Ep005 - 1967 The Six Day War

This special episode is not about the past, but about current events. Since the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7th 2023, my father has been volunteering with communities who've been displaced from the towns around Gaza, who've gone through horrendous atrocities and are trying to just find a stable footing to stand on. This episode was recorded and published on the same day. It was mostly done in one take and it doesn't have perfect editing, so please be kind and patient with it. WARNING: This episode includes difficult subjects of death, grief, mental health, and slight non-detailed graphical descriptions.

The Mossad is the Israeli equivalent to the CIA. It is known for its covert missions all over the world, and in the late 60s they assisted the rebellion in Kurdistan. Mick was able to join the mission as a doctor to help the team there. Managing field medical services alone and in disguise is not an easy task, and he finds different ways he can help people in need.

This bonus episode is a piece that was cut from the previous episode, where my dad gives more details on how his side of the marriage proposal looked like. It's a perfect segue to our next episode which will tell the full story of my father's secret mission to Kurdistan. You should totally check that one out as well.

In this episode we have a special guest, and we get to hear both Mick and Yardena tell the story of how they met and fell in love. Having met right before the six day war, their budding relationship was forged not only out of doubt and wonder of young age, but also by the horrors of battle and the hardships of distance. All of which cannot compare to the power of their love, that not only prevailed and got them married, but also created a loving and happy relationship that lasted for over 54 years (so far).

Pulled out of classroom at medical school, Mick is imminently promoted to lieutenant by the Army's Surgeon General and immediately sent to Jerusalem, where fierce fighting is taking place. Facing the horrors of war and the chaos surrounding it for the first time is an overwhelming experience, the memories of which one must carry for the rest of their life.

While coming to grips with medical studies, new social circles and academic woes and triumphs, Mick spends every school break on merchant ship decks exploring Europe and the middle east. In his 4th year of medical school, Mick discovers what it really means to be a doctor, and also finds his true calling to focus on community medicine with the Bedouin people in the south of Israel.

In this episode we focus on Mick's life as a child growing up in Jerusalem under the British mandate, and in the harsh and dangerous conditions immediately following the formation of the state of Israel, as Arab armies lay siege to the city.  Bombings, sniper fire, power cuts and lack of food and water weighed heavily on the residents of Jerusalem. But as we will learn, when the grownups are tied down fighting a real war, the kids have absolute freedom to revel in such an extreme environment and make their own fun.

In this episode we go further back in time to follow Mick’s father, Walter.  We learn how Walter’s formative experience as a Jewish medical student in 1930’s Germany pushed him to leave his homeland to escape the Nazis and antisemitism.  What follows is an amazing life story, as Walter negotiates the political upheavals of pre-war Europe, finds the love of his life in Prague, fights as part of the allied armed forces in the second world war, becomes a commander in the Israeli war of independence, and finds his way as a doctor through decades of military and civilian duty in Israel.

Approaching the end of his compulsory military term, Mick is asked by his commanding officer to travel South, to the Suez canal to fill in as a doctor for a week in a front line bunker. In this episode we delve into the 1969 war of attrition and learn how the daily threat of bombardment and the loss of comrades to enemy fire lead to a life-changing decision.

In this podcast I am interviewing my Dad, Mick Alkan; physician, adventurer, career military doctor and a consummate study of history, art and culture. Mick’s experiences span the second world war, the birth of Israel, and decades of humanitarian work in many countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. In each episode we focus on a different time period, starting, in fact, with the life of Walter, my grandfather, and moving forwards and backwards along the course of my Dad’s childhood, education and career.