Photo Credit: Shahar Azran.

Last night, in an unforgettable show, more than 1200 people gathered in Harlem’s world-famous Apollo Theater to wish the State of Israel a happy 60th birthday. Some of New York’s greatest gospel choirs gave moving performances and hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari got the audience jumping with her unique fusion of hip hop and classical styles. For more on this very special birthday celebration, see Ynet.

In honor of Israel’s 60th birthday this May Second Life Israel is proud to host a special performance featuring members of ‘Shotei Hanevuah.’ On May 25th, parallel to a concert held at Columbia University in New York in honor of Israel’s 60th, SL Israel will be streaming Shotei Hanevuah’s performance at 11AM and 7 PM SL (PST Time). This is the first of the ‘Israel at 60’s’ series to be held this year at SL Israel highlighting different aspects of Israel and its society to Second Life’s global audience.
‘Shotei Hanevuah’ literally ‘Fools of Prophecy’ was one of Israel’s premier bands, winning its Band of the Year Award in 2005. The band’s music was a fusion of reggae, dub, hip hop and dance spiced with an eastern Mediterranean flavor, with lyrics in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Both in Lyrics and sound the band conveyed in beautiful harmony a blend of East and West influences, including references to the Jewish Mishna and Kabala, alongside lyrics in Arabic and Middle Eastern harmonies. Though the band disbanded in 2007 this performance of 4 former members of the band, featuring a rich range of musical styles and lyrical content, testifies to the beautiful cultural and spiritual variety that makes up today’s Israel.
Second Life Israel was launched January 13th and since then has consistently ranked as the top Israel site and one of the top Jewish sites in Second Life. SL Israel offers Second Life’s millions of members the ability to teleport instantly into the virtual Israel, and to explore a country that is fun and educational, ancient and modern, imaginative and real. Sites on SL Israel include the holy sites of the 3 major monotheistic religions, the Tel Aviv Promenade with the Opera House and Dizingoff Fountain, the Dead Sea and mud baths, the Eilat Underwater Observatory, and the Roman Amphitheater in Caesarea.

In honor of Israel’s 60th Anniversary, Israeli-American violinist/conductor Itzhak Perlman narrates a fascinating video about the country, which will make its U.S. premiere tonight on Channel 13.

WLIW New York’s acclaimed Visions series makes an aerial pilgrimage to Israel, the world’s only Jewish state – home to approximately 7.2 million and the Holy Land of the three main Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Set to ethnic music with informative narration, stunning high definition aerial footage showcases Israel in all its diverse glory, flying over sites where Jewish rebels gave their lives; where Egyptians, Greeks and Romans built outposts to their empires; and where Jesus Christ performed miracles. Witness the magnificence of the country’s many holy sites, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and Church of the Holy Sepulchre, alongside such modern achievements as the ingenious irrigation system that actually helped make a desert bloom.

Visions of Israel premieres nationwide on PBS in June 2008. For more information, visit www.visionsof.org.

Watch a preview of the show now!

As yesterday was the big day to celebrate Israel@60 (it was Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day), the place to be was Washington Square Park for the Cool Israel Party.
Hundreds of people showed up to dance, enjoy Israeli music, and say “Happy Birthday” to an absolutely amazing country.
For more event pictures, see the Consulate on Facebook.

Come one, come all to celebrate Israel’s Independence Day!!
Where: Washington Square Park
When: Thursday 08 May 4-7 PM
FREE to all!!

New York City will celebrate the State of Israel’s 60th Anniversary on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day on Wednesday, May 7th at Radio City Music Hall at 8 PM. The musical gala will feature Yael Naim, (”New Soul,” featured in Apple’s MacBook commercial), reggae superstar Matisyahu, Paul Shaffer of the David Letterman Show, MacArthur “genius” composer/performer John Zorn and four of Israel’s top artists - Idan Raichel, Rami Kleinstein, David Broza and Habanot Nechama.

The evening will also feature remarks from Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman and Consul General Asaf Sharif.

The historic cultural gathering will be the largest such celebration of its kind, and is supported by over 100 Jewish organizations including the UJA Federation of New York, Consulate General of Israel, Jewish Community Relations Council, Dor Chadash and other key groups representing a majority of the organized American Jewish community.

“An unprecedented number of Jewish organizations have come together for this celebration,” says David Borowich, founder and honorary chairman of Dor Chadash, which is hosting the concert.

“The show will be quite an undertaking,” says producer Michael Dorf of Downtown Arts Development. “Attendees will be participating in a historical moment.”

All net proceeds of the event will benefit three leading Israeli organizations helping children in need—Ahava orphanage in the North, Gvanim in Sderot, and Beit Issie Shapiro in the center of Israel. Information on general and VIP tickets along with associated receptions and parties is available at www.60at60.org

They named their youngest son the Spanish word for “cross,” but that isn’t stopping England’s most famous couple from enrolling their three-year-old, Cruz, in a Jewish nursery school.

Soccer star David Beckham and his Spice Girl wife Victoria met last week with staff at one of Los Angeles’ “best schools for young children,” London tabloid The Sun reported Wednesday. Described in the article as an “exclusive Jewish school,” the facility is “attached to a Jewish temple” in Los Angeles, where David Beckham plays for professional soccer team the Galaxy. Sun reporter Nick Parker wrote that the tabloid “has chosen not to name the school” where the tot will begin his education, and quoted an unnamed source as saying the senior Beckhams have “no plan” for the boy “to be educated in the Jewish faith.”

“It’s just one of the best schools for young children in LA,” the source says.

Read the full story on JPost.com by Nathan Burstein.

This past week, Saul Friedlander, a professor of history at UCLA, won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction work. Here is the transcript of an interview he gave to ynet (translated from the Hebrew).

By: Merav Yudelovich
The announcement that he had won the Pulitzer Prize found Professor Saul Friedlander unprepared. While HarperCollins, his publisher, was busy celebrating the good news, Friedlander was making his way home entirely unaware of the goings-on.
“It came out of nowhere,” he said in an interview with ynet. “I didn’t even know they gave out the Prize in April. When I got home, I saw a message from my publisher in New York. The excitement was almost as great as the surprise.”
It appears, the Pulitzer Prize Committee for nonfiction can surprise him, even at age 75. “I didn’t believe nor did I expect to get the Prize. The Pulitzer is a prize with a very American orientation, especially when it comes to nonfiction. It’s geared to topics that deal, directly or indirectly, with the United States and I always thought my work dealt primarily with Europe,” he said.
Friedlander, a senior lecturer in history at UCLA, is considered a leading historian of the Holocaust. The Pulitzer Prize was awarded for his book The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939–1945.

Check out this take on Israel’s national anthem.
(For a translation of the French rap, see the “About This Video” section on the YouTube page.)

In previous posts we’ve covered the world of Israeli wine (see our selections here), now gaining worldwide acclaim and attention. But now we turn to much more mundane pursuits—beer.
We were intrigued by this article on Israel21c describing a nascent Israeli beer industry. The article makes it clear most of these microbreweries are really “micro,” so don’t start clearing out the fridge just yet. But don’t be surprised when these beers do hit the shelves; they’re sure to be a hit.