Combustion: The Secret Pact that Ignited the Suez War (Part 2)

Unpacking Israeli History

Unpacked

Judaism, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, Part 2 of our Suez Crisis trilogy dives into the explosive events of 1956: Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, enraging Britain and France. Behind closed doors, the three powers—Israel, Britain, and France—draft a secret plan to launch a war on Egypt. From daring Israeli paratrooper raids in the Sinai to the storming of Sharm el-Sheikh, this episode unpacks the bold, complex, and controversial campaign that reshaped the region. Featuring secret diplomacy, battlefield drama, and the high-stakes politics of empire, "Combustion" is a story you won’t forget. Click ⁠here⁠ for the sources used in this episode. Please get in touch at noam@unpacked.media. Check us out on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube.⁠⁠⁠ This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, an OpenDor Media brand. ------------------- For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jewish History Nerds⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Soulful Jewish Living⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stars of David with Elon Gold ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wondering Jews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, I'm Noam Weissman, and you're listening to 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.
0:11.5	This episode of Unpacking Israeli History is generously sponsored by Jody and Ari Storch.
0:16.9	We've got short snippets on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, just search, Unpacking's early history and make sure to follow, subscribe, or whatever.
0:24.2	As always, my email Noam at Unpacked.
0:27.1	Media.
0:28.5	Okay.
0:29.2	Yala.
0:30.0	Let's do this.
0:32.2	We have a lot.
0:34.9	Al-Harmat Midina, Yulis, the heir to Israel. we, the people of Israel, are prepared and anxious to meet the representatives of our neighbors without any preconditions.
0:51.8	There are people in Israel and elsewhere say it's impossible to make peace between
0:56.8	their ups and Israel or the Jewish people.
0:59.6	I think they're wrong.
1:04.1	Welcome to part two of our three-part series on the Suez Crisis.
1:08.3	If you haven't listened to last week's episode, now is the time
1:11.5	to do it. A week is a long time, so we're going to recap briefly. Think of this as a previously
1:16.6	on unpacking Israeli history. I never understood folks who skipped a recap at the start of a
1:21.3	weekly TV show. I need that stuff to really understand what's going on and maybe you can relate.
1:25.9	So previously on unpacking Israeli history, in 1956, the Middle East was simmering about
1:32.0	to boil over.
1:32.9	In Cairo, a young, charismatic colonel-turned-president star was rising.
1:38.5	Gamal Abdel Nasser was fast becoming the voice of the Arab world in totality.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Unpacked, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Unpacked and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.