Israel-Hamas War - and Hostage Update - 7 weeks of War

I arrived back in Israel earlier this week in time for a temporary cease-fire which went into effect yesterday morning at 7 a.m.  Certainly, from the Israeli side, there are no plans to turn this "pause" into a permanent cease fire unless something changes dramatically.  First of all, Hamas is still holding more  than 165 Israeli hostages, along with approximately 30 foreigners.  There will definitely not be any kind of long lasting cease fire until all of these hostages are returned.

But the much larger issue is the ongoing threat to Israel from Hamas. It has been an Israeli war aim to end Hamas' reign over Gaza (and, specifically, its ability to launch attacks against Israel). In my view, Israel will either need to reach that goal or accept a Hamas surrender of some sort. It seems very unlikely that Israel will agree to a cease fire that would simply allow Hamas to launch the same type of attacks weeks, months or years from now.

The third issue is that steps will need to be taken to ensure that Hezbollah stops attacking Israel from the north. If there is a negotiated agreement that moves Hezbollah back from the border as per the existing U.N. resolution, an all out war with Hezbollah / Lebanon may be averted.  But if Hezbollah remains on the border, that may be the next all-out war that Israel is forced to fight.  

Hostage Deal

Tonight is the second day of  the temporary cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, negotiated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt.  According to the deal, Hamas is supposed to provide a list of 10-15 hostages to be released by 10 p.m. each day.  Israel then provides a list of 3 convicted prisoners for each hostage to be released.  In addition, Israel has apparently agreed to allow 200 trucks of aid and fuel into Gaza and  to one full day of a "pause" in fighting.  The hostages are supposed to be released by 4 p.m. each day.  

Yesterday, the first day, Hamas delayed release of the hostages by approximately 2 hours. Today, Hamas announced that the deal would be delayed "indefinitely."  Qatar, Egypt, Israel and Hamas were involved in urgent talks with Israel apparently telling Hamas that if the deal was not honoured by midnight, Israel would end the pause and restart attacks. Eventually, Hamas gave in by about 1030 p.m. As I am writing this, today's hostages have been released, 13 Israelis including 8 children, one of them - a three year old.  Three children from one family were released - but the mother was killed on October 7th and the father is still being held hostage by Hamas.  Apparently, 14 were on the  list to be released but  one was inexplicably not released - the mother of some of the released hostages.

Note that more than 30 of the hostages being held by Hamas are young kids, including babies.   Many of them lost one or both of their parents in the October 7th massacre.  Israel is trading convicted criminals for these hostages.  The Israeli held prisoners are not "political prisoners."  They are convicted terrorists who have carried out attacks or attempted attacks against Israeli civilians, police or army forces and are being held in Israeli jails.  

A clip has been circulating from Sky News where the interviewer suggested that Israel valued Palestinian lives at a "lower value" than Israeli lives - since it was trading one Israeli hostage for 3 terrorists.  The logic is shocking.  Obviously, Israel would be happy to trade one Palestinian criminal for all of the Israeli hostages that Hamas is holding.  Interestingly, Hamas was insisting on 1000 prisoners for each hostage early on - then several hundred as the war went on.  Only because of the ground invasion of Gaza, the number has gone down to 3 criminals for one hostage.  Here is the clip in case you are interested.  

The hostage deal is causing a great deal of debate in Israel.  Many political and  military personnel are concerned that the deal will endanger Israeli soldiers in the long run and will give Hamas time to rearm, restock and regroup for the upcoming  battles in Khan Yunis, Jabaliya and other  areas of Gaza.  There is also concern that these types of deals give Hamas further incentive to try and kidnap other Israelis.  Weighed against that, it is a primary value for the State of Israel to try and return any and all captives, including civilians and soldiers. The Israeli government had a heated debate over this issue. Ultimately, only the "National Zionist Party" - led by Itamar Ben Gvir opposed the deal.  The deal was supported overwhelmingly by the current Israeli government.

Other Items

The war has been going on for more than 50 days since Hamas declared war on Israel on October 7th and massacred more than 1200 Israelis.  Hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up to the army (including several of our family and extended family members).  Israelis of  all ages, men and women, reported to bases across the country, and were stationed in and around Gaza, in the north near Lebanon or Syria,  in the east, in or around the West Bank or near Jordan.  Some  were sent to the south to protect Eilat.  We have one friend who is 51 years old  who insisted on reporting for duty - even after being rejected initially.

I saw a program here discussing the large number of Israelis who made immediate arrangements on October 7, 8 or 9th to fly to Israel from Canada - from Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary - and to report to duty.  These were people who have been living in Canada for anywhere from 1 to 15 years but felt the obligation to report.  When the Israeli  military issued calls for reserve soldiers to report to duty - the response rate was more than 130% - which means that a very large number of reservists reported to duty who had not even  been called up yet.

Israelis who are not in the army have been volunteering in so many different ways.  Many are volunteering for an organization called "Sar-El" which determines where volunteers are needed and sends them to different places.  Some might be helping to pack or sort equipment or pack meals for army bases.  Others have gone to farms to help farmers pick fruit and vegetables.  Others are finding ways to help the displaced families - bringing food, entertaining kids, fundraising or in other ways.

A few women in Ra'anana decided to start baking personal challahs for soldiers to deliver them on Fridays before Shabbat. At first, there were 3 or 4 women - and they made between 150 and 200 challahs.  This week, we helped to collect and deliver some of the challahs to the "central" location in Ra'anana for distribution.  For this week, they had a much larger list of women helping out and distributed more than 1500 challahs to soldiers in the field.  One of our family members was quite happy to receive one  - along with other members of the unit.  They used them in conducting a Kabbalat Shabbat service with  kiddush and challah - in Gaza yesterday.  They hope to be up to  3,000 challahs delivered by next Friday.  

I watched an amazing and incredibly moving clip on the Israeli show "Zehu Zeh" this week.  Singer Idan Raichel appeared on the show.  He brought a guest.  The guest was a teenage survivor of the massacre from Kibbutz Be'eri.  This brave boy had lost several family members.  He is a percussionist.  He wrote to Raichel and asked him if he could accompany him to  visit and sing for soldiers around the country.  Raichel met with him and quickly agreed.  And then brought him to perform on TV.  Raichel could not keep from crying when introducing him.  

Travel

As you might know, Air Canada is not currently flying to Israel and El Al stopped flying direct more than a  year ago (or so).  So travelling back and forth has been a bit tricky. 

If you are thinking of going to Israel (or flying from Israel to North America), the easiest thing to do is to take El Al with a transfer (from Canada) on American, Delta or Porter.  These flights can be booked through El Al and baggage can be sent through seamlessly.  They might be a bit  costly - but I guess convenience can be  expensive.

Since I am trying to maximize my Air Canada Aeroplan miles - I decided do something a bit more circuitous.  On the way to Toronto (for an in-person hearing that I had to attend), I flew El Al to Rome and then Air Canada from Rome to Toronto.  This was a bit cumbersome but quite frankly, it wasn't that bad.  I arrived in Rome and went through a reasonably quick and efficient immigration line. They have a fast line for certain passport holders - which includes Canada, Israel and the U.S. After that, I had to go pick up my suitcase and then head over to the Air Canada check-in counter.  Air Canada was efficient and quick - and directed me to a priority security line. I had to go through exit immigration but it was fairly quick and efficient. I finished everything in about an hour and 15 minutes and still had plenty of time to enjoy a great cappuccino and some fresh fruit in the lounge. Overall, I am happy to recommend Rome if you need to change somewhere in Europe and are not on an El Al flight all the way through.

On the way back to Israel, I went through Amsterdam.  That was a disaster. After we landed, it took 40 minutes until we pulled up to a gate. Then I had to go through an insane and inefficient immigration line up.  No special treatment for Canadian/U.S./Israeli passports. The line up said "expect a 45 minute to 1 hour wait." There were only two or three electronic picture taking machines - and two officials.  Some of the machines were out of service.  It was even worse than Newark airport.  Sorry to offend any New Jersey readers.

After that, I had to go find my luggage.  Then it was off to a frighteningly long line up at the El Al check-in counter, where my bag was deemed to be overweight...No excuses accepted - I would have to pay.  Of course the security was thorough, which was fine.  But now it was back to personal security and then, an equally brutal immigration line up (for exiting the country). By the time I finished everything - I was able to get to the El Al gate about 10 minutes before boarding. No time for a lounge in Amsterdam - or a visit to the famed whisky shop.  I had left a four-hour window in between flights and it was still a close call. So unless you are flying KLM or something else that is seamless through Amsterdam, I would definitely not recommend blending Air Canada and El Al - under any circumstances through Amsterdam.  Unless you don't mind wasting four  or five hours at the airport in line-ups.

Final Comments

Israeli news is reporting on all kinds of anti-Semitic incidents from all around the world since the October 7th massacres.  As you know, some of these have been in Toronto and  Montreal - and others from cities across Europe. Israelis are starting to think that despite the war, they are safer than Jews in many other places.

There has been some very lopsided press coverage - which is probably very different from what the coverage would have looked like if it had been Canada, the U.S., Great Britain etc., that was attacked.  One of the big issues is civilian casualties.  Although Hamas has reported numbers in the 15,000-20,000 range, there is no way to verify those numbers.  But more importantly, by Israeli accounts, a very large percentage of the Palestinian casualties are Hamas fighters.  Civilians have also been killed, mainly those who have been used as  human shields.  Yet the press simply throws out whatever number Hamas gives them - leading to crazy outbursts, like the one by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who declared that Israel "had to stop killing Palestinian children."  He must have known better but was probably trying to score some political points with some of his voters. Unfortunately, this type of disinformation by a western leader foments attacks on the Canadian Jewish community.  The same can be said about French President Macron.

I note, for example, that there was a great deal of concern about the Shifa hospital.  One BBC report stated that Israel was arresting doctors and killing patients.  BBC later corrected the report and indicated that Israel had brought doctors with their units to help the patients. BBC apologized for "falling short of our standards."  But ultimately, Israel found, as expected, large supplies of weapons at the hospital, and tunnels under the hospital - with rooms, washrooms, weapons storage facilities, electricity, water and gas hookups. Israel also found video footage at the hospital showing Israeli hostages being brought into the hospital - through the main doors.  There was more than ample evidence showing that the hospital was  being used a Hamas centre during the war.   

Israel is facing a difficult situation - trying to fight Hamas while minimizing civilian casualties.  But Hamas is fighting from residential areas, hospitals, mosques and schools.  In several cases, Israeli forces found arms caches in school classrooms - or through doors adjoining the classrooms.  One Israeli unit uncovered a large underground tunnel in a mosque with a huge room full of all kinds of weapons.

It is unclear how things will develop but as of now, it certainly looks like this war will continue for some time, likely at least several months.

Continuing to hope and pray for the safe return of all of our kidnapped hostages, the safety of our soldiers and - yes - a minimum number of civilian casualties in Gaza - but the destruction  of the Hamas forces and the replacement of Hamas with some type of stable governing body that will prefer to rebuild Gaza and focus on health care, education, employment, and infrastructure rather than military conflict.

I am not sure that this is likely or possible at this time but the status quo from pre-Oct 7  simply cannot and will not be allowed to continue.

Day Trip Up North in Israel

So it is time for a distracting blog as opposed to one about  the  ongoing political situation or the battle with the Covid virus and its mutations.  After quite a long time of not travelling very much in the country, I thought I would write about a day trip that we took this past Sunday and a few of the highlights.  Call it a bit of a distraction - but maybe also some ideas for next time you are in Israel.  We had tickets for an evening concert up north, so we decided to make a day of it.

We set out in the morning to the Dalyat Al Carmel market, outside of Haifa. That is about and hour and 20 mintues from Ra'anana in decent traffic conditions  Apparently, the big day for the market is Saturday but that is not something that we would do on Shabbat - so we went on a Sunday.  This market is a market run by Druze Israelis.  The Druze are an Arab speaking minority group in Israel, who number about 100,000.  They do not identify as Muslims.  They serve in the IDF and participate in all facets of Israeli public life.  The market is quite similar to other Arab markets in Israeli including the market in the Old City of Jerusalem.   We wandered around in a variety of shops in the market area.  The shopkeepers were very friendly and welcoming.  We were offered coffee. We chatted with them.  They spoke about how difficult it has been over the past year and a half with the lack tourism.  We felt like we should buy something but weren't really looking for anything in particular.  In the end, we bought a few seat cushions that we could take to the concert we were going to later at a Roman ampitheatre.  More about that shortly.  

We went to another place about twenty minutes away called the Bethlehem Spice Farm.  We were hoping for a bit of a tour and explanation but these days, with the lack of tourists, that is only available for tour groups of at least 10 or so that book in advance.  Instead, we wandered around the enormous spice store which featured bulk spices of every possible kind, mostly grown on site, apparently.  We sat and had a coffee at the coffee bar, which was quite tasty, accompanied by a pecan pie that was reasonably good - not overly sweet like many can be.  

After that, we decided to look for someplace to eat that would be reasonably close to our eventual destination the "Shoni Ampitheatre in Benyamina."  We found a restaurant called Taj - a Kosher Indian restaurant in Or Akiva (under the supervision of the Or Akiva Rabbinate).

Taj is not exactly gourmet dining.  It is a small, family run Indian restaurant with a relatively short menu.  But the food was quite good and tasted quite authentic.  There was outdoor seating with a capacity of, perhaps, 15.  I understand that they do quite a bit of takeout business.  There was a mildly operational fan cooling us off a bit - though I have to say it was still quite warm.  

We ordered a vegetable Thali dish which came with a roti, a curried zucchini dish, dal (in this case, yellow lentils), rice and a variety of chutneys.  We also ordered a curried salmon dish and some large samosas.  The roti was quite good and really not too far off from the delicious rotis that I used to enjoy at the home of one of my very good friends, growing up in Toronto.  The prices were moderate.  The service was friendly and  prompt.  This was much more like one of the fairly fast storefront Indian restaurants, so abundant in Toronto, especially in the Leslieville area (Gerrard and Greenwood) than a sit-down full-service restaurant.  But then again, there really aren't that many options for Indian food in Israel and even fewer for Kosher Indian food.  A one-time Kosher Indian restaurant  in Jerusalem, that was situated in the Crown Plaza Hotel, has since closed.  The Tandoori chain, with a branch in Herzliah, is not particularly authentic tasting and is not Kosher.  There is a decent restaurant in Ashdod, called Namaste that is Kosher and serves good food.  It is a bit out of the way for those in central Israel but we have been there a few times.  All things considered, we enjoyed Taj and would be happy to go back at some point, especially if we are in the area. 

Caesaria, Israel

We were quite full when we left, which is usually the case when you leave an Indian restaurant (in my experience) even though we really didn't order that many dishes.  We still had a few hours until our concert so we decided to head over to the ancient ruins at Caesaria and wander around there for a bit.  It was only about 10 minutes away from the restaurant.  We have been there many times and it is a great place to visit.  This time we were looking to take a short walk at the beach and then sit somewhere, have a drink and watch the sea for a bit.  We decided on the Beach Bar where we found just what we were looking for.  

Beach Bar, Caesaria

The Beach Bar is an aptly named spot that spans a fairly large area with some seats very close to the water and others further away but with a nice view.  We found some seats in the shade and looked for something very cold to drink.  Unfortunately, we were told, it was "too early" for the ice drinks - which only come out at  night.  Go figure.  So we went for some lemonade.  My highlight of the day was the drink menu, which featured a drink called  a "Crazy Trump" made with mango and passion fruit juice.  It was tempting but we took a pass.  We sat and enjoyed the  sounds of waves crashing against the shore barrier and watching the  sun slowly set, though we were still an hour or two away from actual sunset time.

Our last stop was the concert venue itself.  We were off to the Shoni Ampitheatre in Binyamina, which is about 15 minutes away from Caesaria.   We were going to see Idan Raichel, a popular Israeli performer.  He often performs with a full 7-9 piece group but he is now doing a series of concerts by himself over the next few months at this outdoor ampitheatre.  He plays  piano, guitar, accordian (though he didn't play any accordian this time) and a variety of other instruments.  Many of his songs are fairly sombre, soulful and emotional.  

The venue was first come first serve seating.  We thought we were going to be seated on the stone seats that fill the ampitheatre (hence the need for the pillows that we bought at the market). Instead, we

Idan Raichel

wound  up with second row seats on uncomfortable plastic chairs.  Raichel was great.  He told lots of stories in between songs, some of them were quite interesting.  For example, he said his 5 year old daughter asks him why so many people want to take a picture of him so often when they are walking around in the city.  He told his daughter that it is because he writes songs that people like to listen to.  So his daughter answered - if it is the music that people like - what use would they have for a picture?

He played for about an hour and a half with a couple of encore songs.  It was the first time that I had seen him live.  From the live videos I have seen, it would probably be better to see him with his full band - the "Idan Raichel Project" but this was still quite enjoyable.

I am going to save most of the political comments for another blog.  I don't have that much to say at this point.  The nascent Israeli government is still working out the kinks and the Bibi-led opposition is trying everything that it can to topple the government and re-install Bibi.  I have a reasonable level of confidence that this current Bennett-led government, as precarious as it is, will ride things out and stick around for a reasonable time period.

I have been staying up late (or getting up early, if you prefer) to watch  the NHL hockey playoffs.  It was a shocking but welcome surprise to see the Montreal Canadiens make it to the Stanley Cup finals, in a bid to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since 1993 (when Montreal last won it).  Montreal barely squeezed its way into the playoffs and was a heavy underdog in every series it played.  Somehow it won the first three series and made it to the finals against the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.  I didn't have very high hopes - but maybe there would be another miracle.  Well, after the first three games, Montreal was down 3-0 and I couldn't bring myself to stay up all night last night with the prospect of watching Tampa take the Cup.  So I woke up this morning with the pleasant  news that Montreal had managed to extend the series.  I think only 2 or  3 teams in the history of the NHL (that spans more than 100 years) have managed to come back from a 3-0 deficit so the odds are heavily stacked  against Montreal.   But maybe I'll take my chances and see if they can extend the series once more on Wednesday night.  Miracles sometimes happen, don't they?

Israel is wrestling with a rapid spread of the Delta variant of Covid and the government is contemplating different restrictions, including bringing back the use of a "vaccination passport."  For now it is all talk as the government waits to see how many of the "positive" people actually become very sick.  For now, fortunately, the numbers of people  who have become very ill are still quite low and that is a positive sign, not only for Israel, but for every country that has managed to vaccinate a high percentage of the population as well as for those countries that are still hoping to do so.

Wishing everyone the best of health and enjoyment of the hot summer weather.  

  

Yom Hazikaron / Yom Haatzmaut 2021 - Commemoration and Celebration

The past couple of days have represented Israel's annual emotional roller coaster.  From the depths of sadness to the heights of joy as Israel commemorates Yom Hazikaron (The Day of Remembrance for  Soldiers and  victims of  terror attacks) on one day and then  celebrates Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day) the next day.

Yom Hazikaron is a very powerful day.  So many people in Israel have been touched by tragedy - the sorrow of having a family member  killed or seriously injured in the course of  serving in the military or the horror of having a family member,  friend or  other acquaintance  who was killed or seriously injured in a terror attack.  This is a small country - so the 23,928 fallen in a country of  only 9 million is a very large number.  

On Erev Yom Hazikaron, there are ceremonies held  across the country.  We normally attend the Ra'anana commemoration but due to Covid-19, spaces were limited  to advance ticket holders only and there was no space left. So we watched three different nationally televised commemorations.  These ceremonies included speeches from high ranking military personnel, politicians, families of the fallen and poets and writers.  Many of Israel's most  well known musical artists perform sombre songs at these events  and torches  of remembrance are lit in honour of the fallen, in each case  with a detailed story of a fallen soldier or victim of a terror attack.  There aren't many dry eyes watching these events.

On the day of Yom Hazikaron, which this year was yesterday April 13, 2021, there are ceremonies at the military cemeteries across the country.  There is a rule that no family of any fallen soldier will be alone on this day.   So soldiers who are currently serving in the army  are assigned to attend these ceremonies across the country to console and support the families.  Our family members have taken part in this  tradition in the past.  At 11 a.m., across Israel, there is a lengthy two minute siren.  Much like on Yom Hashoah, the whole country comes to a standstill.  Everyone  stops in their place and  stands silently.  Throughout the day, radio stations play remembrance themed  music.  TV stations show documentaries about the fallen solders, the victims of terror and the tragic  periods in Israel's history.

As the sun goes down, Yom Hazikaron ends and Israel pivots from  one of the saddest days of the year to one of  the happiest.  It is simply amazing  how  so many people are able to do this so fluidly - but  then again, I suppose that is part of life.  And that is the message of these two days - to take the unspeakably sad - together with the joy - and to see it all  as part  of the complex state that is Israel.

Tonight's official Yom Haatzmaut  celebration was reminiscent of some US 4th of July celebrations - fireworks, a military flyover, marching  bands - and of course some political speeches.  The initial musical performances were mostly by the Israel Military Band.  Some  were quite good.  In between, different prominent Israelis were called up to light torches in honour of Yom Haatzmaut.   Some  of these torch lighting  ceremonies were  particularly poignant. Two  Druze  medical staff  came up to light a torch on behalf of all of the medical workers who have worked so hard over the past  year  helping Israelis to fight Covid-19.   They also proudly represented Israel's Druze community.  Another torch was lit by a woman who had been attacked fiercely by her  husband last  year  and  had only survived due to the timely intervention of a neighbour.  Both women came  up to light a torch on behalf of victims of domestic violence  and to raise awareness of the issue.  Several others lit torches in between the various musical performances with the accompanying story of  each torch lighter. 

After the official national ceremony, different stations broadcast different celebrations.  We recorded two  of them and watched one  live.

One of the highlights of evening was the program run by Idan Raichel, one of Israel's most popular musical performers.  I have written about Raichel previously.  Last year, on Yom Haatzmaut, during the height of Covid-19, he and his band put on an outdoor, physically distanced concert with all of the musicians spread out in a park.  You can watch the 45 minute concert from last year here if the link still works.  We thought it was fantastic.

This Year, Raichel outdid himself.  He held a contest for soldiers from across Israel.  He asked them to send him recordings of themselves singing his songs.  He then picked a bunch of winners and decided to invite them to come join his nationally televised Yom Haatzmaut concert this year.  But to notify each of them - he drove to their bases, with one or two of his band members - and showed up to suprise each of them and invite them personally.  He also invited them to rehearse with him and his band.  He recorded these suprise meetings.  He visited one soldier at an outpost at Israel's southernmost border with Egypt.  He visited another up near the northernmost border.  And others in between.

At the Yom Haatzmaut  event, he showed all of these videos and then performed one song with each of the performers, a mixture of women and men, from different regions in Israel, different  backgrounds and different types of military roles.  It was really quite something.  The parents or other family members and friends of the soldiers were in attendance - and after each peformance Raichel asked them what they thought of the performance.  He also asked the guest performers to say a few words about the experience.  All of the singers and  their family members were simply overwhelmed.  

Ultimately, Raichel said he would pick one or more  - to work with to release an original song that the selected performer writes and performs, with Raichel's help.  Raichel himself was so supportive of all of these  soldiers, so interested  in their life stories, so self-deprecating and simply - throughout the evening  - someone who projected such a sense of decency, respect and love.  

In the end, he selected one of the soldiers, much to the disappointment of all of the others who were hoping to fulfill a dream.  The winner and his mother were ecstatic.  The whole event was  moving, emotional and musically fantastic.  

After this show, there will be other musical performances throughout the evening  on tv, on web sites, and live across the country.  In fact, in Ra'anana, one  of the performances, aimed at the younger crowd starts at 1:30 a.m.  I don't think we will be attending that one.  People will be hosting parties into the wee hours, setting off fireworks and  generally celebrating this 73rd birthday of the state in many different ways.

Tomorrow the annual national  bible contest will be televised -  for participants from Israel and across the world.  There will also be an air show, a rave party at Tel-Aviv's Yarkon park, street parties all day across the country and other festivities everywhere.  Israelis will head to the beaches  and the national parks in the expected mid-20s heat - and there will be barbecues everywhere (our place included).  The chick peas are soaking overnight for the homemade humus.

Being in Israel for these special days is really a great privilege - right up there with being here for the Jewish holydays - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and others.  There is a really powerful mix of remembrance, loss, determination and resolution - that imbues both Yom Hashoah v'Hagvurah and Yom Hazikaron and then the contrasting happiness of celebrating Yom Haatzmaut.  This year there is a sense of cautious optimism that has added to the joy.  Even though Israel remains mired in political quicksand without a new government and facing the prospect of yet another election, there is a feeling that Covid-19 is being defeated.  

I hope that the rest of the world will soon feel this same level of optimism in the fight against Covid-19 everywhere.  Wishing everyone a Chag Sameach and the best of health.

 

Live Music - Concerts in Your Family Room - In Response to Coronavirus

It seems that we are all united around the world with the feeling that we are caught in a vice that is tightening.  Announcements in Canada, Israel, the U.S.., the E.U. and so many other places around the world seem to bring increasingly strict measures aimed at slowing the spread of the Coronavirus.  We don't know how bad it is going to get or when it will be over.  We might be reassured that parts of Asia seem to have been able to get it under control.  On the other hand, we look at Italy, Spain, German and some other countries and it is very concerning.  Things may get completely out of hand in the U.S. (and many other countries) very soon.

Here in Israel, much has been shut down.  Restaurants, bars, malls and many other places.  So many people are working from home.  Grocery stores are open, drug stores, gas stations.  As of yesterday, banks were moving to  close most branches and do  most things virtually.   Health care workers are overwhelmed and are bracing for a sudden and massive explosion in the number of cases.

With all of these challenges, some musicians are doing their part to make the world a better place and bring some joy and happiness to people, many of whom are in self-isolation.  Israeli's Channel 12 with Mako has been running a series of live concerts with no audience - held at Zappa Clubs in Israel.  As you might know, Zappa is a chain of small concert venues - with night club seating and meal service.  We have been to quite a number of concerts at different Zappa locations.  The Zappa in Jerusalem is Kosher and has a great menu.  And, of course, you are sitting very close to the performers with a great view.  But I digress.

On Saturday night, Israel's Channel 12 broadcast a live show by Idan Raichel.  It was just him and his piano - playing a half hour set and talking to the audience.  He encouraged people to open their windows and sing along with their  neighbours and then send recordings back to the Mako website and to him.  Reichel was very cognizant of the messages he was sending.  He performed alone and spoke about the need to follow the latest health directives while still enjoying life.  It was really quite an excellent performance. "We have the capacity to bring out the best in ourselves when we all join together." That's my  loose translation of one of his comments. 

Last night, we watched Keren Peles perform.   Another excellent performance.  In contrast to Raichel, Peles had a bunch of other performers with her on stage (some sitting very close to her...despite the 3 metre recommendation...).  She sang duets with a few different singers but also played some solo pieces.  I wasn't as familiar with her music, but she was great.  She mixed her wonderful piano playing with powerful, emotional vocals. 

Mako/N12/Zappa are continuing to line up more concerts with Israeli performers in the coming days.  It is really something that can bring a bit of smile after a day of hearing all kinds of terrible news reports.

Maybe this is something that the world will pick up on.  I already saw that some North American performers were trying to line up a big virtual concert for April 1st, 2020.  I also read a report that the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra had performed a live streaming concert to an empty hall. 

With so many sports events shut down - and large scale events out of the question, maybe our musicians and their sponsors can help fill a void and bring a bit of music and joy to the hundreds of thousands of people who are stuck at home - either in self-isolation or as a result of current conditions.

Continued wishes for the best of health to everyone.