#unpacked

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UNPACKED: Watch – What Do These 6 Chants REALLY Mean?

UNPACKED: Watch – What Do These 6 Chants REALLY Mean? These 6 popular chants are often heard at pro-Palestinian protests, but many people remain unaware of what they actually mean. We’re covering each slogan’s history and meaning on Toda

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UNPACKED: Does the Palestinian Authority Support Terrorism? | Explained

UNPACKED: Does the Palestinian Authority Support Terrorism? | Explained   The Palestinian Authority’s “Martyr’s Fund,” also known as “Pay to Slay,” pays the families of Palestinian terrorists who are imprisoned or killed for acts of terro

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UNPACKED: Watch “From the River to the Sea”, Explained

UNPACKED: Watch “From the River to the Sea”, Explained What does the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” really mean? What are the historical and geographic roots of the phrase and the practical implications of its r

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UNPACKED: Watch – Who Owns The Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa?

UNPACKED: Watch – Who Owns The Temple Mount / Al-Aqsa? Sacred and significant to Jews and Palestinians alike, the Temple Mount has a long and tumultuous history, serving today as a focal point and symbol of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict. F

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UNPACKED: The Secret History of Hanukkah

UNPACKED: The Secret History of Hanukkah With regards to the holiday of Hanukkah, while most everyone knows about the Maccabees’ victory over the mighty Seleucid Greek Empire and the subsequent miracle of the menorah oil lasting for 8 days, less known a

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UNPACKED – Watch: How Did the October 7 Hamas Attack Change Israel?

UNPACKED – Watch: How Did the October 7 Hamas Attack Change Israel? The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel changed Israeli society forever, but not in the way one might expect. Following several months of internal division and protes

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UNPACKED: Watch – Yirmiyahu Eats His Way Through Jerusalem’s Shuk

UNPACKED: Watch – Yirmiyahu Eats His Way Through Jerusalem’s Shuk Yirmiyahu takes a walk through Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda open air market (AKA “the shuk”) with tour guide and Jewish food researcher Joel Haber. Together they explore (and

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UNPACKED – Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus?

UNPACKED – Why don’t Jews believe in Jesus? Jews for Jesus and other Jewish messianic movements claim people can believe in core Christian tenets and still be Jewish. Their followers use this assertion to lure Jews to Christianity. However, th

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Today Unpacked: Watch-Should Israel Get a Divorce?

Today Unpacked: Watch-Should Israel Get a Divorce? Today we’re covering the new Holocaust-themed Fortnite game, “A Light in the Dark”, The divisive ruling on the death of a 4-year-old Ethiopian boy and the Israel Vs Judah debate thatR

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Today UNPACKED” Watch – Israeli Judicial Reform Explained

Today UNPACKED” Watch – Israeli Judicial Reform Explained   The complicated and divisive Judicial reform is in full swing in Israel. Let’s unpack both sides and explore the different perspectives. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:12 The Isra

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UNPACKED: Watch-Was American Industry Involved in the Holocaust?

UNPACKED: Watch-Was American Industry Involved in the Holocaust? Several well-established American companies aided Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, directly profiting from the atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish People. These include well-known bu

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UNPACKED: 5 Women Who Transformed Israel’s Military

UNPACKED: 5 Women Who Transformed Israel’s Military Many courageous women have defied societal norms and etched their names into the history of Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF). Women like Sarah Aaronsohn, an early Zionist spy who fought fiercely aga

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UNPACKED: Watch-4 Things The BDS Movement Doesn’t Want You To Know

UNPACKED: Watch-4 Things The BDS Movement Doesn’t Want You To Know Throughout modern history, boycotts have proven to be a powerful tool for defeating oppression and advancing change. Yet, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement that a

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UNPACKED: 5 Things You Thought You Knew About Israelis, Debunked

UNPACKED: 5 Things You Thought You Knew About Israelis, Debunked While there are many misconceptions about Israel and her inhabitants, five common stereotypes center around Israeli culture, religiosity and politics. In a country with a richly diverse popu

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UNPACKED: Watch-Unsafe Spaces: When Being Jewish Means You Don’t Belong

UNPACKED: Watch-Unsafe Spaces: When Being Jewish Means You Don’t Belong Everyone knows that Israel is a tough subject, but something has been changing recently. In the past, Jewish students were openly attacked for defending Israel but now they are

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UNPACKED-MUST WATCH-Did Israel Take Over Palestine?

UNPACKED-MUST WATCH-Did Israel Take Over Palestine? The land of Israel has been referred to by many different names throughout its history- Canaan, Judah, Judea, Israel and Palestine. Each of these names has deep historical significance based on the inhab

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UNPACKED: Watch – Who Are The Mizrahi Jews?

UNPACKED: Watch – Who Are The Mizrahi Jews? In the second century CE, the Romans exiled the Jews of Judea and created a far flung diaspora which saw many Jews make their way to Europe, Asia and North Africa. Those who ended up in the East in countri

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UNPACKED: Hebron 1929: The Most Important Moment You Never Heard Of.

UNPACKED: Hebron 1929: The Most Important Moment You Never Heard Of. In the summer of 1929, the British-controlled region of Palestine saw growing fault lines between Arabs and Jews. Tensions rose until they erupted one fateful day. In the city of Hebron

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UNPACKED: Watch – Did Jews Always Support Israel?

UNPACKED: Watch – Did Jews Always Support Israel? In the late 1800s, rising antisemitism had people concerned that Judaism would disappear entirely. Two very different solutions arose in an attempt to solve this crisis: Reform Judaism and Zionism. R

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UNPACKED: Next Year in Jerusalem: Why Is This City So Important?

UNPACKED: Next Year in Jerusalem: Why Is This City So Important? Jerusalem has, is, and will continue to be, a central location of religious significance to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Through a deeper dive of Judaism’s four nicknames for the city, th

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UNPACKED – Are Israelis White? | Zionism Revisited

UNPACKED – Are Israelis White? | Zionism Revisited Throughout history, people have traveled from across the world to make Israel their home. This has created a fundamental Israeli value to encourage and support immigrant absorption. Immigration to I

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UNPACKED: The Great Kibbutz Experiment | Zionism Revisited

UNPACKED: The Great Kibbutz Experiment | Zionism Revisited In 1909 when young Jews founded the first Kibbutz, they had no idea that they would be forming a symbol of Israel’s rebirth. These agricultural communities innovated the communal experience as a

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UNPACKED: The Other Herzl: The Legacy of Rav Kook | Great Jewish Heroes

UNPACKED: The Other Herzl: The Legacy of Rav Kook | Great Jewish Heroes In the early days of Zionism, the front-runners of the movement were largely secular Jews, many of whom were staunchly anti-religious. This all changed with Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook,

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UNPACKED: Watch – When Israel Almost Failed To Survive | The Jewish Story

UNPACKED: Watch – When Israel Almost Failed To Survive | The Jewish Story Immediately after its establishment in 1948, the newly-minted State of Israel found itself fighting for survival. With immigration of Jews from all around the world placing a

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UNPACKED – Watch: Is Birthright Israel Too Good To Be True?

UNPACKED – Watch: Is Birthright Israel Too Good To Be True? If you’re wandering through the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, you’re guaranteed to run into at least one or two groups of young Jewish tourists from across the world all experienci

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UNPACKED: The Biochemist Who Helped Establish a Jewish State

UNPACKED: The Biochemist Who Helped Establish a Jewish State After the death of Theodor Herzl in 1904, British-Jewish biochemist Chaim Weizmann was determined to carry out Herzl’s vision of international support for a Jewish homeland in what was then Pa

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UNPACKED: Watch How United Hatzalah Volunteers Reach Emergencies Faster than an Ambulance

UNPACKED: Watch How United Hatzalah Volunteers Reach Emergencies Faster than an Ambulance United Hatzalah, a non-profit medical response service founded by Eli Beer in 2006, provides free emergency treatment and ambulance transportation to anyone in Israe

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India and Israel Unpacked: A Complicated History – But are not so different after all

India and Israel Unpacked: A Complicated History – But are not so different after all The “Jam saheb” Digvijay Singh | who saved hundreds of polish refugees from German forces Here is one of our proud personality of Indian history. Jam s

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UNPACKED – The Modern Shift That Divided Judaism | The Jewish Story

UNPACKED – The Modern Shift That Divided Judaism | The Jewish Story As the Age of Enlightenment spread across Europe, 18th-century Jews still faced persecution and were banned from assimilating into modern civilization. A young Jewish German philoso

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UNPACKED – Israel: Can We Solve The Global Water Crisis??

UNPACKED – Israel: Can We Solve The Global Water Crisis?? The catastrophic global effects of climate affect us all. In the Middle East, a part of the world with scarce water sources, Israeli innovators are tackling sustainability head on, specifical

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UNPACKED – The Origins of Hasidic Judaism: The Ba’al Shem Tov

UNPACKED – The Origins of Hasidic Judaism: The Ba’al Shem Tov In the aftermath of historical events that impacted Jews of Eastern Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, two groups rose up that inspired generations of Jews to revolutionize the

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UNPACKED – Watch Why So Many Jewish Teens Study This Ancient Music Notation

UNPACKED – Watch Why So Many Jewish Teens Study This Ancient Music Notation   Ta’amei Hamikra, or as it’s called in Yiddish, “trope,” is a millennia-old system of music symbols that determines how each word in the Torah is recited. Alth

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UNPACKED – Does the United States fund Israel? U.S. Foreign Aid Explained

UNPACKED – Does the United States fund Israel? U.S. Foreign Aid Explained Americans tend to overestimate how much the U.S. gives to other countries in foreign aid. Many assume that the U.S. gives 25% of their budget to other countries through foreig

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UNPACKED – How The Protestant Reformation Affected Jews

UNPACKED – How The Protestant Reformation Affected Jews In the early 16th century, life for the Jews remained unstable as they faced violence perpetrated by the Catholic church. After years of devotion, Martin Luther sparked one of the largest revol

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UNPACKED – Saadiah Gaon and the Jewish Golden Age

UNPACKED – Saadiah Gaon and the Jewish Golden Age In the early Middle Ages, while most Jews lived under the Islamic Caliphate, Judaism was being torn apart from within. Somehow Judaism survived, thanks to the brilliant writer and deep thinker, Saadi

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UNPACKED: Maimonides: The Philosopher Rabbi – The Jewish Story

UNPACKED: Maimonides: The Philosopher Rabbi – The Jewish Story Every day, tens of thousands of students study the Mishneh Torah, The Guide for the Perplexed, and dozens of medical works written by Rambam, also known as Maimonides, one of the most fa

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UNPACKED: How Rashi Decoded Ancient Jewish Texts | The Jewish Story

UNPACKED: How Rashi Decoded Ancient Jewish Texts | The Jewish Story Anyone who opens the Talmud will see commentary written by Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, better known as Rashi. In this episode we explore who Rashi was and why his writing has been considered

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UNPACKED: How a 500 Year Old Book Shaped Jewish Practice | The Jewish Story

UNPACKED: How a 500 Year Old Book Shaped Jewish Practice | The Jewish Story At the dawn of the 16th century, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews relied on oral traditions of Jewish law – Halakha. Both groups passed down their own unique customs. Howeve

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UNPACKED: Meet 669: the IDF’s Elite Airborne Evacuation and Rescue Unit

UNPACKED: Meet 669: the IDF’s Elite Airborne Evacuation and Rescue Unit For soldiers in 669, the IDF’s Airborne Combat Rescue and Evacuation Unit, every day is unpredictable. After all, this special forces rescue unit is dispatched when things go

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UNPACKED: Watch-Can Jews Be Antisemitic? | Antisemitism, Explained

UNPACKED: Watch-Can Jews Be Antisemitic? | Antisemitism, Explained When a Jewish person expresses anti-Jewish ideas, is that antisemitism? It might sound odd, but yes. From the Middle Ages until the present day, there are plenty of examples of Jewish peop

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UNPACKED: Do Jews Cause Antisemitism? | Antisemitism, Explained

UNPACKED: Do Jews Cause Antisemitism? | Antisemitism, Explained It may sound bizarre, but a shockingly large number of people believe that Jews cause themselves to be hated. For centuries, bigots have blamed racial, religious, and sexual minorities for th

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UNPACKED: What does the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan mean for Israel and the Middle East?

UNPACKED: What does the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan mean for Israel and the Middle East?   By Sara Himeles What does the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan mean for Israel and the Middle East? As Americans and the West process the rapid collapse of

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UNPACKED: Watch Is Criticizing Israel Antisemitic? | Antisemitism, Explained

UNPACKED: Watch Is Criticizing Israel Antisemitic? | Antisemitism, Explained Is criticizing Israel anti-Jewish? Not necessarily. Israel—like all countries—is, and should be, subject to political criticism over its conduct. However, in many places wher

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UNPACKED – 10 spiritual hacks to embrace during Elul

UNPACKED – 10 spiritual hacks to embrace during Elul By Unpacked Staff Elul is a special time on the Jewish calendar that is meant for reconnecting to our more spiritual side. (Side note: These tips work any time of the year, but the sages believed

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UNPACKED: Watch-Beyond Left or Right: Whose Fault is Antisemitism?

UNPACKED: Watch-Beyond Left or Right: Whose Fault is Antisemitism? While the Holocaust may be over, antisemitism is still very much alive. So, whose fault is it? And how do we address it? The sad truth is that antisemitism has always been spread by offend

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UNPACKED – Why is Antisemitism Still Around? | Antisemitism, Explained

UNPACKED – Why is Antisemitism Still Around? | Antisemitism, Explained Why is it that even post-Holocaust, Jews experience a large percentage of the world’s hate crimes, despite being less than 0.2% of the world’s population? That’s because th

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UNPACKED: Watch-Is Tel Aviv’s Crazy Mess of a Bus Station an Architectural Failure?

UNPACKED: Watch-Is Tel Aviv’s Crazy Mess of a Bus Station an Architectural Failure? Also A Brief History of Tel Aviv A Brief History of Tel Aviv  

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UNPACKED – How A Secret War Between the USSR and Israel Almost Caused World War 3

UNPACKED – How A Secret War Between the USSR and Israel Almost Caused World War 3 Could a secret war between the USSR and Israel have started a third world war? Although the USSR supported the founding of Israel, their relationship started to sour a

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UNPACKED Watch: How Israel Reshaped Jewish Culture

UNPACKED Watch: How Israel Reshaped Jewish Culture Many Americans define their Judaism culturally rather than religiously. But with Israeli-Jewish influences becoming increasingly prominent, is there still a role for American-Jewish cultural life in the f

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UNPACKED – This Tisha B’Av, Jews are wondering, what’s next?

UNPACKED – This Tisha B’Av, Jews are wondering, what’s next? By Sara Himeles and John Kunza “My eyes are spent with tears, my heart burns, my being melts away over the ruin of my poor people.” These words from Eicha (the Book of Lamentations

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UNPACKED: The Boxer who Fought for his Life at Auschwitz

UNPACKED: The Boxer who Fought for his Life at Auschwitz Salamo Arouch, a young Jewish boxer from Greece, was sent to Auschwitz in 1943. Suddenly finding himself in brutal matches staged to “entertain” the Nazi SS officers, the undefeated Balkan light