Celebrity flotilla invades Israel

June 27, 2011 - 9:06 AM by David

UNICEF global goodwill ambassador Shakira and President Shimon Peres shake hands in Jerusalem

One might have been excused for thinking that Israel had turned into a celebrity magnet like Hollywood last week. In the course of a few days, noted international stars Bob Dylan, Laurie Anderson, Shakira, Rickie Lee Jones, Sarah Silverman and Matisyhahu were all crisscrossing the country, either here for performances or, in the case of hip-shaking Shakira, as a guest panelist at President Shimon Peres’s Israeli Presidential Conference.

And there was some cross-pollination going on. Hassidic reggae rapper Matisyahu reportedly was more stoked that singer/songwriter Jones was performing last week at Ramat Gan Stadium than he was about the headliner Dylan. He finagled his way to the “Chuck E’s in Love” songstress, revealed his longtime devotion to her, and invited her as his guest at his show the next night at a Tel Aviv club. It’s not clear if Jones took him up on the offer.

Later in the week, before appearing with local favorites Hadag Nahash at an outdoor show in Jerusalem, the busy Matisyahu appeared on a panel on Jewish identity at the Presidential conference with the irreverent Silverman.

The session was reportedly the epitome of the word ‘awkward’ as evidenced by the following video clip.

But it couldn’t have been stranger than Silverman’s hopefully comic admission a couple nights later at her stand up show in Tel Aviv that she had slept with the conference’s host – Shimon Peres. Of course, she didn’t put it in such cultured terms.

The American comedian was also seen schmoozing at another session of the conference with Shakira, one of the South American pop star’s many non-performance appearances during her visit as Unicef ambassador and founder of the Barefoot Foundation, which promotes the right to a quality education for children worldwide.

Between all the famous names walking around Jerusalem, one might have gotten a whiplash from turning their heads and exclaiming, ‘Isn’t that…?”

The situation is slated to repeat itself next month when – in one day – three musical artists will be performing at three different locations in the country. Paul Simon will be bringing his acclaimed tour to Ramat Gan Stadium, jazz/pop guitar legend George Benson will be bringing his soul stuff to the Caesarea Amphitheater and the inheritor of the reggae mantle, Ziggy Marley, will be headlining a reggae dance outdoor show in Jerusalem.

As one fan, who was deliberating which show to attend, mentioned, “We can pretend we actually live in a normal country for one day.”

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