This is a guest post by Stephen Hoffman
On Tuesday night, 6,000 people from across the UK were treated to a great night to celebrate Israel’s continued existence and achievements on its 65th birthday at the ZF’s Israel 65 Gala Concert. A wide array of talent was on show ranging from comedy, to music, to dancing and much, much more.
The night started on a fitting note with Ambassador Daniel Taub acknowledging the debt Zionism and Israel owe to Britain, due to the Balfour Declaration which made the creation of the State of Israel turn into a reality. Therefore it was right to have the biggest Yom Ha’azmaut concert in London, showing the strong cultural ties between Israel and Britain which are in the interests of both nations. Taub, catching the mood of the night, and reminding us of the joyous nature of Yom Ha’azmaut, then said that the audience would bear witness to the best Yom Ha’azmaut party in town, which would capture and celebrate the Israeli spirit. This set the scene for a great atmosphere in the packed auditorium at Wembley Arena.
First up was Israel’s male singer of the year, Ivri Lider. Ivri wowed the audience with his beautiful voice and talented piano playing and in doing so gave people the chance to enjoy and experience Israeli culture.
Throughout the event, the night was ably MC’d by Vanessa Feltz, a well known TV and radio personality. The ‘Feltz’ as she was affectionately nicknamed by some in the crowd talked movingly about how proud she is of Israel and the deeply personal relationship she holds with Israel, like many Jews across the world.
Of course no show can be complete without a high quality comedian and Mark Maier did not disappoint. Maier had the audience in stitches with his jokes about being one of the very few Geordie Jews, as well as an excellent joke on Jewish Sat Navs. At the end of his routine, the audience were in hysterics.
The audience were then treated to a high octane dance show by Britain Got Talent’s winners Spellbound. The acrobatic shapes Spellbound showed off stunned the audience and it would not be an exaggeration to say it left them spellbound; it certainly left me in awe of them. They have more talent in one of their fingers then I have in my entire body. This all helped put people in the mood to celebrate Israel’s 65th anniversary.
Undoubtedly one of the stars of the night was Stacey Solomon. Stacey sung a medley of well known hits including ‘What a Wonderful World’ and received one of the loudest ovations of the night at the end of her set. No one could be in any doubt after her performance why she has been one of the most successful X Factor finalists.
When the Israeli singer Ishtar with her French band Alabina came on they created an electric atmosphere which led young and old, male and female, to all rise up and dance away the night. Her voice was amazing and one could see why Ishtar and her band had sold millions worldwide.In her music, she helped bring a little bit of the Middle East to a corner of London.
Finally, Chico with his band The Gypsies came on to play with Ishtar and Alabina. This showed how international performers were uniting for Israel’s birthday. When Chico performed his hit song Bamboleo the dancing from the audience became even more intense and the whole crowd was up on their feet.
The event was rounded off with a rousing rendition of the Hatikva, which reminded all those present why we are so proud to stand with Israel.
For those who wanted to party the night away, there was the opportunity to do so thanks to DJ Adi Ulimansky, who flew specially from Israel for the event and DJ Dan Taylor. They put on some well known songs and put the party in full swing.
The ZF’s 65 show was a great night allowing people to celebrate Israel’s 65th birthday in style in a way that bought 6,000 people together from across the UK in support of Israel, showing how culture unites people. Here’s to another 65 years of great achievements from Israel, who will continue to make us proud.
The photograph of Ishtar is courtesy of Steve Winston
