Lucy Aharish: The Muslim Woman Who Became Israel's First Arab News Anchor

Lucy Aharish was the first Arab Muslim woman to anchor the news in Hebrew on mainstream Israeli TV. On October 7, while her husband — Fauda star Tsahi Halevi — headed south with his unit, she helped steer a rescue team to 12 people trapped in a Kfar Aza safe room. She's interviewed a Hamas official and a sitting president, and this year she faced a mob outside her own apartment. In this episode of Build or Break, Lucy sits down with Daniel Lubetzky to talk identity, extremism, and courage. She opens up about growing up the only Arab Muslim girl in a Jewish town, and catching her best friend writing "filthy Arab" on the school wall — then making her face her every day instead of having her expelled. She breaks down the difference between Islam and Islamism, why citizen journalism is costing us the ability to agree on basic facts, and what happened when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put her in his campaign ad. Plus: the Mexican Inquisition and the Hava Nagila audition that landed her in World War Z. 00:00 Intro 01:58 From Nazareth to Dimona 07:42 Being the Only Muslim in School 11:34 "I have a complex identity" 15:55 The '90s terror wave 19:09 The graffiti, the principal, and Grandpa Menachem 24:10 "She was my best friend" 31:33 Criticizing her government and Hamas 39:41 "Is Israel a racist country?" 47:13 What makes a great interviewer 51:08 October 7: "This is not a drill" 1:05:57 Lucy vs. Netanyahu, and the mob at her door 1:12:06 The Mexican Inquisition 1:19:47 Build or Break Twitter/X: https://x.com/lucyaharish https://www.threads.com/@lucyaharish https://www.instagram.com/DanielLubetzky https://www.tiktok.com/@daniellubetzky https://x.com/DanielLubetzky https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellubetzky https://daniellubetzky.com/ 🙋🏻Become a Builder: https://buildersmovement.org/ Music: Amos Cochran https://www.editscoremusic.com/ Post Production: Jennell Lewis & Scott Convery; Rob Naylor Social Media Production: https://www.edits-etc.com/ Build or Break Team: Executive Producer & Host: Daniel Lubetzky Executive Producer: Kristin Schneider Head of Programming & Production: Joel Rubin Marketing & Communications: Sarah Black Associate Producer & Social Media: Taylor Larned Booking & Scheduling: Kayla Rose Network Relations: Julianna Cohen