Yalla Israel with Leontine & Alan

Twenty-two weeks of war have passed but life, forever changed, goes on. The Ministry of Tourism requires all licensed guides to enroll in a training courses every year. In this episode, we give our listeners a glimpse of a recent continuing education field trip spent searching for lesser known women who changed the landscape of Jerusalem's Old City.

As Israel enters into day 128 of the longest war in its history since the War of Independece, we seek refuge in nature on a beautiful trek from the hamlet of Ein Kerem to the Beit Zayit Dam. We tell you all you need to know about this hidden gem in this episode.

Long before the Netflix series' "Beauty Queen of Jerusalem", there was a lesser known Queen of Jerusalem, Helena from Adiabene (modern day Kurdistan). Hear all about her journey and contributions to Jerusalem 2000 years ago and the imprint she left behind in this episode.

The Gaza Envelope will now forever be known for the October 7 Massacre, but is an area filled with history and beauty. In this episode, we talk about the many fascinating sites to explore in the "Envelope" beyond memorial sites.

After a 6 week break from recording, Israel's war against Hamas continues into its 95th day, and Yalla Israel picks up where it left off. In this episode, we recount our heartbreaking journey to the massacre and now memorial sites in the Gaza Envelope.

Israelis are on pins and needles anxiously waiting for hostages to be released on this 3rd day of hostages-for-truce deal.

Hear how Israelis are adjusting to war after 44 days.

Israel's war against Hamas continues into its second month. Leontine and Alan provide an update and their insights on this day 37.

241 Hostages, including 9 month old Kfir Bibis, are still captive in Gaza. Leontine and Alan continue their updates and  insights in this episode on day 30 of Israel's war against Hamas.

As Israel's war with Hamas continues,  Yalla Israel  continues its situational updates and insights into life in Israel on this 23rd day of war. 

On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack  against Israel.  Since then, Israel has been at war with the Hamas terrorist organization. Yalla Israel will depart from it usual format and instead give our listeners periodic updates and insights about the situation until the war ends.

The unique and beautifully  painted Armenian pottery is a special part of the history and culture of Jerusalem. In this episode hear the full story of this craft.

This week, we talk about food or actually what makes the food of Israel so tasty, SPICES!  Why are Israel's spices so unique, what kind are there, and where can you find them?

In this third part of the series about underground Jerusalem, Leontine and Alan take us to the Struthion Pools in the bowels of the Sisters of Zion Monastery, to the ancient Roman Plaza hidden beneath the Damascas Gate of today, and to Zedekiah's Cave aka Solomon's Quarries all of which are concealed from plain sight under the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.

Leontine and Alan are back  following their summer holidays refreshed and ready to begin a new year of Yalla Israel. They cheer in the Jewish New Year with  apples and honey and Rosh Hashanah resolutions.

In continuation of our series about about  ancient treasures hidden beneath the modern day city of Jerusalem, we talk about the spectacular Western Wall Tunnels. 

Everything you want or need to know about landing and taking off at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport-the good, the bad and the ugly.

We begin a series of episodes about "Jerusalem Below" and introduce our listeners to ancient treasures hidden in a world beneath the modern day city of Jerusalem starting where Jerusalem began in the City of David! Yalla!

This week we record from the beautiful gardens of "Beit Hansen" and talk about....Beit Hansen, a former leper colony. Today, it has been transformed into a walled oasis in the Talbiye neighborhood of Jerusalem with an organic farm restaurant, tapas bar and  academy of art.

This week, we talk about the growing popularity of biking in Israel.