Sunday, June 06, 2010

Emotional Moment at Shwekey Concert in Israel

Yaakov Shwekey thrilled an audience of 4000 people in Efrat. He honored 100 soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces and a special group of soldiers from the Israel's Navy.

The highlight of the evening was when Shwekey invited a group of the 100 soldiers present, some from the navy commando unit that boarded the flotilla and all of whom had been treated to the evening by the local and regional authority, up on stage to join him. They sang “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” together to Shwekey’s well known melody, swaying along with the audience. Towards the end, one of the soldiers placed his beret on Shwekey’s head and the singer was visibly moved.


HT: TheCoolJew.com



Finale of Yaakov Shwekey in concert in Efrat.






IsraelNationalNews.com

Yaakov Shwekey performed in Efrat, Gush Etzion, on Wednesday night before an audience of over 4,000 people of all ages. The audience filled every seat in the open air area designated for the performance and walked at least a kilometer from the parking area to get to the unpaved outskirts of the city. Two large screens made the performance visible to those at the far sides of the endless rows of white plastic chairs, but also added special focus with multimedia presentations of the content and words of the songs.

Shwekey asked to speak in English and the many Anglos in the crowd agreed immediately. The singer told the audience that he loved being in Efrat and that this was the first time there for him. The crowd reacted with thunderous applause.

Groups of youngsters could be seen dancing and jumping to the faster songs throughout the performance. Children of Zichron Menachem, the organization to ease the life of young cancer patients, and groups of special teens were invited to the evening and could be seen swaying to the beat of the songs.

The highlight of the evening was when Shwekey invited a group of the 100 soldiers present, some from the navy commando unit that boarded the flotilla and all of whom had been treated to the evening by the local and regional authority, up on stage to join him. They sang “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” together to Shwekey’s well known melody, swaying along with the audience. Towards the end, one of the soldiers placed his beret on Shwekey’s head and the singer was visibly moved.

Israeli singer Aaron Razel began the evening with several of his well known tunes, including “Higia Zman HaGeulah--The Time has Come for the Redemption” and Shwekey ended the evening with “Vehi Sheamda”—the Haggadah song whose haunting melody has become his trademark, telling of how G-d saves the Jews from the tyrants that attack them in each generation.

The evening became a Zionist solidarity rally for the IDF and the commandos who boarded the Gaza bound flotilla on Monday night in the face of the world’s condemnation. Efrat residents had hung four giant flags at high points in the Judean city in support of Israel’s actions, and the screens showed video clips of them doing so while a firework display took place. The flags can be seen in Bethlehem, Beit Jala and all the way to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi said:| “Facing the hatred that has spewed forth against the citizens of Israel from so many pars of the world, we come with national pride, proud to call this country our own. We are here by right and not only because of our strength.”

Shwekey, whose appearance in Efrat is his only one on this trip to Israel, agreed that his performance was intended to show his solidarity and identification with the people and state of Israel. (For more details on the singer, click here.)

Video courtesy of Sharon Katz, Voices TV, www.voices-magazine.com

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