Hey, I’m Noam Weissman and this is Unpacking Israeli History, the podcast that takes a deep dive into some of the most intense, historically fascinating, and often misunderstood events and stories linked to Israeli history. This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is a re-release of an episode from a few years back, and was generously sponsored by my amazing parents, Ema and Abba, or Neil and Pam Weissman. To sponsor an episode of Unpacking Israeli History, or just to say what up, be in touch at noam@unpacked.media.
Before we start, as always, check us out on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube, all the places. Just search Unpacking Israeli History and hit the follow or subscribe button. Okay, yalla, let’s do this.
—
In recording almost 200 episodes of Unpacking Israeli History so far, there is only one time I lost control and cried while recording.
Once.
I remember my producer, Rivky Stern, just sitting there waiting patiently. She probably was a bit unsure what to do.
“Get it together, Noam.”
Nope, she did not say that.
Instead, she just let me go.
Why? What about the story of Ma’alot caused me to lose my ability to be an “objective storyteller,” just sharing the story of Israel? (Which is how some people perceive me, though I am not sure I agree with this assessment at all.)
This is a story I’ve been waiting to reshare for a long time now. We first told the story of Ma’alot a few years ago.
When we recorded it, it already felt almost unbearable: 50 years ago, 115 Israelis, including children, taken hostage. Over 25 killed. Leaders arguing over whether you can ever, ever negotiate with terrorists while children are in danger. Again, I lost it telling this story.
And then October 7th happened.
Ma’alot never felt like a distant, tragic chapter in a history book. But when the 7th of October happened, when children were again taken hostage, it started to feel like too much of a feature of Jewish history. It feels like part of the same story we are still living.
In 2025, children were targeted because they are Jews, because they are Israelis, because they are symbols in someone else’s war – and it feels too present. We are again arguing in cabinet rooms and at Shabbat tables about what should happen, what should have happened, red lines and deals and deterrence and dignity.
This is why I want to re-release this episode now.
Because Ma’alot, a story from 50 years ago, forces all of us to stare straight at a set of questions that keep coming back, generation after generation.
What does a country do when its children are in the hands of people who see them not as kids, but as leverage? Not as humans, but as collateral.
What do we expect from all of our leaders in those impossible minutes, when every option is terrible and there’s no “good” choice?
How do you keep sending your own kids on trips, to school, to life, after you’ve seen what can happen in thirty seconds?
And there’s another reason.
If you listen closely, the Ma’alot story explodes a lot of the lazy clichés we still hear about this conflict. The terrorists here weren’t just faceless outsiders. Two of them were Israeli Arabs who spoke Hebrew, knew the landscape, knew the people. They came in the name of this lofty, Marxist, quote-unquote “democratic” vision… and then they murdered Jewish and Arab civilians, including children, in cold blood.
So when people in 2025 talk about “resistance” in these abstract, romantic terms, Ma’alot drags the conversation back to reality. This is what it actually looks like when you turn kids into bargaining chips.
And yet, this isn’t only a story about horror and failure. It’s also a story about what Jews did next. About communities who decided that their response to murdered teenagers would not be to disappear, but to double down on Jewish life.
So as you listen, I want you to invite you to hold two timelines in your head at once.
On the one hand, 1974: a bruised Israel, just after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, still figuring out what kind of country it’s going to be.
On the other hand, 2025: an Israel and a Jewish world reeling from a different trauma, still asking many of the same questions.
What do we demand of our leaders?
What do we owe our kids?
And what does it mean to keep choosing life, and meaning, and purpose, in a story that sometimes feels like it’s trying to break us?
With that in mind, let’s go to Ma’alot. And let’s bring about a future in which we never have to tell stories like this again.
Unpacking Israeli History is a production of Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a rating on Apple or Spotify, it really helps other people find our show. And one more time, I love hearing from you. So email me at noam@unpacked.media.
This episode was produced by Rivky Stern. Our team for this episode includes Adi Elbaz, and Rob Pera. I’m your host, Noam Weissman. Thanks for listening, see you next week!