Yom Ha’atzmaut: Popular Israeli Music the Year Before October 7

Popular Israeli Music the Year Before October 7
Guest speaker: Benjamin Rubin, former Chair of Limmud Toronto

What was the popular Israeli music scene in the Jewish year 5783 – before October 7, 2023? The cultural currents in Israel’s contemporary musical airspace are dynamic, complex and diverse – songs intertwine Hebrew, Arabic and English, incorporate influences from Africa, Asia and Europe, and represent both an urbanized Westernized economy and traditional religious societies. This illustrated presentation, including a playlist of Israel’s leading performing artists, will provide insights into how Israeli popular music reflects – and affects – developments in Israeli culture, politics and society. We’ll also enjoy some traditional Israeli foods, feel free to dress in blue and white!

Thursday April 23
1:00-3:00pm
Admission: $12

Co-presented by Miles Nadal JCC’s Israeli Connection and Adult Daytime Culture and Education.
Generously sponsored by the UJA Federation’s Emerging Communities Committee.

For registration assistance, please call 416-924-6211 x0 or email help@mnjcc.org.
For more information, contact Lisa Roy at 416-924-6211 x6155 or email lisar@mnjcc.org.

Since retiring from law, Benjamin Rubin and his Israeli-born wife Nava split their time between Toronto and Tel Mond, Israel. Benjamin maintains a passionate interest in Jewish history and Israeli contemporary music and culture, translates Hebrew lyrics to English, and writes a Times of Israel blog. He chaired Limmud Toronto 2018. Under his pen name eBenBrandeis, he publishes his writing on Substack and produces YouTube videos. He is the writer of the Zoom teleplay series, “Golden Age Travel”, about 12th century Hebrew poet and Arabic Jewish philosopher, Yehuda HaLevi, travelling through Jewish history. We are very pleased to welcome Benjamin to the Miles Nadal JCC this spring!  For more information, please visit https://www.ebenbrandeis.com/.