The international musicians of The Bridge Project.

But it was no joke for Ittai Shaked, Andy Bussuttil and Umit Ceyhan who make up The Bridge Project - based in cyberspace but coming down for landing this week in Israel.

All three musicians have a day gig at the successful Israeli startup Waves, which was profiled in ISRAEL21c a few years ago. Violinist Shaked is a quality assurance manager for the Grammy Award-winning company that develops audio mixing software for the digital age for sound engineers and producers. And Bussutil, a multi-talented musician who runs his own recording studio in Australia, and Ceyhan, the Turkish Muslim who currently lives in France and teaches sonic and cinematic arts at the University of Toulouse, are part of Shaked’s team testing the company’s new products.

When, over a year ago, Shaked posted a message to his more than 100 testers around the world asking if anyone wanted to get together virtually and create some music, Bussutil and Ceyhan responded. Thus began ongoing file sharing and music creation between the three, with each adding his own instruments and ideas onto the previous take of their world music combining everything from Middle Eastern sounds to klezmer and Balkan beats.

The chemistry between us was amazing – we found out we shared and loved the same kind of music, more or less, with different spices,” Shaked told me. “And all three of us play instruments that combine together very nicely. At some point, I realized that what we’re doing here is making an album.”

The result is Three Waves Under the Bridge, the fruits of their online efforts, and the arrival in Israel of Bussutil and Ceyhan this week to meet Shaked and each other face to face and perform a series of live shows around the country.

Three Waves Under the Bridge, mixed by Shaked and mastered by Bussuttil, is a reflective world music mosaic brimming with musical ideas, and featuring a genre-hopping range of instruments – North African percussion like bongos and darbukas, strings ranging from violin, viola and cello to clarinet and sax, and traditional Turkish instruments like the duduk, kopuz and saz.

The music is only part of their accomplishments. As Bussuttil said, “Our efforts were an attempt to unify people rather than divide them. And we hoped to demonstrate that people from different backgrounds can create more than conflict, we can create things of beauty as well.”

If you’re in the country, you can catch the Bridge Project on May 14 at the Tmuna Theater in Tel Aviv. Other shows on the mini-tour, supported by the Foreign Ministry and the Australian Embassy in Israel, include The Jame Club in Acre on May 17, The Jazz Club in Mitzpe Ramon on May 18, and Hemdat Yamin in the Galilee on May 19.

But anyone can enjoy their music here.

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Mitch Pilcer in front of the grave he discovered. (Arieh O'Sullivan)

That doesn’t likely happen too often in most parts of the world, but it did in Israel, to Mitch Pilcer, who owns picturesque bed-and-breakfast country establishment in the Galilee village of Tzippori, the home of early rabbinic sages.

Pilcer’s 2009 discovery of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi’s grave, whose commentaries appear in the Talmud and legend has it was a close friend of Elijah the Prophet, has sparked an ongoing struggle with the Israel Antiquities Authority who have been demanding that Pilcer allow them to excavate the tomb.

According to a report by The Media Line, the IAA won a court order, and late 2009 it conducted a dig on the property and confiscated the headstone door, which had been inscribed in plainly legible Hebrew: “This is the burial place of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi Hakapar.”

Later the IAA filed charges against Pilcer for carrying out an illegal excavation, damaging an ancient site and possession of antiquities. Pilcer’s trial began at the Nazareth Magistrate’s court last week where he pleaded not guilty. He has also made formal demands to have the stone returned to its original site.

Full disclosure here is that Pilcer is an old friend, and I’m on his side of this battle over the ownership of the stone and the site. Read the full story about his battle with the ‘Man’ here.

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Early elections seem to be a done deal, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announcing Sunday night at a Likud convention the plan to dissolve the Knesset and establish the election date of September 4.

Nobody really knows why virtually every party is clamoring for new elections over a year ahead of their scheduled appearance. But it’s clear why Bibi is agreeing – his Likud party stands to be the big winner according to all the recent polls.

With tour operators bemoaning the likelihood that Israelis are going to cancel late summer travel plans in order to be here for the elections, and the nation bracing for another symbiotic coalition of strange bedfellows, there’s not a lot to be optimistic about.

Luckily we have the campaign ads to look forward to. A truly entertaining exercise that wastes millions of shekels that could be better put to severely lacking social services, the party ads offer some unique ‘only in Israel’ moments that reveal a juicy cross-section of Israeli society.

You want to know what makes Israelis such a ornery, loveable bunch? Watch some campaign ads. Here’s a small sampling from 2007 – from Yisrael Beyteinu, Meretz and the defunt Shinui party.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Cutting the ribbon in Ma'aleh Adumim.

Thus this week witnessed the opening of a new entrance to the city of Ma’aleh Adumim, the city east of Jerusalem on the way to the Dead Sea – a road that actually benefits the Palestinians in the neighboring town of Ezeriya.

Until now, residents of both locations used the same traffic circle that fed the entrances to both towns, causing traffic jams, and long delays for the Palestinians in particular. While that entrance will remain open, the traffic into Ma’aleh Adumim is going to decrease significantly because of the new entrance. It bypasses the main road and takes motorists through a picturesque incline, past a new Keren Kayamet man-made lake and park (with a Caffit restaurant) and into the heart of the city.

At the official ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Mayor Benny Kashriel was joined by Housing Minister Ariel Attias and other officials, touting the improvement to the quality of life of the area’s residents. Kashriel noted that for the last six months or so, he hadn’t failed to meet someone from Ma’aleh Adumim without being asked when the new road was going to open.

A few minutes after the modest ceremony, the orange cones were taken away, and the new road saw its first motorist. Attendees grabbed the last rugelach and drinks and made their own way back up the hill into the city. And life in a settlement goes on.

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Ahinoam Nini

However in the week since the event, a Facebook group calling for the boycott of Nini has gained more than 3,500 members, who apparently think that such events provide moral equivalency between the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians. Nini dismissed such claims, writing on her Facebook page that “I am just shocked by this stupid and ugly distortion. I sang at an alternative ceremony, at which Jews and Arabs remember and cry together for their loved ones who were lost in the ongoing war between us.”

Neshama Carlebach, the Jewish spiritual singer and daughter of the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, also stirred some feathers with her reworked version of Israel’s national anthem, ‘Hatikva’, recorded for Israel’s 64th Independence Day, and performed on Sunday at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York.

The song, suggested by the Jewish paper The Forward, contains some new lyrics aimed at allowing both Jews and Arabs to relate to the words. Rather than singing “A Jewish soul still yearns” in the anthem, Carlebach sings, “An Israeli soul still yearns,” and instead of “An eye still gazes toward Zion,” she sings “An eye still gazes toward our country.”

Some attendees to the conference apparently were offended by the changed lyrics, and whether due to the late hour or in protest, Carlebach’s show with the Green Pastures Baptist Choir was sparsely attended.

Who said music soothes the savage beast? Here’s Carlebach’s reworked version of the anthem.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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They were singing and chanting and attracting quite a crowd. A couple of young, female Japanese tourists stopped and took some photos. A hot dog vendor asked them if they were going to join the protesters. And the girls responded, “No, we’re not Jewish.”

After watching the sickening display outside the hotel, I almost wished I could say the same. But in the end, I said, “no, I’m Israeli.”

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Margalit Zanati on the porch of her house in Pe'ekin.

She’s the caretaker of the ancient synagogue in Pe’ekin which dates back to the time of the Second Temple period (and which is featured on the back of the hundred shekel note). And according to Zanini, Pe’ekin is the only place in Israel where Jews have lived constantly throughout the period of the Diaspora.

That presence was threatened in 1936 when Arab riots forced the Jews of Pe’ekin to leave. One of the only families that returned was Zanati’s parents, and after they died, Zanini, who never married, took it upon herself to keep the Jewish presence alive in the village of 5,000.

Margalit showing a visitor some of the photos and artifacts at the visitor's center.

While the modern, villa-filled town of Peki’in Hahadasha was established in 1955 and boast modern villas and a comfortable suburban life, old Pe’ekin looks pretty much like it did a century ago.

Parking on the side of one of the village’s narrow streets, we started walking around, following not informative signs indicating points of tourist interest. Deciding to take a turn off the main road, we suddenly saw a big Jewish star on an old building, and a small sign explaining that it was the Zanati house. Opposite it was the synagogue.

An elderly woman emerged from the second floor of the ramshackle house, carrying a bucket and started walking down the stairs. I asked her if she knew whether the Jewish family in Pe’ekin was home, and she said gruffly, “I’m the Jewish family.”

A fraction of the lemon bounty.

Margalit began to warm to us, and asked if we wanted to see the film about the family and the house in the show room next door. After helping her get the DVD and projector to work, we enjoyed the film, and learned that Margalit also gives musical performances to visitors and school kids who come to the home for arranged visits.

Afterwards we walked into a courtyard, which was home to an immense lemon tree, brimming with ripe lemons. “That’s why I have this bucket,” she said, and started picking the low-lying fruit. Realizing it would take her hours on end, we decided to pitch in, and before I knew it, I was on the top rung of a 25-foot ladder pitching huge lemons down into the buckets below.

An hour later, we climbed up to Margalit’s humble living quarters for some tea with nana. It was an afternoon that we received surely more than we bargained for, including a huge bag of lemons.

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A picturesque scene from Kibbutz Tuval.

But this time, my wife and I traveled to uncharted territory, courtesy of a two-day coupon we bid for and won on one of those group buy sites. It was for two nights at a tzimmer (B&B) in Kibbutz Tuval, a tiny kibbutz 10 kilometers north of Carmiel, on the way up to the Tefen industrial park and Kfar Vradim.

It turned out that this area might just be the most beautiful of all in our country. The kibbutz lodgings themselves were picturesque, rustic and comfortable – and the location was amazing.

Leaving the site after a hearty continental breakfast, we drove less than 15 minutes to Parod, a hiking trail along a rushing stream that led to a robust waterfall. Our hostess at the kibbutz said that this had been an exceptional winter, and that some years, there’s no water at all. But this week, the waters were roaring, and the school kids we encountered on the trail took advantage of the spring-like weather and dove into the icy stream.

Next were stops at Gush Halav, (Jish in Arabic), a village populated mostly by Christian Maronites from Lebanon, which 2,000 years ago, was a thriving Jewish center and still displays many remnants of that era. After walking and driving through the village, we stopped for some authentic Lebanese hummous.

We ended our day in the Druze town of Yirca, only three kilometers from Tuval, where our hostess tipped us off about the amazing shopping there. There are two side by side department stories – gigantic places with the adorable names of “Shopping Center” and “Amsh Star” – with every kind of clothing available at the trendy stories in the malls, but at greatly discounted prices. We were like kids in a candy store.

Even though we looked more than we bought, the experience of walking around the undeveloped town with its massively developed shopping area was a blast. Our hostess told us that she and her fellow kibbutzniks go there regularly to stock up on shoes and sneakers for the kids and clothes for the whole family. Sounds like the seeds of coexistence in the North has taken full bloom.

After another day of similar touring, we decided that this area of Israel might just be its unmined treasure. So, please ignore all of this and don’t go to visit there. There’s really nothing to see.

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The Rennie Harris Puremovement dance troupe.

But after watching this slick promo for Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s ‘America Day’ sponsored by the US Embassy in Israel, I’m ready to head back to college.

The Negev university’s Zlotowski Student Center was splashed red, white and blue last week as the close ties between the US and Israel were on full display. In addition to a talk by US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, the day featured information booths into everything from USAID to study abroad options.

But perhaps the highlight was the guest appearance of the Rennie Harris Puremovement dance troupe which gave a number of half hour shows throughout the day. Based out of Philadelphia, PA, the troupe offered an historical glimpse into the evolution of hip-hop dance from funk, through b-boy to house and more. Check out the rapt attention of the students in this clip, and start packing your bags for the Negev.

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On their Facebook page, people are sharing music links — Stevie Wonder’s We Can Work It Out — messages about their appreciation for the campaign, wishes for a happy Iranian new year and Iranian versions of the Israeli poster. If you were just reading this site, you’d think there’s no chance for a nuclear war.

Read this comment:

Just in from Iran:

miscommunication is a funny thing . when i saw the original blog and first comment was why so cocky why u say u dont bomb us like u want to but u dont and few hours later i saw one israeli said why they dont said it back that we dont bomb u either. u see? something its good thing in Your country and its bad thing in mine . because we dont know each other. they never let us to know each other. they afraid we became united and realize we got played and they cant control us any more (they are : government of both countries ) . i dont know about u guys but here they keep saying israel is bad . israel its evil and all that crap and its going into your subconscious and u start believe a lie that deep down u know thats not true at least not all of them but u know what, when i see pictures specially family ones its like i know u guys and i never met any of u .any one with a little bit knowledge knows innocent people gonna get kill in wars .people who dont deserve it and people who do deserve it they going to sit in their office and write a apology note . love and respect to every irani or israeli or american or what ever countries that say no to war . some people said this is start of a friendship between two countries but i say (base on two countries history ) this is reunion of brothers and sisters who lost each other over time and finally find each other .

B. Tehran – IRAN

It helps to have a ‘place’ to go where you can regain a sense of sanity about people and war and the general desire to vote for peace rather than warfare. The question is whether pink and green posters can make any kind of difference in this global disaster.

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