The Untold Story of Hannah Senesh - with Matti Friedman
4/20/202642 min
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What do we owe the stories of people who sacrificed everything, even when they did not succeed?
As Israel approaches Yom Hazikaron after two and a half years of war, Dan speaks with author and journalist Matti Friedman about one of the most iconic and least understood stories in Israeli history: the parachutists of 1944. At the center is Hannah Senesh, whose name became synonymous with courage, even though the mission itself failed in military terms.
Purchase Matti’s book here.
In this episode:
- The real story behind Hannah Senesh and the parachutists of 1944
- The 1944 parachutist mission
- Why the mission had no clear or achievable objective
- Why the parachutists chose to act despite knowing they would likely fail
- How the parachutists understood their role as shaping a future story
- What Hannah Senesh’s life and death reveal about sacrifice
- How Israel turned this mission into a national myth
- What this story offers Israelis after October 7
This episode is sponsored by the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization. Learn more and support their work at idfwo.org.
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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Adaam James Levin-Areddy, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDan Senor· Host0:00
[instrumental music] Tonight is Yom HaZikaron, when Israel remembers and honors those who gave their lives defending their people and their country. Since October 7th, hundreds and hundreds of families have lost sons, daughters, husbands, sisters, and fathers who fell defending not only Israel, but the future we all share. In Jewish tradition, we are commanded to stand with the widow and the orphan, not as charity, but as a sacred responsibility to uphold their dignity. Wars end, but our responsibility does not. For thirty-five years, the IDF Widows and Orphans organization has been there for them, providing support, community, and a path forward. If you want to support this important work, please visit idfwo.org. That's idfwo.org.
Matti Friedman· Guest0:53
[instrumental music] You are listening to an Art Media podcast. Many of us are confronting a very dark time, a time that doesn't seem to offer very good options or a clear way forward. And many people, not just in Israel, but I think globally, are, are living with a feeling of helplessness. And this story is a demonstration of a time that was much darker than ours. And these are characters whose options were much worse than our options now. And yet they acted, they saw