Israel 66
The ISRAEL STORY
A groundbreaking radio show is connecting Israel’s diverse
population through the power of storytelling I BY SARAH SASSOON
Faces of Israel
by Ilan Ossendryver
STORIES ARE MORE THAN JUST FIRESIDE YARNS;
THEY BIND US. THEY HELP US TO UNDERSTAND EACH
OTHER, AND ENTER ANOTHER’S WORLD TO WHICH WE
NEVER WOULD HAVE HAD A PORTAL BEFORE.
PHOTOGRAPHS: ILAN OSSENDRYVER
THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN A GOOD STORY.
Some people dream up an idea and it
remains a dream. Others have an idea
and carry it out, no matter what the
odds of success are or what the costs involved. When Mishy Harman dreamed
of his radio series called Sipur Israeli,
translated as Israel Story, he not only
tapped into an age-old storytelling tradition, he created a story of his own. A
story of Israelis from all cultural and religious backgrounds, ages and communities coming together and sharing, as
well as listening to, each other’s stories.
Stories are more than just fireside
yarns; they bind us. They help us to understand each other, and enter another’s
world to which we never would have had
a portal before.
With this in mind, I went to The Rabbi
Cyril Harris Community Centre one evening with my husband, looking forward
to hearing Israel Story’s story from one
of its founders, Harman. His biography
was beyond impressive; with Harvard
and Cambridge degrees under his belt,
he’s currently completing his Phd in history with Hebrew University, about a
12 JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 72