28: On the Outs
Israel Story
Israel Story
4.8 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2017
⏱️ 58 minutes
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Summary
There are a zillion ways of being an outsider. That, of course, we all know. But what does it mean to belong, why do we want it so badly, and just how far are we willing to go in order to be on the 'inside'?
Eli Amir, Eliyahu Rips and Eliezer Sonnenschein couldn’t be more different: the first is a celebrated Baghdad-born author, the second is a brilliant mathematician from Latvia, and the third is the enfant terrible of modern Israeli art. But they are all, in their own unique ways, outsiders. Their struggle for recognition took on different forms, and enjoyed – naturally – different degrees of success. But whether it’s the hora dancing circles at Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’Emek, the pages of prestigious statistical journals, or the hallowed galleries of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, our episode explores just how far we go to feel as if we belong.
The original music in ‘Skipping the Torah,’ was composed and performed by Ruth Danon. The final song, “Yeladim Kamonu”, is by Elai Botner and Yaldey Ha’Chutz. The episode also features music by Karolina, Tristan Lohengrin, Dana Boulé and Robert Schumann. It was edited by Julie Subrin and mixed by Sela Waisblum and Aviv Meshulam.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | May I have your attention please you can now book your train tickets on Uber and get |
| 0:08.0 | 10% back in credits to spend on your next Uber ride so you don't have to walk home in the rain again. |
| 0:15.0 | Trains, now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. |
| 0:20.0 | Next month, Eliere will be 80. |
| 0:25.0 | He's one of Israel's most celebrated authors. |
| 0:31.0 | He's received many prestigious literary prizes, has a bunch of honorary |
| 0:36.5 | doctorates, and if they did their homework, almost every Israeli kid read at least one of his books. |
| 0:44.0 | See, Elie's first novel, |
| 0:46.0 | Thornegolka Perrot or a scapegoat in English, |
| 0:49.0 | is a sign 10th grade reading. |
| 0:52.0 | But despite all of that, he still doesn't feel totally at home here |
| 0:56.6 | in Israel. I am a newcomer. I am an outsider. I was not born in the country. |
| 1:07.0 | And Hebrew is not my mother-tunga. |
| 1:11.0 | Whatever I do, whatever I do, |
| 1:13.0 | learn. |
| 1:14.0 | If you want to be honest with yourself, not to play games and to say, |
| 1:19.0 | oh, of course, I'm insider of the country is mine. |
| 1:24.0 | No. No. |
| 1:28.0 | I feel a bit outside there, a bit. |
| 1:31.0 | As you can imagine, when ELLli says he's a newcomer, that's more a state of mind than a fact. |
| 1:38.0 | After all, he's been here 67 years. |
| 1:41.6 | Eli was born in Baghdad. |
... |
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