On May 14th. 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion publicly pronounced the new nation of Israel. The country has had a history of tremendous success but also conflict, border disputes and war. We’ll talk with a roundtable of Israeli-born Granite Staters, hear their stories of their home country, get their comments on the sixty year journey of Israel and their thoughts on the state of the state of Israel today.
- Ruth Harris, music teacher living in Hollis who was born in Palestine and then lived in Richon Letzion after Israel’s independence; she moved to Amsterdam and then to the United States in 1973
- Moshe Shpindler, resident of Nashua and owner of Caesario’s Pizza in Manchester. He was also born in Richon Letzion in 1950 and lived there until he moved to the United States in 1983
- Amalia Flaisher, graphic designer living in Litchfield; Amalia was born in Romania but moved to Ashkelon and later to Netanya in Israel before moving to the US ten years ago
- Isaiah Artsy, computer consultant living in Nashua; he was born in Poland, emigrated to Israel in 1957 and then to the US in 1982, and has spent the last week with family in Israel for the anniversary celebrations
The people of New Hampshire have many views on just about every subject, including today's topic. However, it was ,obvious, that Laura Knoy's agenda was to present only a pro-Israel perspective, as the content of the show and the guest list amply demonstrated. Listening to Knoy's, effusive, praise of a country which forcibly dispossessed over 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 and continues stealing their land on the West Bank while, brutally, imposing its illegal, immoral occupation reminded me of when people applauded the apartheid regime of South Africa. Israel's 1.4 million Palestinians also suffer severe, systemic discrimination, another aspect of this issue, assiduously, avoided by Knoy. NHPR should cover the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with the balance and objectivity which was missing from todays program.