Foto Friday – Papal Visit
I’m in London this week and so can vouch for the fact that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel did not go unnoticed by the international press. As always though, the message got muddled. For example, this meeting with the chief Asheknazi and Sephardi rabbis of Israel — see the sharp shadow on the wall? A British paper here ran a photo from the same session. But their photo showed His Holiness sitting all lonely and overshadowed by a giant black hat.
In fact, the true message of the Pope’s visit — interfaith and tolerance — was better represented by this photo, a meeting in the Galilee between the Pope and leaders of different religious communities in Israel, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Druze and others…
…the visit to Yad VaShem…
…and a prayer at the Western Wall.
And yes, he left a note…
…and drove around in a Pope-mobile.
For the faithful, the visit was an important one. The itinerary included several outdoor masses, such as the afternoon Mass at the Garden of Gethsemane.
This week’s photos courtesy of the Government Press Office. Visit the Ministry of Tourism website for more information about about Christian holy sites and pilgrimage itineraries.
Spending the High Holidays with Madonna
Filed under: General, Holidays, Life, Music, Pop Culture, Religion
Madonna in her 'Sweet and Sticky' tour - on the way to Tel Aviv?
Of course neither her web site nor the touring industry site Pollstar mention anything beyond the August 29th final performance in Bulgaria. But considering that Madonna’s spent the holiday periods in both 2004 and 2007 in Israel with other students of Kabalah, it sort of makes sense.
According to the report, Madonna had attempted to perform here many times in recent years, but no promotor could cough up her hefty fee. And even this time, promoters Shuki Weiss and German producer Marek Lieberberg are still looking for commercial sponsors, like telecommunication giant Orange, to help defray the costs,
It’s a far cry from the relative ease it took to bring Madonna to Tel Aviv in October 1993 for The Girlie Tour. Of course, then it was a huge undertaking, with giant screens, and an elaborate Broadway-style stage show – I don’t think Hayarkon Park saw quite another extravaganza like it until Paul McCartney arrived last year. Not being a Madonna fan, I can say it was one of the most impressive shows I’ve ever seen, and left me with a new found and lasting respect for her talents.
So, whether she chooses to head of to Safed for some meditation, or hang out by the Tel Aviv shore, I’m one of those who are hoping the rumors are true, and that Madonna’s on her way back.
Bar Rafaeli – proof that Israel is a land of beauty and wonder?
This is clearly Bar Rafaeli’s year. The Israeli supermodel has been voted the third “hottest” woman in the world by men’s mag Maxim.
She was beaten to the top position on Maxim’s list by US actresses Megan Fox and Olivia Wilde.
Under her picture, which was published in Maxim yesterday, the editors wrote: “If there’s any evidence that the Middle East is a land of beauty and wonder – not just unending turbulence – Bar is it.”
Amazing what a pretty face can do. Politicians, professors, entrepreneurs and charitable institutions can speak about this endlessly, but Rafaeli flashes a smile in a picture and the world suddenly gets it.
Strange that they say the Middle East, however, and not Israel.
Hod HaSharon girl - Bar aged 18
What a ride it’s been for Rafaeli. Still only 23, she’s risen to the top of her field, dates Leonardo DiCaprio on and off (she met him at a party in Las Vegas when she was 20), and was the cover girl for Sport’s Illustrated’s 2009 swimsuit edition – the one that matters according to industry buffs.
Modeling since she was eight months old, one can’t help but wonder what comes next for this Hod HaSharon girl?
Think what an ambassador for Israel she could be… if she wanted to.
Elliot Zimet and friends to magically appear in Israel tomorrow
Launched back in 2003 by Los Angeles’ comic Avi Liberman, the annual Crossroads Comedy Tour has been garnering media attention for its international and relatively high-profile talent pool.
The series of events is a fundraiser for Jerusalem’s youth-at-risk-oriented Crossroads Center, with this year’s shows including tomorrow in Beit Shemesh, Sunday in Ra’anana and two Monday performances in Jerusalem. Tickets are available by clicking here.
The 2009 fundraising tour, however, focuses less on stand-up comedy and more on the allegedly nefarious art of illusion, under the moniker “The Crossroads Comedy Magical Mystery Tour.”
Ben Cohen, who has served as a consultant for David Copperfield and has been named New York’s Magician of the Year, joins a lineup headlined by Elliot Zimet, the Bronx’s hop hop magical wonder.
Zimet’s style is somewhat new to the magic world, thanks to a show dominated by special effects, lighting, dancers and East Coast beats. Clips of his performances (pictured) can be seen on his MySpace profile. Zimet has put on shows at private events hosted by Sean Combs, at Madison Square Garden, and on several TV shows, including NBC’s America’s Got Talent. He has also toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
The tour follows in the footsteps of Israel’s recent International Magic Convention, which was staged in Holon two months ago.
Candles and sandals
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness
NK in the daytime
But on erev Lag b’Omer itself, which, incidentally, is our anniversary (a very popular day to get married in Israel, since it’s a ‘day off’ from the 49-day Omer, during which Jews traditionally don’t get married), we attended the wedding of the daughter of a dear friend, held at Neot Kedumim, a biblical landscape reserve located just slightly north of Modiin.
It was one of those ‘only in Israel’ experiences, as we drove down a rocky lane to the parking lot, and then trekked over to the wedding ‘site,’ where the makeup-free bride was surrounded by her headscarf-wrapped, guitar-playing, weeping girlfriends before the bedeken. The groom, when he approached to veil his bride, was outfitted like the rest of his friends in an untucked white shirt, khakis and Source sandals, the Israeli version of Chacos, and he was brought down in a fit of singing punctuated by the calls of a shofar being sounded by one of his buddies. He played a Bratslaver-like tune to his bride, but broke the tension of the moment with a wide grin directed to her, which she returned in kind.
We walked over to the site of the chuppah, down winding lanes situated between flowering pomegranate trees and silvery green olive trees, stooping to read the ground-level signs that offer biblical quotes about the trees, bushes and flowers planted all around. The chuppah was a tallit, the rabbi was casually serious and the bride, a dancer by training, tended to jump up and down during the lighter moments of the ceremony.
And when the ceremony was over, the new couple was danced over to their yihud space where they spent a good hour, before emerging to dance raucously but separately.
“They’re hippies,” said my husband. “Nah, they’re settlers,” said someone else, referring to the flowing shirts, dresses and sandals that can often be considered a uniform for some of the hilltop settler types. I thought of it as a wedding of Israeli Deadheads, but one thing is for sure: It was a wedding with a joyous vibe.
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