Hallelujah!
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, coexistence
You just haven’t lived until you’re in a stadium with 49,999 other people, all of whom are singing along with Leonard Cohen as he performs “Hallelujah.”
This was just one of the countless transcendent, goose bump-invoking moments in Cohen’s concert Thursday night in Ramat Gan Stadium. It was one of those shows where you enter some kind of suspended time zone in which for three hours, somehow all seems to be right on the planet.
Full of joy, hope, great musicianship, and excrutiatingly beautiful moments, the show was perfectly placed only a few days before Yom Kippur, a time of reflection and self examination. Seeing and hearing Cohen sing his songs like in some long-carved-in-stone prayers transformed the stadium into the world’s biggest, yet most intimate synagogue. And when the singer offered a dramatic rendering of the Bikat Kohanim (the Priestly blessing) late in the show, it only added to that feeling.
The audience, consisting of ages from teen to Cohen-era 70s, hung on his every lyric and delivery. A few times when he kneeled, there were a few gasps from people fearful of a repeat of the fainting incident that occurred in Spain last week, but Cohen was only making the moves for dramatic effect.
The three and a half hour concert (including a 25-minute break in the middle), included a slew of encores, with Cohen seemingly unwilling to leave the stage on his last show of a huge European tour. In fact, he brought out all the crew members on stage, introduced them and thanked them at the end.
Even though there were definitely some Palestinians and Israeli Arabs in attendance, some involved in the Fund for Reconciliation, Tolerance and Peace, which was launched earlier in the evening with proceeds that Cohen donated from the show, I kept thinking how nice it would have been if the crowd had been half Jewish, half Arab.
If only Cohen’s message of hope, peace and reconciliation had been allowed to be heard in Ramallah as well, and not been banned by angry Palestinians who refused to let a planned concert take place there. Witnessing 50,000 Palestinians singing “Hallelujah” and applauding efforts for reconciliation would have been a real New Year gift for all of us.
Another Cohen in Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Music, Pop Culture, coexistence
Leonard Cohen and his band onstage in Ramat Gan Wednesday at a sound check (Reuters)
It was almost as if someone – or something – didn’t want this show to take place. As Ethan Bronner wrote in The New York Times, “Leonard Cohen’s path to his sold-out concert here Thursday night has been strewn with obstacles. Those seeking to ostracize Israel through an international boycott demanded that he call it off. When he offered instead a matching concert in the West Bank, Palestinians said no thanks. Amnesty International agreed to help him distribute the concert’s proceeds to peace groups; Amnesty International withdrew. Then last Friday, three days before turning 75, Mr. Cohen collapsed onstage in Valencia, Spain, in the middle of his classic “Bird on a Wire” and was rushed to the hospital.”
Thankfully, Cohen has recovered, performed in Barcelona on Monday, and arrived in Israel on Tuesday looking dapper as ever. He’s “in great shape,” Cohen’s manager Robert Kory told The Times. And indeed, last night, Cohen was seen onstage at the stadium testing out the sound system and getting his bearings for the show, which is being billed as “A Concert for Reconciliation, Tolerance and Peace.”
Cohen is giving the expected profits of $1.5 million to $2 million to a new charity he has created of the same name, run by a board of Israelis and Palestinians, which will distribute money to groups focused on coexistence here – particularly organizations composed of people who have paid a great personal price because of the dispute and yet are working for peace, like the Parents Circle — Families Forum, made up of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost close family members to the conflict.
Why has the Cohen concert, which sold out in record time, generated so much controversy and coverage? My colleague Ben Jacobson, one of the country’s foremost Cohen fans and scholars, had some interesting insights in a recent essay in The Jerusalem Post.
Why is everyone so up in arms over a folk singer from the ’60s entertaining some civilians with large wallets? Perhaps Cohen’s appearance in Israel was taken to be a potentially partisan threat because of the perception that he is “one of ours,” having grown up in the upscale Montreal neighborhood of Westmount, where he attended Herzliah High School and Camp Mishmar in his teens and played in the Hillel Band at McGill University.
But Cohen’s world view is hardly oriented towards taking sides in any given conflict – it is, rather, strictly a vehicle for expressing his artistic ideas. Cohen’s oft-uniformed “Field Commander Cohen” persona, which has informed several works and inspired the title of a 1979 concert tour, grew out of his posturing as a guerrilla of verse, a rogue revolutionary who champions the cause of the underdog.
“Field Commander Cohen” only came into his own in the fall of 1973, when Cohen, facing crises in his career and family life, dropped everything to participate in the Yom Kippur War. Arriving in Tel Aviv from his habitual haven in Hydra, he announced to the press that he had come “to make my atonement” – and to entertain the troops.
He also noted that while he had once advocated an unconditional return to the 1967 borders, recent events had inspired a change of heart. Cohen joined a group of local musicians that included Ilana Rovina and Matti Caspi on an informal performance tour of bases close to the front in Sinai, at one point even pocketing a firearm so that he could feel like he was ready to participate in the battles.
In his unpublished memoir, The Final Revision of My Life in Art, Cohen reflected on having shared a bottle of cognac with General Ariel Sharon at a makeshift desert wilderness fort. “I want his job,” he wrote of the 1973 meeting, in a sentiment more significant for its self-conscious romanticism of military strength than for its political alignment. After all, the trip to Israel was possibly more about personal redemption for the artist than anything else. In Cohen’s mind, Israel was “a place where you may begin again,” he would write.
To this end, he was determined to perform a pilgrimage from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on foot before his return to Hydra; he ended up wandering back to the cafes of Dizengoff Square after a few hours, of course.
Later, he would be known for having played impromptu sets for IDF troops during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Eleven years later, Cohen’s public Middle Eastern anti-politics surfaced once again, this time in the context of his compilation of personal psalm-like essays, The Book of Mercy. The work includes several references to the nation of “Ishmael,” and in one passage, Cohen tears down all of the region’s constructs of alignment: “Israel, and you who call yourself Israel, the Church that calls itself Israel, and the revolt that calls itself Israel, and every nation chosen to be a nation – none of these lands is yours, all of you are thieves of holiness, all of you at war with Mercy… Therefore the lands belong to none of you, the borders do not hold, the Law will never serve the lawless.”
For the perpetual Canadian-American-Jewish-Zen-Greek exile, traditional trappings of nationalism and alignments are to be scoffed at and simply employed as tools for conveying one’s own artistic statements.
As Cohen wrote in “Democracy,” a 1993 song, which, based on recent set-lists, he’s likely to perform on Thursday, “I love the country but I can’t stand the scene / And I’m neither left or right / I’m just staying home tonight / getting lost in that hopeless little screen.”
Getting ready for visits from Madonna and Leonard
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Music, Pop Culture
September is going to be a five star month in Israel for appearances by visiting pop performers. Within a few week period, we’ll be treated to shows by Madonna, Leonard Cohen, Faith No More, Julio Iglesias, MGMT, and Dinosaur Jr. This follows a couple of great shows last week by Calexico, The Kaiser Chiefs and even an entertaining jaunt by Lady Gaga.
Clearly, Israel is on the map for touring artists, and music lovers here are ready to welcome them with open arms, despite the hefty prices. Entrance to stadium shows like Madonna and Cohen generally begin at NIS 450 and soar all the way to the thousands for VIP seating. However, that hasn’t dissuaded local audiences from buying tickets. Cohen’s September 24 show at Ramat Gan Stadium sold 47,000 tickets in only 16 hours, and Madonna added a second date on September 2 to her 45,000-plus sold out September 1 show at Hayarkon Park. Even veteran Iglesias added a second show on September 9 at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Center after his September 8 show sold out.
I decided to talk to some of the promotors and managers involved in the flurry of activity to find out if anything changed to suddenly make Israel a desireable place to perform after years of fallowness.
According to Leonard Cohen’s manager Robert Kory, there’s a word of mouth circuit in the industry based on artists’ touring experiences, that can influence another artist’s willingness to perform in Israel.
“There’s definitely communication among managers and artists’ agents. When an artist plays somewhere and has a successful show and enthusiastic audience, other people hear about it,” Kory said.
To read more about the local promotors and their attempts to bring artists like The Killers, Green Day and Coldplay to Israel, see the full story here.
Leonard Cohen opens his pockets for Israelis and Palestinians
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, General, Music, coexistence
Most international musical superstars who come to Israel might pay lip service to promoting peace in the region – like Paul McCartney did with his ‘Friendship First’ concert – but few actually put their money where their singing voices are.
Leonard Cohen is apparently the exception. In the middle of a long world tour that has raised him to the ranks of the world’s most loved performers, Cohen could have easily skipped Israel at the end of his European swing. But not only did he want to perform in the country, he decided that he couldn’t take money out of the country.
According to his manager Robert Kory, who spoke to me on Sunday, the revenue from Cohen’s Ramat Gan Stadium show on September 24th will be donated through a new fund to benefit Israeli and Palestinian organizations that are working toward conciliation.
The Fund For Reconciliation, Tolerance and Peace will provide financial support for organizations and individuals working in Israel and the PA, focusing on bereaved Israeli and Palestinian parents who have experienced loss yet continue to strive to achieve peace in the region through their efforts.
Initial beneficiaries of Cohen’s altruism will be the Parents Circle – Family Forum, an NGO reprenting Israeli and Palestinian parents who have lost children in the conflict and who have made the commitment to work together in building a consensus for peace, the Peres Center for Peace Children’s Medical Program, Combatants for Peace, an organization which attempts to bring together IDF veterans and Palestinian terrorists who have renounced their ways, and the Palestinian Happy Child Center, a developmental center that works with special needs children in Ramallah.
“I got a call from someone identifying themself as Leonard Cohen’s manager. I thought to myself, ‘what’s going on here?’” laughed the Parents Circle founder Yitzhak Frankenthal, whose son Arik was murdered by terrorists near Ramallah in 1994.
“Robert told me that Leonard would like to donate money from his show to people who have paid the price and still continue to do what they can to achieve reconciliation. They invited me to meet them in New York, and I discovered two wonderful people – Leonard and Robert, they complete each other. It was really special and unusual to find someone like Leonard who cares about what’s going on here in the Middle East and tries to do something to help.”
While Cohen will undoubtedly be razzed by some for trying to put his two cents into our region of the world, and for the fact that the fund is going to be administered by Amnesty International, not perceived as Israel’s greatests friends, the fact that he’s doing something concrete that seems to be only helping Israelis and Palestinians in a non-political manner, if that’s possible, can only be commendable. He’s my man.
And here’s a tip for Cohen fans out there – an announcement is going to be made this week about the launching of ticket sales for the show. Get your wallet ready.
Swimming with the current at the Maccabiah Games
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (right) steals Jason Lezak's official Maccabiah Games t-shirt from him at a ceremony in Jerusalem this week. (AP)
The 10-day competition, held every four years, is touted as the third largest sporting event in the world, and the opening ceremony will take place on July 13th at Ramat Gan stadium.
Some of the visiting athletes are already arriving in the country, including five-time American Olympic medalist, swimmer Jason Lezak from California.
Lezak, on his first visit to Israel, forfeited his spot on the United States’ World Championships team to participate in the Maccabiah, whose swimming competitions will be held at the Wingate Institute from July 19-22.
“I’ve gotten to the point in my career where I thought this was the right opportunity at the right time,” Lezak told journalists at Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan. “I’ve been to the World Championships numerous amounts of times, and I thought this was a good opportunity to not only be in a competitive swimming event, but to have the whole experience.”
Lezak cemented his place in history at the Beijing Olympics when he came from a full body length behind French swimmer Alain Bernard in the anchor leg of the 400 meter freestyle relay to win gold for the US and ensure Michael Phelps was on course for a record eight golds.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Lezak spoke highly of Israeli swimmers
“When I was younger, I would see maybe one or two fast Israeli swimmers at competitions, and now we’re seeing more of them,” Lezak said. “Some of them actually come to the United States to train. They definitely are improving and they definitely can get faster. How long it takes for them to get into the finals I don’t know, but it will happen, I’m pretty confident in that.”
Israelis made an impressive showing at last summer’s Olympic Games, with Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or reaching the semifinals in the 200m free and Guy Barnea qualifying for the semi of the 100m backstroke.
In March Gal Nevo became the first Israeli in 20 years to win a medal at the NCAA swimming championships when he came second in the 440m individual medley while swimming for Georgia Tech, six months after reaching the semifinals of the 200-IM in Beijing.
And on Sunday Alon Mandel broke the Israeli record for the 50m butterfly, swimming in a time of 24.27 seconds to qualify for the semifinals at the Universidade in Belgrade.
So, it may only be a matter of time until we develop our own Phelps or Lezak. And next week’s Maccabiah Games will go a long way toward achieving that goal. Go Jewish athletes!
Foto Friday – Summer at the Safari
Filed under: Art, Environment, Foto Friday, General, Life, Travel
It’s hot!
I’m so warm, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going!
How about stepping over to the watering hole for a bit of refreshment…
Though it’s a bit crowded…
Probably best just to stay put.
Maybe have a light snack.
And wearing that heavy fur coat is certainly out of the question!
All of the above photos were taken at the Ramat Gan Safari and come courtesy of Sharpest Pictures.com, a unique collection of high-quality pictures about nature, animals, ancient and urban environments. The site’s founders are happy for educational institutions to make use of the photos, which are available free-of-charge. Individuals may also download, for personal use only. Enjoy and spread the word.
She’s leaving home – for Ramat Gan
Air-conditioned Ramat Gan
My wife has second cousins living in the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim who have visited us in Jerusalem about three times in 24 years. It’s not because they don’t like us, I don’t think, but because to them, driving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (about 40 miles?) is akin to driving from New York City to Syracuse – it’s something you just don’t do, unless there’s a bar mitzvah or a funeral.
“Jerusalem? I hate going there. It’s so crowded, there’s no place to park, it’s so religious.” Those are some of their excuses. But take aways the religious aspect, those same complaints could be said of Tel Aviv.
I, on the other hand, love any excuse I can get to make the quick jaunt to Tel Aviv. It’s a refreshing change, both visually and in pace of life, from the rather small town Jerusalem mentality.
And apparently, I’m going to have lots more opportunity to explore Tel Aviv and its environs. My oldest daughter is flying the coop and setting up residence in her own apartment in Ramat Gan this summer.
While I have mixed feelings about a child of mine moving away (The Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” keeps bubbling up in my mind), it will be kind of fun to have a crash pad in Tel Aviv. I just hope that my daughter doesn’t start thinking about Jerusalem in the same way that her Givatayim cousins do.
Israeli fans of Yeah Yeah Yeahs get active
Filed under: Blogging, General, Music, Pop Culture
We’ve already reported that fiesty art rockers The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have signed on to open the big outdoor show of the season – the May 10th Depeche Mode show at Ramat Gan Stadium.
However, some of the band’s fans in Israel are not too happy at the prospect of having to pay Depeche Mode prices – NIS 400 ($100) and more – to see a short opening set. And undoubtedly, the multitudes of Depeche Mode fans aren’t going to be too receptive to anyone taking up the time before their favorites come on stage, especially since the band’s show is so anticipated following their cancellation in 2006.
So some enterprising Yeah x3 fans have started an online petition requesting that the band perform an additional show while they’re here.
“The band has been confirmed by sources to be in Israel for three days, so there is time for a concert, but we have to convince the promoters that there is a demand. This is an amazing live band, so let’s make it happen,” cajoled one fan.
Another fan, Jason Silberman, who’s prodding his friends to sign the petition, explained his reasons.
“I am a big fan of the band, and would love them to be able to play their own full-length show here, at a smaller venue and at a more reasonable price. If they are already here, and there is enough people to fill up a venue like the Barby in Tel Aviv, or maybe a Jerusalem venue like Yellow Submarine or The Lab, for a second show, then it’s a nice opportunity,” he said.
So far, the petition has hundreds of signatures. The question is, will the Yeah x3 say ‘yes’?
Israel Loves NY
So it’s a well-known fact that Israelis love New York — think Aroma in SoHo, the number of post-army Israelis working for Moishe’s Movers and the amount of Hebrew one hears on the city streets — but Fern Penn, the owner of Rosebud, a SoHo boutique that sells only Israeli-designed clothing, is taking the I Love NY slogan back to Israel.
On her last trip to Israel, she brought four dozen I Love NY t-shirts to each of the designers she features in her store, and asked them to “fashion them up” in their own style. The one-of-a-kind t-shirts, recreated by 12 different designers, are being featured in Rosebud throughout October. On sale for $100 each, all proceeds will go to Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan, Israel, and to Elem/ Youth in Distress in Israel.
The designers participating in the project include Ronen Chen, Kedem Sasson, Yael Orgad, Katomenta, Naomi Maaravi, Comme Il Faut, Keren Mualem, Delicatessen, Maya Negri, Fishndag, Dorit Sade, and Ido Recanati.
C’mon, don’t you love New York?
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