BBC World Service South Asia

Miriam and Youssef

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Drama: Relationships & Romance

A 10-part drama about the founding of Israel

A 10-part drama about the founding of Israel.  Miriam is a Jewish immigrant to Palestine, and Youssef is an Arab inhabitant driven into exile.

A 10-part drama about the founding of Israel. Miriam is a Jewish immigrant to Palestine, and Youssef is an Arab inhabitant driven into exile. At the heart of it all is the city of Jerusalem.

Miriam and Youssef: Miriam and Youssef: Ep 1. Twice Promised Land

Factual

29/04/2020 GMT

Ep 1. Twice Promised Land

BBC World Service - Miriam and Youssef, Miriam and Youssef, Ep 1. Twice Promised Land

1917. The British enter Palestine. Episode one of a drama about the founding of Israel

1917. Young Youssef befriends a British civil servant. Miriam and her mother flee Jewish persecution in Poland. Episode one of a 10-part drama about the founding of Israel.

1917. The British enter Palestine, after supporting a homeland for the Jewish people there. Young Youssef Bannourah and his family befriend Harry Lister, a newly arrived British civil servant.  He takes up residence in their village of Deir Yassin. Meanwhile, young Miriam and her mother Sara flee Jewish persecution in Poland, and make their way by sea to Palestine. Episode one of a 10-part drama about the founding of Israel.
 
Written by Steve Waters
 
CAST
Miriam ….. Shani Erez
Youssef ….. Amir El-Masry
Young Miriam ….. Ava Merson-O’Brien
Young Youssef ….. Rafi Essex
Young Zahra ….. Nikhita Essex
Harry Lister ….. Blake Ritson
Sara ….. Jessica Turner
Abu Khalid ….. Rami Nasr
Umm Khalid ….. Sirine Saba
Mahmoud ….. Daniel Rabin
Other parts ….. Neil McCaul, Clive Hayward and Hasan Dixon
Original music ….. Glenn Sharp
Sound Design …. Caleb Knightley
This episode was updated on 11 May 2020.

Miriam and Youssef: Miriam and Youssef

BBC World Service

A ten part drama exploring the founding of Israel.

An epic ten-part drama charts the turbulent decades leading up to the founding of Israel.

Miriam and Youssef, a ten part series for the BBC World Service, dramatising the tragic history of the founding of Israel.  Driving it is a dual narrative, told by two former neighbours: Miriam, a Jewish Immigrant to Palestine and Youssef, a Palestinian Arab driven into exile in 1948 - both asking the question, ‘how did we get here?’.  
At its heart is the city of Jerusalem, during the three decades of the British Mandate, represented by a third core character Harry Lister, an idealistic colonial official avid to implement the ‘Balfour Declaration’ but increasingly disenchanted with its implications. 
The history of the creation of Israel is a story of triumph and disaster, of attacks and reprisals, of good intentions and misunderstandings. The series highlights the fact that at one moment one group may rejoice while another despairs. Although Big Events are taking place, both in Palestine and across the world during this period, and although it includes some important historical characters and epic scenes of riot and battle, the story is told through the intimate personal experiences of Miriam and Youssef and their families.

Although the series is fictional, it is based on fact. Every effort has been made to ensure that the series is culturally, linguistically and historically accurate.

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Miriam and Youssef

Miriam and Youssef

Ep 1. Twice Promised Land

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