I can’t help but point out the irony in taking an El Al flight to Berlin.  Despite the 67 years that have passed since WWII ended, the ironies are there.  Who would have thought that just 67 years after the end of the most vile attempt to annihilate the Jewish people in history, the Jewish people would have built their own airline company that flies passengers – Jewish passengers! – to the very same country that harbored the genocide, that murdered the passengers’ grandparents? The paradoxes exist – they are …

In 1985, a couple from Detroit embarked on an Israeli venture to bring English speaking theater to Jerusalem.  At the time, there were many American and British Olim Hadashim (new immigrants to Israel), among other English speaking communities in Israel, whose Hebrew just wasn’t good enough to enjoy a theater production in Hebrew.  Thus, the Jerusalem English Speaking Theater (JEST) was founded, the oldest English speaking theater in Jerusalem, now about to commence its 27th year.

JEST produces all genres of quality American and British theater – from musicals to dramas, …

It’s very rare these days for a parent and child to even enjoy the same music, let alone groove to the same music at a concert in public.  Add grandma and grandpa into the picture, and you’ve got a glimpse into last Thursday’s Woodstock Revival IV festival at Jerusalem’s Kraft Stadium. Authentic hippies from the 60’s retrieved their vintage Woodstock gear and braided their long, grey hair, while the next generation interpreted their own hippie style with flowing skirts and borrowed tie-dye t-shirts, while the third generation, tagging along with …

Three young Israelis, Eitan, Moran, and Tali, met each other in the army about 9 years ago.  Little did they know, however, that in the years to come, these three talented musicians would reunite at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in Ramat Hasharon and eventually form into the sensational band they are today: Shalna Alecha, an eclectic Israeli folk band with Oriental influences that resonate with the variety of instruments used, bringing a special sound to the Israeli music scene.
Gathered in a small concert venue at Tel …

The evening air is soft and breezy, acoustic and jazz bands lend their cool sounds throughout the garden, and, most importantly, wine is generously flowing in fine spirit from bottle to glass all around – what could be a more fitting conclusion to a hot summer day in Jerusalem?
The annual Jerusalem Wine Festival, held last week from Monday, July 30 to Thursday, August 2, proved, for the ninth time, to be a huge success.  The event brought thousands of Israelis and tourists alike to the Israel Museum’s tranquil Sculpture Garden …

One night, in the middle of an Israeli February four years ago, a group of musicians sat listening to Geva Alon sing Neil Young.  The conversation amongst the friends wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, until someone had the idea to do a Woodstock 40th year anniversary event in Israel.  One thing lead to another, and the first Woodstock Revival festival took place in Jerusalem in 2009.
And it simply hasn’t stopped rocking since.
Now in it’s fourth year, the Woodstock Revival is set, yet again, to be an extraordinary, psychedelic event …

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world; it is the Holy City (for the three major Abrahamic religions.)  It is the City of David, the Old City, Zion and has been known by 70 different names in biblical and post-biblical literature.
For this particular exhibit, celebrating the Bible Lands Museum’s 20th anniversary, Jerusalem is the City of Gold, just as the legendary Naomi Shemer song, “Yerushayim Shel Zahav,” says as it describes the yearning of the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem after 2000 years.  The international exhibition …

“Poetry is nothing in the skies.  It’s here on the ground.  It’s our lives.  It’s not a high class commodity.  And it deserves a bigger spot in our lives today.”  This was the response of Hai Meirzadh, the composer for Tuesday night’s rock tribute to poet Roni Somekh at the One Square Meter Poetry Festival, when I asked him what his primary message was for the evening.  I couldn’t think of a better way to get people interested in poetry than to combine rock music, the Botanic Gardens, and a …

The room went dark save the bright white lights flaring along the runway.  The silence of the eagerly awaiting audience was abruptly interrupted by a thumping heavy base, reminiscent of something in between an underground, groovy party and a safari.  First to appear down the runway was a series of men in all black, a serious collection thoroughly fitting to the accompanying serious music.  Complete with voluminous hoods and bulky coats, this collection sought to “examine the tension between an individual’s separation and integration in society,” as the designer Hila …

Although the Second Commandment “Thou shalt not make graven images” (Exodus 20:4) may forbid Hasidim from visiting the Israel Museum, it certainly did not stop the recently opened A World Apart Next Door exhibit from visiting the lives of Hasidic Jews and displaying the findings for one and all to see.  A World Apart Next Door: Glimpses into the Life of Hasidic Jews unveils an extraordinary display, offering a rare opportunity for the non-Hasidim to take a peek into what Hasidic life – otherwise unknown to, and segregated from, the …