Nostalgia Sunday – Netanyahu’s fixer upper
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Movies, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Politics
The members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet went on a little trip today up to visit historic Tel Hai in the Galilee. Going on tiyul is quite common this season — dozens of people are hiking Shvil Yisrael, the Israel National Trail this month — but it’s unusual for members of Knesset to move en masse out of their comfort zone and into the periphery.
However, this was a special occasion. Today being the 90th anniversary of the battle at the Tel Hai compound — itself refurbished thanks to the efforts of The Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS) — it was selected as an appropriate time and place for a cabinet meeting to approve a comprehensive plan, the largest ever, to “strengthen the national heritage infrastructures of the State of Israel”.
What is a national heritage infrastructure? As set out in Netanyahu’s plan (called TAMAR which in Hebrew is the acronym for “national heritage infrastructure”) it consists of about 150 “tangible/material cultural resources” (archaeological and historic sites) and “intangible/nonmaterial cultural resources” (archives and collections of literature, poetry, philosophy, arts, crafts, music and song, dance, theater, film, traditions, holidays, festivals, ceremonies, etc.) all in need of rehabilitation and/or enrichment. TAMAR will cost almost NIS 400 million, and will be funded by private donations to be matched by allocations from the budgets of 16 government ministries.
The list of sites — which is not yet finalized — includes 37 archaeological sites, 39 museums and collections, and 62 sites relating to Israel’s Jewish and Zionist heritage — many literally crumbling to bits, such as the magnificent painted ceiling in Jerusalem’s Meah Shearim Yeshiva. There are also 13 projects in the “intangible/nonmaterial” category that would restore cultural resources like the backlog of yet-uncatalogued movies still in cartons at the Israel Film Archive – as well as upgrade the archive building itself.
Two additional trails will be created in addition to Shvil Yisrael, promised Netanyahu, one a historic trail of archaeological sites from the biblical, Second Temple and other eras in the history of the Land of Israel, the other a trail tracing the places and events that gave rise to the modern-day State of Israel.
Netanyahu couldn’t have given a better example than this one: dowdy, dingy Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. “It is good that the city is open to the world and good that the city is alive and moving forward. But at 16 Rothschild Boulevard, there is a small auditorium in which the State of Israel was declared. There, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, declared the State of Israel.
“The hall is run-down. I am not saying that it is about to fall over but as far as the many young people and others, who flock to the street, to Rothschild Boulevard, are concerned, they do not know it. They do not visit it at all. And therefore, we will rehabilitate Independence Hall.”
The long-term payoff for TAMAR, say the plan’s authors, will be NIS 630 million in annual tourism revenue, job creation in the amount of 3,500 permanent positions plus 800 more during the 5-year period of the plan’s execution, and development of tourism to the Negev and Galilee regions. Later this week, the cabinet is due to approve the national transportation plan joining the Galilee and other regions to an accessible national transportation grid.
The cabinet also made a separate decision today on a new building for Israel’s National Library, funded by a donation from Yad Hanadiv (the Rothschild Foundation).
Nostalgia Sunday – Sing out!
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
Glee, the TV comedy about a high-school choral group, is coming to Israel and the streets are filled with billboards touting its arrival. Satellite service provider YES needn’t worry about the show’s popularity here. Israelis have a long-standing tradition of community choirs, vocal groups and other forms of “Gleekiness”.
This coming summer, for example, Israel will host the 22nd Zimriya World Assembly of Choirs.
Zimriya is a really unusual international celebration that invites choirs from all over the world to participate in concerts, workshops led by world renowned conductors, choir-to-choir sessions and informal singing into the wee hours.
But let’s go back in time, a bit, to the source of our geekiness. And by that, I mean, central and eastern Europe where the tradition of community-based choral singing was reinforced under socialism and communism as handy tool for educating the masses. Young Labor Zionists came to Palestine to establish kibbutzim and immediately set up choirs as part of collective cultural life. Some are still going strong, the most important of which is the Gevatron, today considered Israel’s national choir.
The Gevatron began in 1948 when, according to the choir’s site, “a group of singers in Kibbutz Geva performed at the dedication of a new basketball court on the kibbutz. They called themselves the ‘Gevatron’ – a combination of the name of the kibbutz with the name of the ‘Cheezbatron’, a singing troupe that performed during the War for Independence. The young group started performing for communal occasions in the kibbutz, with accordion accompaniment. They were amateurs and sang mainly verses, written by members of the kibbutz, to borrowed melodies, Russian songs for the most part.”
See what I mean about the Eastern European thing? Anyway, more information about the Gevatron is available on the site, including Bat 60, their most recent pop music coup, singing backup to rap artist Subliminal.
The Mila-Li website, which centralizes information about choirs in Israel, lists 114 choirs active in Israel today. Mila – the Israeli Organization for Choirs and Singing Groups, is now gearing up for a massive choral happening at the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) this coming weekend.
For more information about choral music from years gone by, the Zemereshet website is an absolute gem of an volunteer-run downloadable archive that includes hundreds of Hebrew songs (texts and sound files) from the early Zionist period and up to 1948. These include recordings from live sing-along performances and recent recordings of old songs, as well as valuable old commercial recordings by soloists and choruses.
There’s also a website run by songwriter Nahum Heyman and the Amuta for the Tradition of Hebrew Song (amuta is a uniquely Israeli form of non-profit organization), that has many songs for download.
Another great source of online videos is the Israeli Music History site, a labor of love compiled by lawyer Boaz Guttman. Leave aside his professional pages about forensic investigation – there are some real musical treasures to be found here if you dig around.
Israel’s choral tradition continues today, not just mired in tradition but also creating new and different forms of Gleekiness for all to enjoy. Case in point: the Voca People. Though their backstory is nerdiness incarnate — (they came from another planet and communicate with the earthlings through sound) — there’s no denying either their a capella musical prowess or the enjoyment they bring to audiences. It’s total, gleeful fun.
New CD brings rock and roll from the synagogue
The Jewish rock scene in Israel is thriving these days, with erstwhile Anglo performers like Yehuda Katz and pop crooner Aaron Razel to newly religious Israeli hit makers Ehud Banai, Etti Ankari and Erez Lev Ari (see our post here) all burning up Torah-inspired dance floors across the country. It’s rarer, though, to find a synagogue recording its own album of Jewish rock.
Jewish Renewal congregation Nava Tehila in Jerusalem has released just such a disc and the result admirably holds its own against its more established cousins.
“Dancing in the Glory” covers the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, psalm by psalm. The music, written by local musicians Daphna Rosenberg and Yoel Sykes, moves seamlessly from Middle Eastern motifs to reggae with even a polka thrown in for good measure.
The opening track, “Creating the Sea” (Asher Lo Ha’yam – all of the songs have both Hebrew and English names) starts off with a delicate children’s choir, then builds as Rosenberg’s rich voice takes over before joining the kids in harmony.
Sykes’ “The God of Glory Thunders” (El HaKavod Hiri’im) has a gospel feel to it, while “Hear and Rejoice” (Shema v’Tismach) sports an Irish jig as its centerpiece. “Blaze” (Anan v’Arafel) is mixes reggae and klezmer, while “The Mountains are Singing” (Naharot Yimchau Kaf) ends with a percussion solo and call and respond chant that is vaguely reminiscent of Chicago’s early hit “Beginnings.”
Then there’s that polka. Sung by Rosenberg with a wisp of accordion accompaniment, it sets the words of “Lecha Dodi” to the Jewish standard “Tumbalalaika.”
The all acoustic disc includes 13 musicians who play a wide variety of instruments including flute, clarinet, oud, cello, violin and darbuka.
The producer of this album of Jewish music, surprisingly, is a Catholic monk. Oliver Darras (known now as Father Zachary) is a member of the Beautitudes monastic order located near Latrun that is interested in the Jewish roots of Christianity. Before becoming a monk, the Hebrew-speaking Zachary was a professional musician specializing in Irish music.
The CD comes with a 28-page booklet, allowing listeners to follow along in both Hebrew and English transliteration.
The Nava Tehila ensemble is currently in the U.S. performing songs from the album at Jewish community centers and synagogues.
The CD is available for NIS 60 in Israel, and for $18 a disc, $12 for an MP3 digital download at CD Baby. Individual MP3 tracks can be purchased at OySongs for $1.99 each.
You can listen to several full tracks at Nava Tehila’s MySpace page.
Nostalgia Sunday – Mercedes Sosa
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Music, Nostalgia Sunday
Amidst all today’s Sukkot holiday hoopla came the sad news that folksinger Mercedes Sosa, “The Voice of Latin America”, was dead. Sosa, who for over four decades, influenced singers from Joan Baez to Shakira, was a champion for social justice and a great friend to Israel.
She was a great friend to Israeli singers, too. Her last tour here was just a year ago, in October 2008, when David Broza took the stage with her during those performances.
She also collaborated with Argentinian-born singer-songwriter Shlomo Idov, who spoke movingly about her on Israel Radio today, as well as Aviv Geffen.
Last year, Israel’s Channel 2 ran an item about the long-standing relationship between Sosa and Israel. The video (in Hebrew only) can be viewed here.
The Argentinian community in Israel is planning a memorial celebration of the life of Mercedes Sosa on at 8:00o pm on Tuesday, October 6, and invites people to bring guitars and other instruments, food and friends to Park Herzliya (near the Seven Stars Mall). They, as do we all, will always remember Sosa in her heyday, performing one of her best-known songs, “Gracias a la Vida” (“Thanks to Life”).
Autumn Nights in the Old City
There’s nothing like a Jerusalem night. After a hot day, it cools down but not so much that you’re shivering. That’s one reason the city is sponsoring its free “Fall Nights in the Old City” festival now until October 26 – it’s a way to get out and have some shirtsleeve fun while exploring the city’s historic Jewish Quarter.
Last night’s show was the Marsh Dondurma band – a motley crew of 15 brass musicians playing traditional ethnic music from around the world with a heavy emphasis on jazz, klezmer, funk and a smattering of pop too (I’m pretty sure I heard snippets of “Rock Around the Clock”).
The band includes trumpets, trombones, clarinets, saxophone, and assorted percussion instruments.
There’s no way to leave a Marsh Dondurma concert without a huge grin on your face. The music is infectious and the band members seem to be having such a good time on stage. And when do you ever get to see a dancing tuba player rocking out at close range.
The setting was spectacular – the Gan Hatekuma amphitheater set along an ancient wall not from the Western Wall itself. The audience was as eclectic as the performers – religious, secular, Jerusalemites and Tel Avivi’s with their shaved heads and small round glasses.
We were sitting right up front when some of the band’s fanboys started dancing right in front of us. Such chutzpah, we thought, to block everyone’s view like that. But when the bandleader exhorted the crowd to get up and boogie, we figured if you can’t beat them, join them.
Before long, a good portion of the crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, was grooving up front.
Marsh Dondurma has played all over Israel as well as at the Guca Trumpet Festival in Serbia (2006), The Montreal Jazz Festival (2007), and at venues in New York and Croatia. The clip above is from their Montreal performance.
You can catch more music from the band on their MySpace page.
The next show at Gan HaTekuma will be klezmer kings Oy Division on October 12. The full schedule is here.
Nostalgia Sunday – Mike Brant
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
It would be an understatement to say that the American influence in Israel is huge. TV shows, movies, music, fashion, fast-food and retail chains… let’s face it: all that’s missing is Target and WalMart. And Cosco. But back in olden times – the 1950s, 60s and 70s – Europe held far more sway over Israeli cultural tastes.
One Israeli pop singer who truly made it in terms of international success was Mike Brant. Who?, you ask, and I answer: Shame on you for not knowing about one of Israel’s most famous exports of all time! A sex-on-legs power balladeer, Brant achieved international fame in the early 70’s, mainly in France, which is why folks from the US never heard of him. But Quebecers did – take a look at this crowd of Canadians as they sit, transfixed, while their idol sings his biggest hit from 1970 “Laisse-moi t’aimer” (“Let me love you”).
Can you believe those pipes as he hits the high notes. Unbelievable. And he makes it looks so easy. No wonder that when French actress Sylvie Vartan caught Brant’s act in a Teheran night club (yes, that Teheran), she immediately invited him to come and meet French producer Jean Renard, who had made Johnny Halliday into a star. And if you don’t know who Johnny Halliday is, then again, shame on you and click here.
Brant’s string of hits included “Qui Saura”, a French version of “Que Sera” that José Feliciano had performed at the San Remo Music Festival. And if you don’t know what the San Remo Music Festival is, I have no words. How have you managed to evade these major cultural milestones till now? Just click here.
Play that song for any Israeli woman aged 45 and over, and she’ll begin singing and weeping at the same time. Why cry? Because Brant’s life ended tragically, rock star style, with a descent into drugs and a purported suicide in 1975 at the age of 28 when fell or jumped from a Paris hotel room window. 
Supposedly, his Haifa grave is a site for fan pilgrimages. I don’t know, I haven’t been. What is for certain is that he is greatly revered by Israelis of a certain age who recall the European cachet that Moshe “Mike Brant” Brand imparted to us. So close your eyes, lean back, clear your mind of all previous prejudices and repeat after me: “I love Europop… I love Europop,” and enjoy.
A long biography of Brant, written in pidgin English but with great photos, can be found here.
Madonna to bring her friend Justin to Tel Aviv
Those crazy Zionists Justin and Madonna
Yediot Aharonot reported that Justin Timberlake will be joining Madonna on her visit here – as a fellow Kabalah enthuiast. The story reported that Timberlake has been studying Kabalah at the London Center along with the queen of pop for some time, and he was eager to make his first trip to Israel.
As far as performing, the story sourced a member of the show’s production team saying that there might be some surprises onstage. There have been rumors about Timberlake joining Madonna onstage at the Sticky and Sweet tour debut on July 4th in London, but it hasn’t been confirmed. The two previously collaborated on the song “4 Minutes” from Madonna’s Hard Candy album.
If the rumors are true, it might prove a security threat to certain Israelis. The local paparazzi might not be able to cope with the burden of having two photogenic superstars here at the same time.
In addition, the British paper The Sun is reporting that Madonna is going to utilize her visit to Israel as a sightseeing vacation for her family, especially her newly adopted daughter Mercy. Currently, she’s spending time with her new addition in London.
“Madonna wants to give Mercy enough time to settle in to her new home. By September, she feels she will be ready to take the trip without danger of upheaval. The Wailing Wall (in Jerusalem) is a very sacred place for anyone with links to the Jewish faith, and she wants all the children to see it.”
Maybe it’s time to declare Madonna an official ambassador of Israel.
Nostalgia Sunday – Eurovision and A-ba-ni-bi’s lasting legacy
Filed under: General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture
The 53rd annual Eurovision song contest takes place this week! Oh, joy! And if you live under a rock, or in a country where they have better things to do, and don’t know about this annual Europe-wide musical extravaganza, here is a brief explanation.
This year, Israel will be represented by singers Noa and Mira Awad, and while we wish the duo well, their entry, a message song called “There must be a better way”, isn’t the sort of light fare that has put Israel up top in years gone by.
Israel won Eurovision for the first time in 1977, with the entry A-ba-ni-bi, sung by Izhar Cohen and Apha-beta. It was a great moment in Israeli pop culture history, when we proved to the world we could be a nation like any other, crafting light, catchy Europop ditties, wearing tight outfits and dancing to the disco beat. (When Israel won Eurovision again the following year, national euphoria hit heights not seen since the Six Day War).
Over the years, it transpires, A-ba-ni-bi has developed a following, particularly among those nations whose agenda includes proving to the world they could be a nation like any other, crafting light, catchy Europop ditties, wearing tight outfits and dancing to the disco beat. Here we present a variety of renditions, starting with a camp version in Thai:
Chinese Mandarin:
Iceland’s 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entrants Euroband:
Netherlands:
A trance version in Spanish:
And of course, the good old original:
Izhar Cohen is still around, still performing and even appeared in a commercial for the Israel Postal Service. For more versions of A-ba-ni-bi, check out NME and the EuroCovers blog. And check out the official Eurovision YouTube site for more videos, past and present.
Dimona brings the soul
I’m an avid fan of Sound Opinions – the world’s only rock and roll talk show – hosted by the rock critics from the Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune. Their show runs the gamut – they cover the latest pop trends, industry news, desert island discs, interview current artists and dissect the classics. It’s a rock and roll geek’s perfect hour of radio. I’m a few weeks behind and the show I listened to today on my way to Jerusalem was a gem. They interviewed the founders of the Numero Group, a Chicago-based label who hunt down and reissue obscure albums that never got the audience they deserved. They focused primarily on soul and I was seriously digging the interview as well as the music. There was something about the feel of the tunes that matched the gloomy weather as well as my gloomy mood. I was in the zone. I was feeling it. And then BAM, my ears perk up when they mention “Soul Messages from Dimona,” an obscure compilation that was released in the late seventies. The Black Hebrews, a group of African-Americans who moved en masse to Israel in the seventies, have been supporting their community in Dimona for years with profits from their music. I must have been at least a dozen weddings where members of their community have performed and have seen other performances elsewhere but I had absolutely no idea that this album existed. It’s something special. It’s an incredible amalgamation of funk, soul, gospel, and a smidgen of psychedelia. The music blogosphere has universally praised it and the always biting and not too generous pitchforkmedia gave it a very rare high rating. This is a *must buy* for all fans of soul and an interesting part of Israeli history. And here I thought I knew everything about this country.
Victims donating to victims
Filed under: A New Reality, Israeliness, Life, Politics, War, coexistence
Throughout the recent Gaza war and its ongoing aftermath, Israelis and Palestinians have been trying to paint themselves as “the real victims” and the other side as “the real perpetrators.” But if we’re all victims, then how can we possibly take responsibility for war spearheaded by our leaders? And if we’re all perpetrators, then why would we care?
The fact is, Operation Cast Lead has meant horrible levels of destruction for the infrastructure and people of the Gaza Strip, destruction which could have been avoided if Hamas hadn’t hidden behind the human shield of one of the most densely populated areas in the world. And as we’ve seen on ISRAELITY before, just because Israelis support our government’s recent war against a terrorist regime that’s been shooting rockets at us for years doesn’t mean that we’re numb to the damage done.
Two grassroots activists are trying to organize Israeli sympathy into material support for Gazan families whose lives and homes were recently under severe fire by the region’s military superpower. 27-year-old peacenik Lee Ziv and Sapir Academic College 25-year-old student Hadas Balas (pictured, doubling as a not-so-shabby singer-songwriter) decided to collect clothing, bedding, nourishment and other essentials from donors to bring them in to Gaza.
Ziv spoke with the Jerusalem Post this week:
“There is no connection to politics,” said Ziv. “We don’t represent a side, we just see an immediate need for blankets for people who have nothing to cover them at night and milk for infants who have nothing to eat.”
Since a short radio interview on Sunday morning, Ziv said her phone had been ringing off the hook. “Within two minutes of the interview, I had 40 voice messages. The response has been overwhelming. Schools have called asking how they can help. A father called who had three sons serving in the IDF in Gaza. A woman called who had a mortar fall on her house.”
The duo thought they’d be bringing one or two truckloads of supplies in today, but thanks to the viral snowball of their email campaign, media interest like the radio interview last week, and the bandwagoning on their efforts by some key human rights organizations, the donations have been so numerous that they’re spearheading a fleet of 10 full trucks.
According to coverage in Haaretz, the duo has accomplished this feat thanks to key help from organizations like Hashomer Hatzair in Jerusalem, Beit Hachesed in Haifa and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the Qassam-battered community which has offered up its warehouses as a depot for the donations.
More information on donating to the operation can be found here.
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