5 YouTube Channels From Israel I’m Watching At The Moment
As a recent entrant to the YouTube fold, I’ve been doing a bit of digging around this summer to find channels to draw … ahem … creative inspiration from.
There are channels whose videos I have been devouring for years already — Corey Gill Shuster’s The Ask Project falls very much into this category — as well as those I’ve discovered much more recently.
Like most things in Israel, there seem to be parallel and sometimes overlapping worlds coexisting in Hebrew, English, and probably other languages too.
While I’ve been on a Hebrew-learning kick for a lot of this summer, when it comes to finding video sources to polish up my language skills, I’ve been mostly watching professional content syndicated by Kan (Israel’s national broadcaster) — which does an outstanding job at producing many excellent series and documentaries and even adds English subtitles to select shows.
In the process, I’ve developed an unexpected fondness for Kupa Rashit, a somewhat ridiculous Israeli skit based on a typically dysfunctional and chaotically managed supermarket.
For a representative taster, see the first episode of season three. Like the actual process of shopping in an Israeli supermarket, it’s something of an acquired taste that mellows with age and gets easier the more you do it. Like most Israeli comedy, I find it slightly too slapstick for my liking (growing up in Ireland, I prefer the more sardonic British variety of humor). But it has its moments.
What I have discovered from exploring the Hebrew YouTube “ecosystem” is that there’s plenty of vacuous clickbait content being delivered by YouTube “influencers” in Hebrew. As well as plenty of much more substantive material that’s actually engaging and entertaining. As I wrote here earlier today, that’s just kinda how Israel rolls. It’s totally unique. And also oddly like every other country. All at the same time. It’s the baffling paradox of this land and its people.
Here are some of the Israel-based YouTubers that I’ve subbed recently and long ago.
The Ask Project By Corey Gil Shuster
I’ve probably watched more hours of this channel than just about any other YouTube channel I consume — and that includes the inimitable Vah Chef whose unique brand of presenting Indian cooking videos has won him fans, and plaudits, from all over the world. (I knew that if I wrote enough articles on Medium I’d finally get round to comparing Corey and Vah Chef).
Caution: The Ask Project isn’t easy watching. Corey asks random Israelis, and Palestinians, their thoughts on often divisive political issues including the status of the peace process; whether they want peace at all; and what they want for their future: to live side by side or together.
The answers are quite eye-opening.
Travelling Israel — With Oren Cahanovitc
If you’re thinking about planning a trip to Israel, then you could do much much worse than by checking out the YouTube channel of Oren Cahanovitc.
Oren’s channel is likely to be a lot more useful for visitors and prospective visitors than for those actually living here. Nevertheless, I find his presentation style refreshing: down to earth, unassuming, and full of interesting information about sights around Israel and the practical details of living here.
If you’re thinking about visiting Israel — at least when you can do so again — then you’re likely to find an explainer on some facet of life here on the channel.
India International — With India Persaud
India Persaud works with Tel Aviv based international news station i24 news and has put her training in journalism to good use by founding a YouTube channel that’s quickly climbing in popularity.
As her fans repeatedly ask her — yes, her name is really India. India’s journey to Israel is intriguing. And while her brand — and channel — started out when she was elsewhere in the world (Brazil to be specific), Israel appears to be where she has wound up, at least for the moment.
India’s production quality is really slick and she was even kind enough to give me an insight, by email, into what gear she’s using. While I won’t spill the beans on those trade secrets, her advice is worth paraphrasing and repeating: don’t be put off by those further along in the journey than you, keep creating, and keep publishing.
Kan’s Network Of YouTube Channels
Israel’s public broadcaster — Kan — has really outdone itself when it comes to syndicating content to YouTube.
I’m guessing that this must be somebody’s — or many people’s — full-time job. Because when I went to try subscribe to as many as I could find, I managed to count close to 20 different channels before calling it a day.
Kan has produced a number of excellent shows. It adds English subtitles to the best of those and Hebrew subtitles to a lot more.
Depending on where you are in your Hebrew-learning voyage, the Hebrew audio / Hebrew subtitles channels can still be useful learning resources. You’ll just need a good enough basis (Hebrew has an English-ism for this word: bas-ees) in order to be able to follow along.
Some of the options:
Jerusalem Walker
The mysterious Jerusalem Walker — who has to the best of my knowledge thus far remained anonymous — has emerged as a new star in the popular virtual walk category of YouTube videos.
As the name suggests, these videos tend to involve being brought along on a virtual walk through somebody … recording themselves walking through scenery.
As a recent entrant to the gimbal owners of this world (I picked up a DJI Ronin SC last month), I had to ask what the gear being used was. The answer: for at least some of the shots, a humble DJI Osmo Pocket mobile gimbal, which truly delivers outsized stabilized results in 4K.
The Jerusalem Walker has a flair for creativity. Live music performances have been captured; aerial shots taken in the shuk; fans have also begun leaving suggestions.
There are a variety of great YouTube channels bringing content from Israel-based YouTubers out to the world — in English, Hebrew, and just about every other language commonly spoken in Israel’s melting pot. This list is totally exhaustiveness. But might provide a good start for somebody looking to explore what it’s actually like to live in Israel — from those living here.
