Israel Story

Oath of Blood

Imagine getting the worst news possible, learning it isn’t true, and then realizing it is true after all—in the span of a single day. That’s what happened to the Harels of Jerusalem, in the chaotic frenzy of the First Lebanon War.

July 6, 2017

In the early summer of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. The First Lebanon War—as it would later be called—would ultimately lead to thousands of casualties, an 18-year-long Israeli presence in Southern Lebanon, and growing political disillusionment. In a way, it ushered in a new era in Israel, one in which the necessity of wars was publicly doubted, and leaders’ intentions were questioned and scrutinized.

But for two Jerusalem families, who just happened to share a surname, the first days of war were an even more devastating emotional whirlwind. They each went through an unimaginable cycle of shock, grief, hope, and despair. By the end, the war had formed an oath of blood between them, a covenant of sorts.

Samuel Thrope brings us the biblical-like saga of Yuval Harel, or rather of three different Yuval Harels, whose lives, fates, and stories became eternally intertwined.

The original music in this episode was composed and performed by Ruth Danon and features Sher Niv on the guitar. This episode was edited by Julie Subrin, and mixed by Sela Waisblum.

Listen to the full episode here, or download it from iTunes. You can hear all of Israel Story’s episodes in English here and in Hebrew here.

Israel Story, the English-language version of the popular Israeli radio program Sipur Israeli, is distributed by PRX and produced in partnership with Tablet.

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