The son of a famous performer, Kirill Chenkin fought in the Spanish Civil War and was recruited by Soviet intelligence prior to joining the faculty of Black Mountain College. He later became a ‘refusenik’ spokesman…
Ilan Ramon, Israel’s 1st Astronaut, and the Meaning of Life
Long before he became the first Israeli to be launched into space, Ilan Ramon, as a 23-year-old fighter pilot, asked Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz: “What is man’s purpose in this world?” Leibowitz did his best to answer
Jerusalem During the War of Independence—Now in Color!
The blockade of Jerusalem began during the first few days of the War of Independence, spreading from the Old City’s Jewish Quarter to the rest of Jerusalem. These color photos from 1948 show us what life was like in the city that was cut off from the rest of the country…
The Story of the Daring Pilot Zahara Levitov
Zahara Levitov was a Palmach fighter and among the first women to fly planes in the newly established IDF, but her service was cut short by a tragic crash
Who Opposed Eichmann’s Execution?
The trial of Adolf Eichmann had a profound effect on Holocaust discourse in the young State of Israel. During the trial, a heated debate raged within Israeli society over the appropriate punishment for the senior SS officer…
Israel’s First Independence Day and “The Parade That Didn’t March”
What Israel’s Independence Day looked like before there was an Independence Day
The Cry
A lamentation for Nechama, mother of Alec
The Surrender of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter
The tragic circumstances that led to the surrender of the Jewish Quarter’s defenders in Jerusalem’s Old City during the War of Independence
A Surprising Chronicle of 20 Israeli Election Firsts
From the first election 72 years ago to the first snap election 70 years ago, Israel’s vibrant democracy is a work in progress
David Ben-Gurion, the Iconoclast
The story behind Ben-Gurion’s refusal to wear a head covering at the funeral of S.Y. Agnon…
