Likud party. Originally from South Africa, his family made aliyah when he was nine years old. The transition was anything but easy; he didn't speak a word of Hebrew, didn't understand the Israeli mentality and disliked the absorption center in which his family stayed for six months. Nevertheless, over the years he has become accustomed to the country and found a warm home in a surrounding that at first seemed intimidating, and was even gradually drawn to politics. Tune in to find out why he decided to establish a gay group within a right-wing party, and how he explains why the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

1. Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me

2. Abba - When I Kissed The Teacher

3. Ofra Haza - Chai (חי)

4. Dana International - Diva (Hebrew Version)

5. Shakespeare's Sister - Stay

Victor Politis

Mon, 30 Dec 2013 22:56:30 +0000

Originally from Volos, Greece, Victor Politis is the founder and president of PRI, a project development company, and a self-published photographer. He left Greece at the age of 18, and has since traveled to dozens of countries for business purposes. But his voyages have also had an important artistic significance; they have enabled him to develop his photography skills and document different cultures from many parts of the world. On this program, he shares with Rogel Alpher experiences from his voyages and talks about the influence that two Greek literary works have had on many of his decisions in life.

Playlist:

BAU - BAU
Anastasia Moytsatsoy - O Xronos (Time)
Mercedes Sosa - Todo Cambia (Everything Changes)
Leonard Cohen - Who By Fire
5. Asa - Jailer
6. Lhasa De Sela - De
Cara A La Pared (Face To The Wall)

Orphaned Land's Kobi Farhi

Sun, 29 Dec 2013 20:59:24 +0000

Orphaned Land is one of Israel's most successful musical acts worldwide. Formed in the early 1990s, the band fuses progressive, doom and death metal with oriental folk, drawing on influences from Jewish and Arabic music. Despite their international success, they have only recently become well-known in Israel, following the huge success of their rock ballad"Brother" on mainstream radio. Nevertheless, they are popular on the Israeli metal scene, and - interestingly enough - they are extremely popular in the Arab world. Join us for this episode of Cultural Journeys with Kobi Farhi, co-founder and lead singer of the band, who speaks about metal as a religion and explains how growing up in Jaffa has inspired him to write about co-existence.

1. Orphaned Land - Brother

2. Leonard Cohen - If It Be Your Will

3. Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

4. Metallica - Escape

5. Ha-Breira Ha-Tivit - Tefila (Prayer)

6. Pavarotti - Vesti La Giubba

Nimer Ahmad / Momi Pinto

Mon, 23 Dec 2013 17:39:25 +0000

Nimer Ahmad is a man of many names. He was brought up as Momi Pinto, and at various stages in his life he was called Shlomo, Solomon and Sol. Born to a Jewish mother and Arab father, his life was doomed to be complex and taxing from the outset, and it was further exacerbated when his father was sentenced to more than 700 years in jail for masterminding 22 terror attacks on Jewish targets. Terribly ashamed and ostracized by her Jewish surrounding, Ahmad's mother decided it would be best to leave the country, and sent Ahmad and his sister to boarding school while she applied for Canadian citizenship in order to settle in Montreal. After the move, Ahmad was sent to a yeshiva, and after being bullied by Israeli children for being an Arab, he was now bullied by Canadian children for being a Jew. On this program, Ahmad recounts how he and his sister ended upleading totally different lives - she as a religious Jew, and he married to his Arab cousin.

Playlist:

Sting - The Windmills of Your Mind

Sting - Shape of My Heart

John Lennon - Imagine

Frank Sinatra - My Way

Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah

Robi Damelin

Sun, 22 Dec 2013 20:44:13 +0000

South African-born Robi Damelin first arrived in Israel in 1967, during the the Six Day War, to volunteer on kibbutz. She ended up staying in the country and marrying an Israeli, with whom she had two children. In 2002, Damelin's life changed forever when her 27-year-old son David was shot and killed by a sniper during his reserve service at a checkpoint near Ramallah. While dealing with her personal agony, she felt that something had to be done in order to prevent families, both Israeli and Palestinian, from going through the pain of losing a loved one. She joined a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of berieved families, called The Parents Circle - Families Forum, and today she serves as their spokesperson. Tune in for the inspiring story of a woman who channeled her pain to an effort of achieving reconciliation in the Middle East, so that one day, maybe, there could be peace.

Playlist:

Mozart - Horn Concerto No. 1

Glenn Gould - The Goldberg Variations

Simon & Garfunkel - Book Ends

Paul Simon - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

Leonard Cohen - Anthem

Shosholoza (Robi said it's a famous South African song, so maybe Tammy knows it. Anyhow, she can bring it on a CD if we can't find it.)

Cleo Laine - Bird Sides Now

Ravid Kahalani

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 23:34:36 +0000

Ravid Kahalani is the founder of the Israeli band Yemen Blues, who have played in many a music festival across the world, from New York's SummerStage to Denmark's Roskilde. Kahalani was born in Israel to parents of Yemeni origins. They were attached to their roots, and as a child Kahalani was taught traditional Yemeni chants and was sent to religious courses with a Yemeni rabbi. He dropped out of school at the age of 15, and after a short stint in acting and dancing, he finally realized that his real passion in life was music. He tried his luck in a number of activities, ranging from Serbian church music to a collaboration with the highly acclaimed Israeli musician Idan Raichel. In 2010, Kahalani formed Yemen Blues, whose music is a mixture of Yemen and West African influences with a fusion of funk, soul, blues and jazz. The band's songs are written in a Yemeni dialect of Arabic and sung in different idioms, along with a bit of Hebrew and gibberish. Join us for an eclectic hour, during which Kahalani takes us around the world with his musical influences, and improvises a song on his gimbri.

Playlist:

Marie Lou Williams – st martin de porres

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues

Prince – The Truth

Habib Koite – Sirata

Yemen Blues – Trape La Verite

Yemen Blues – Baraca

Jamie Geller

Sun, 15 Dec 2013 20:32:38 +0000

Celebrity chef Jamie Geller, mother of five, is one of the leading Kosher food writers in the world. She runs her company, Kosher Media Network, from her home in the outskirts of Jerusalem, but a mere 15 years ago her life was far, far away - in more than one sense: She was a young, single, non-religious woman living in New York City and working as a producer for CNN's "Showbiz Today". When her mother advised her to start attending a weekly Jewish studies course so that she could meet "a nice Jewish boy," she wasn't too excited. Geller finally agreed to do it, but instead of finding a life partner she found Judaism, and not only that, it was Judaism in its Orthodox form. She quit her job and moved to Israel, but barely a month later she received an offer to work as a producer for HBO. Geller got on a plane back to the US, and resumed her career in the media. In an interview with Rogel Alpher, she talks about why she refused an offer to be the executive producer of The Sopranos, and about her journey from being a young bride who could barely hold a knife in her hand to becoming the Jewish world's most renowned food writer.

Playlist:

I Need a Dollar - Aloe Blacc

Black and Gold - Sam Sparro

Play Hard - David Guetta

Turn the Page - Bob Seger

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Dear Mr Fantasy - Traffic

Catrin Ormestad

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 20:16:37 +0000

Tom Waits - Hold on
Billie Holiday - I'll Be Seeing You
CocoRosie - Jesus Loves Me
Märk hur vår skugga (Fredmans epistel nr 81) - Imperiet
The Pogues feat. Kirsty MAcColl - Fairytale of New York

Leor Sinai

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 00:34:40 +0000

Leor Sinai is not your standard Rabbi. He was born in a non-religious home, to an Israeli couple who had immigrated to New York before he was born. His parents made sure that he visited his Israeli family about once a year, but never tried to persuade him to leave the States. It was his own idea, because after growing tired of New York's nightlife scene which he had been involved in during his teens, he realized that he had never truly felt at home in the States; the Israeli culture and state of mind had always been a big part of his identity. A few years ago, after having attended a Rabbinical school, he fulfilled his lifelong dream to be part of Israeli day to day life. He now lives in Tel-Aviv with his wife and three children, and is the co-executive director of Alexander Muss High School Israel, a study program for Jewish high school students from around the world. He came to our studio and gave us an insight into his unique perspective of religion, teaching us that once a man becomes a Rabbi he doesn't necessarily have to stop listening to hip-hop.

Marvin Gaye - You're All I Need To Get By

The Beatles - Come Together

Arik Einstein - אני ואתה

Drake - Started From The Bottom
Beastie Boys - Paul Revere
The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By

Phyllis Glazer‏

Sun, 08 Dec 2013 22:18:43 +0000

New York-born and raised Phyllis Glazer is one of Israel's foremost health food mavens, a pioneer in the field who published the first vegetarian cookbook in Hebrew. A champion of healthy lifestyle and the published author of several books, she previously tried her luck in acting. One of the peaks of her short acting career was in the role of a sexy Russian spy in the Israeli movie "The Owl", alongside renowned actor Assi Dayan. But Glazer soon realized that her acting career was about to hit a dead-end, and opted for a different path. She talks to Rogel Alpher about her eventful career and about her childhood - in a totally different America from the one we know today; about feeling like an outsider in the segregated society of the fifties and sixties, and about the process that culminated in her calling Israel home.

Playlist:

The Shirelles - Mama Said

Bob Dylan - With God On Our Side

James Taylor - Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi

Yossi Banai - Ahava Bat Esrim (Twenty-year-old love)

Arik Einstein - Ani ve-Ata (I and You)

Roy Isacowitz

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:19:58 +0000

Ain't Got No Home In This World Anymore - Woody Guthrie

Catch the Wind - Donovan

The Hedgehog’s Song – Incredible String Band

These are the Days – Van Morrison

Rednecks – Randy Newman

Ripple – The Grateful Dead

Sari Bashi

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 18:07:56 +0000

Benjamin Clementine - London

Michael Kiwanukwa - Home Again

Laura Mvula - Green Garden

Stromae - Papaoutai

Esperanza Spalding - We Are America

Marina Maximilian - Maurin

Ester Rada

Sun, 01 Dec 2013 22:10:11 +0000

Benjamin Clementine - London

Michael Kiwanukwa - Home Again

Laura Mvula - Green Garden

Stromae - Papaoutai

Esperanza Spalding - We Are America

Marina Maximilian - Maurin

Li Chang

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 02:47:57 +0000

Playlist:

Translated from chinese:

1.I Love Tian Anmen Square

2. Making A Basket

3. Flower and youth

4.Would like to have a walk with you

5. Fool's Garden - Yellow Lemon Tree

6. Amy Winehouse - Stronger Than Me

Etgar Keret

Mon, 18 Nov 2013 20:19:50 +0000

1. I'm Not Looking For New England – Billy Bragg

2. Famous Blue Raincoat – Leonard Cohen

3. Dream Operator – Talking Heads

4. חיית המתכת – שולי רנד

5. Johnny Cash – Hurt

6. אימפריות נופלות לאט – חמי רודנר