{"id":36610,"date":"2021-04-02T01:59:13","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T08:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=36610"},"modified":"2021-03-31T20:28:45","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T03:28:45","slug":"local-yom-haatzmaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/04\/02\/local-yom-haatzmaut\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hagit Yaso, who was part of Metro Vancouver\u2019s celebration of Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut in 2014, is among the Israeli performers who will be joining the online event this year. (photo from hagityaso.com\/en\/home<\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and its 46 community partners, which includes the Jewish Independent<\/em>, will be marking Israel\u2019s 73rd birthday with a virtual celebration April 14 at 7:30 p.m. This year\u2019s special hour-long event will include performances by both Israeli and local artists, as well as some surprises.<\/p>\n

For the past 17 years, Federation has joined forces with Eti Lam, a Tel Aviv producer who specializes in bringing Israeli artists to Jewish communities around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cProducing an event like Israel\u2019s Independence Day requires lots of work and long-term collaboration between the community and myself,\u201d Lam told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cIt usually starts with searching for the right artist that is happy to come to Vancouver on this special date, building a suitable show, rehearsing it back in Israel, and many more activities. And, as with everything, the price should be right to the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

This can take time, she confessed. \u201cSome years, it took the Federation team and me a whole year to find and deliver the right show.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the pandemic, things are even more challenging, but the situation also offers a unique opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering the COVID-19 limitations, we couldn\u2019t meet in the concert hall,\u201d said Lam. \u201cStill, the show must go on. We approached multiple artists that performed in Vancouver in the past and the responses were amazing, so we\u2019ll get to celebrate together this year, too. The performance will be broadcast online, without compromising the uniqueness and festivity of Israel\u2019s Independence Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lam lauded the Vancouver audience, calling it \u201ctruly one of a kind, special and unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year,\u201d she said, \u201c1,200 people gathered together to celebrate Israel\u2019s Independence Day with an Israeli artist. Being able to produce this event year over year for the last 17 years has been a great privilege. It\u2019s been successful thanks to the close relationship with the incredible people in the Federation and in the community. Whenever I arrived in Vancouver, I felt that I had returned to celebrate with a close group of my friends, part of a warm and loving community. I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to thank all the Federation and community members for their help, support and partnership over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Yoni<\/a>
Yoni Rechter was part of Metro Vancouver\u2019s 2019 celebration of Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, and he will be part of this year\u2019s online event, as well. (photo by Gilad Avidan)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The evening lineup is set to include various dance groups and artists, as well as students from Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS) and Vancouver Talmud Torah singing the Canadian and Israeli national anthems. Local talents Orr Chadash, Orr Atid, Duo Orr and Grade 6 dancers from RJDS will join Israeli artists Yoni Rechter, Nurit Galron, Hagit Yaso, Micha Bitton and Shlomit Aharon for the broadcast. This year\u2019s event will also feature a community Koolulam-style video, a version of \u201cBashana Haba\u2019ah\u201d in which different members of the community sing a line, a verse or the chorus.<\/p>\n

Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut celebrations go back a long way in Vancouver, though prior to 2002 they were done at a slightly smaller scale, with the exception of Israel\u2019s 50th anniversary in 1998 at the Orpheum. This year, because a plethora of virtual (and worldwide) programs, events and webinars have led to \u201cZoom fatigue,\u201d Federation decided to \u201cgo local\u201d and highlight community talents.<\/p>\n

To even localize the Israeli component, Federation invited the Israeli artists, who have performed here before in person on Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut, to dedicate a song to the community. Additionally, organizers have promised a surprise that they feel confident will go down well with the community.<\/p>\n

Emceeing this year\u2019s event will be JCC sports coordinator Kyle Berger, who also is a stand-up comedian, and King David High School counselor Lu Winters.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we realized COVID restrictions weren\u2019t going to allow Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman to do it, we were hoping we\u2019d be asked,\u201d said Berger. \u201cThe fact that it\u2019ll be on Zoom means they\u2019ll be able to make us look fitter and younger than we actually are, which is another awesome perk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berger and Winters, along with a handful of staff and crew, will be filming and streaming the show from a production studio in Burnaby. \u201cBut, when we close our eyes, we will be live from Israel,\u201d said Berger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, we will both be there doing the show together and will be able to feed off of each other\u2019s energy and nerves. Of course, we will still be 6.13 feet apart while filming,\u201d assured Berger, who has worked with Winters before, as co-delegation heads for the JCC Maccabi Games.<\/p>\n

He vowed that \u201ceveryone should expect an incredibly fun evening celebrating our community\u2019s special connection with Israel, especially our unique relationship with our partnership region in the Galilee Panhandle. Think Dick Clark\u2019s New Year\u2019s Rockin\u2019 Eve<\/em> meets the Academy Awards \u2013 produced by the same number of Jews, but with less famous hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nava, Omnitsky and the Perfect Bite are all offering special Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut menus for April 14. Register at jewishvancouver.com\/yh2021<\/a> to join the celebration.<\/p>\n

Also on April 14, the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island will be hosting a small program via Zoom with an Israeli-themed picnic. Registrants will be able to pick up their meal (drive-through) and enjoy it while participating in the Zoom program. To register, send an email to jewishfederationvictoria@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sam Margolis<\/strong> has written for the <\/em>Globe and Mail, the <\/em>National Post, UPI and MSNBC.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hagit Yaso, who was part of Metro Vancouver\u2019s celebration of Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut in 2014, is among the Israeli performers who will be joining the online event this year. (photo from hagityaso.com\/en\/home) The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and its 46 community partners, which includes the Jewish Independent, will be marking Israel\u2019s 73rd birthday with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3119,8093,20429,4330,3649,7670,8230,3036,6224,762],"class_list":["post-36610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-dance","tag-entertainment","tag-eti-lam","tag-israel","tag-jewish-federation","tag-kyle-berger","tag-lu-winters","tag-music","tag-victoria","tag-yom-haatzmaut"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}