Shoshana Levy is nearly 88 years old, and she has led quite a life. Born in America to an American father and a mother whose family had settled in Jerusalem in the 15th century, she spent her formative years in Jerusalem (then part of the British Mandate of Palestine). She attended university in Washington, D.C., had stays in Canada, Iran and Ethiopia, and finally settled in Israel in the 1970s. It wasn’t until she was in her 80s that she was honored by the State of Israel, with two prestigious medals, for her role in the War of Independence (1948).
TLV1’s Laragh Widdess went to meet Shoshana in her retirement home to find out what she did that earned her those medals, and why it remained a secret for so many years. Shoshana also tells Laragh what it was like to visit an Iranian princess in her palace, and how she ended up meeting the Emperor of Ethiopia. Shoshana’s story is a fascinating study in identity, loyalty and memory.
Music:
Sound of Picture – Pretty Melody
Shlishiyat Gesher HaYarkon – Krav Har’el
Jack Hylton and his Orchestra – Life Begins At Oxford Circus
Glenn Miller – In The Mood
Alberto Iglesias – George Smiley
Unknown – Bab Al-Wad
Maryam Akhondy – Hafez
Chava Alberstein – Mikhtav MeIma
Shoshana Damari – Shnei Shoshanim
Shoshana Levy is nearly 88 years old, and she has led quite a life. Born in America to an American father and a mother whose family had settled in Jerusalem in the 15th century, she spent her formative years in Jerusalem (then part of the British Mandate of Palestine). She attended university in Washington, D.C., had stays in Canada, Iran and Ethiopia, and finally settled in Israel in the 1970s. It wasn’t until she was in her 80s that she was honored by the State of Israel, with two prestigious medals, for her role in the War of Independence (1948).
TLV1’s Laragh Widdess went to meet Shoshana in her retirement home to find out what she did that earned her those medals, and why it remained a secret for so many years. Shoshana also tells Laragh what it was like to visit an Iranian princess in her palace, and how she ended up meeting the Emperor of Ethiopia. Shoshana’s story is a fascinating study in identity, loyalty and memory.
Music:
Sound of Picture – Pretty Melody
Shlishiyat Gesher HaYarkon – Krav Har’el
Jack Hylton and his Orchestra – Life Begins At Oxford Circus
Glenn Miller – In The Mood
Alberto Iglesias – George Smiley
Unknown – Bab Al-Wad
Maryam Akhondy – Hafez
Chava Alberstein – Mikhtav MeIma
Shoshana Damari – Shnei Shoshanim
Written and produced by Laragh Widdess