Barring anything radically unforeseen (Iran war, Part II, which many experts say is likely coming…), here’s what we have planned for this week:
SUNDAY (today): two videos of recovery that have gone viral in Israel, one receiving more than 2,000,000 views in a tiny country.
MONDAY: While we were sitting in our safe rooms as Israel attacked Iran, for some, it was a moment in which new dreams were sparked. We hear about the hopes and feelings of Israelis who once called Iran home. TUESDAY: Sarah Hurwitz, once the speechwriter for Michelle Obama, has a new book coming out. And she explains why she had to give Israel a place in this book which is so different from her previous (excellent) book.
WEDNESDAY: After Tami Raviv’s daughter, Niv, was murdered in her kibbutz on October 7, her friends told her that the only way to renew her life would be to create something in Niv’s image. What has emerged, the Niv-Nirel center, is extraordinary.
THURSDAY: As war in Gaza City looms, the issue of the Haredi draft is getting a lot of heat again. And one Haredi leader has a very surprising message. Plus, some Haredim are getting drafted, and we see them.
We are focus on two remarkable stories of recovery, we begin with the story of Ari Spitz, who was grievously wounded in Gaza, and lost both legs and one arm. But being left with but one arm did not stop him. The first video was posted half a year ago as he worked doggedly on his recover, the second (which we didn’t subtitle — it’s thanks to all the various staff members at the hospital) is of him as he’s about to be released from Tel HaShomer Hospital after 281 days.
If this is not heroism, I don’t know what is.
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The following clip has had some 2.5 million views, so far. Think about that number for a second. In a country of 10 million people, most Arabs are not watching videos about soldiers with PTSD (of course, some are). That leaves 8 million people. Haredim are 15% of Israel’s population, and most of them are not watching this. That leaves 6.5 million people. Just under a fifth of Israeli society is under 10 years old, and those kids are likely not watching videos about PTSD.
All of which is a way of saying that 2.5 million hits is a HUGE number—this video has touched a deep, raw nerve in Israel. I hardly know anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Udi Kagan is one of my very favorite Israeli comedians—and I’m hardly alone. If you’re not familiar with him, you’ll soon see why he’s all the rage in Israel. He’s an extraordinary talent.
Here’s his Facebook page. Here’s his YouTube page. And his Instagram page.
Kagan is hilarious, but what makes him very special is the degree to which his comedy is almost always an incisive commentary on Israeli society—the parts we’re proud of and the parts we’re not. It’s not all war or politics, either. He writes about raising kids, marriage, the hippy scene where he lives: the whole gamut. I could listen to him for hours, and laugh (or tear up) time and again.
Kagan has starred in and created several TV shows, including the acclaimed series "Messiah," which ran from 2013 to 2020, and has also contributed as a writer to hit programs like "Carpool Karaoke Israel" and "Back of the Nation". He’s also contributed to Israel’s rough equivalent of Saturday Night Live, Eretz Nehederet.
In all the years we’ve been doing this column, I cannot recall a single clip that’s gone viral in Israel that so many people have written me to say, “you HAVE to share this with your readers.” It’s long, and thus a lot of work for our staff to subtitle, so I resisted a bit. However, the requests continued to come in, so here it is.
Kagan’s performance here, in a Tel Aviv club, is a beautiful, moving glimpse into what much of this generation of Israelis is going to carry with them as long as they grace the planet.
