South Africa Flash Mob Celebrates Israel's 70th Birthday

Celebrations of Israel's 70th birthday continue around the world. In Johannesburg, South Africa, the Israel embassy and the Jewish community united with the band Hatikva Shesh playing Hachi Israeli for a flash mob.

Participants included the Israel embassy in Pretoria, the South African Zionist Federation, together with Jewish schools and the Jewish Community of Johannesburg.

Enjoy!

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In Jerusalem a Flash Mob Can Pop Up Anywhere

There's something about a flash mob that appeals to us, especially when it pops up in the streets of Jerusalem. It reinforces our belief that Israel is a funny and happy country, despite what the world press writes about it.

It is a routine day in Jerusalem's First Station compound, a moment before the end of 2015. With the first sounds of a popular Israeli song, Shoshana by Avraham Tal, dozens of dancers from one of the city's community centers pop out of nowhere for a Jerusalem flash mob. 

Enjoy!

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Musical Flash Mob Brings Sunshine to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem

A few years ago, thirty five students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance's (JAMD) Community & Youth Project played a flowing series of events in the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Starting with a concert in the hospital lobby, and taking a classical approach to the Beatles  hit song "Here Comes the Sun" , the students continued and played in various locations throughout the Medical Center as doctors, patients and passers-by joined in the fun.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center is Israel's fastest growing hospital, responsible for medical care for more than 500,000 people each year. A national and globally recognised leader in both clinical care and academic research, Shaare Zedek is home to more than 30 inpatient departments, 70 outpatient units and dozens of research institutes. The hospital proudly serves as a center of advanced medicine for all the peoples of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas with constant attention to patient-centered care while embracing the latest modes of medical technology.

The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance is unique in the Israel's higher education system. With 800 students in the Performing Arts of Music, Composition, Dance and Choreography, JAMD's Community & Youth Project operates over 20 different projects throughout Israel allowing more than 300 children and young people from disadvantaged areas to study serious music & dance.

Enjoy!

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Passover Videos: Key Tov Orchestra Performs a Mashup of Pesach Songs in a Dance Spectacular

Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra are at it again. The Chicago-based wedding band likes to use the large plaza in front of a Chicago office building as a stage for their musical productions.  

We have featured them before, performing a flash mob version of Hashem Melech in downtown Chicago, with the Kol Ish a cappella singers in a bluegrass version of Yigdal, in an Israeli salsa number in Miami, and in a Chicago mashup of Chanukah songs old and new.
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Just in time for Pesach, they deliver a new mashup of Passover songs in a choreographed Dance Spectacular in their favorite performance space on the streets of downtown Chicago. 

As a crowd gathered and pulled out their smartphones to record the show, Elliot, the orchestra, and the dancers moved from a James Bond theme introduction to Let My People Go, Ma Nishtana, Avadim Hayinu, Ha Lachma Anya, Dayenu, and Chad Gadya.

Enjoy!

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Election Fever: Flash Mob Hatikvah on the Jerusalem Light Rail

 

This week's election in Israel produced lots of campaign ads and videos. Most were attempts to boost the prospects of candidates by overstating their positive attributes and minimizing those of their opponents. But not all were partisan.

One video, shown below, produced by Im Tirtzu, a non-partisan, non-governmental organization, and featuring the a cappella group called KOLture Shock, was called the most patriotic train ride in Jerusalem ever by the Israel Video Network. It was filmed as a flash mob aboard the light rail in Jerusalem.

Im Tirtzu is an extra-governmental movement that works to educate about the values of Zionism in Israel. Im Tirtzu was established in 2006, after the Second Lebanon War, by Israeli intellectuals, students and IDF reservists.  

Im Tirtzu's main objectives focus on working towards a renewal of the Zionist discourse, Zionist thinking and Zionist ideology, to ensure the future of the Jewish nation and of the State of Israel and to advance Israeli society in coping with the challenges it faces. A major portion of Im Tirtzu's efforts is devoted to combating the campaign of de-legitimization against the State of Israel and to providing responses to Post-Zionist and Anti-Zionist phenomena.

KOLture Shock is an a cappella group of Israelis and English-speaking students and olim living in Jerusalem.We have featured them before in a musical parody about the second seder. 

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Dan Mosenkis for bringing this video to our attention.)

Tel Aviv Flash Mob in Mashup of Hatikvah and We Will Rock You to Support IDF

Last week a flash mob showed up in Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv to perform a spontaneous salute to the Israel Defense Forces. 

The musical salute was a mashup of Hatikvah and the 1977 Queen hit We Will Rock You.

Enjoy!

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Don't Mess With the Diamond District: A Real Flash Mob (Two of Them) Bring Gaza to the Streets of New York

On Friday, July 25, in the midst of the fighting in Gaza, a group of anti-Israel demonstrators tried to interfere with Jewish-owned businesses on 47th Street in Manhattan, the center of New York's Diamond District. 

They carried signs and shouted slogans, but they didn't expect the reaction they got from shopkeepers and a pro-Israel crowd that suddenly appeared from all sides.

The action was captured on video and reported on by Danielle Avel at Breitbart.com. Here is her report:

A beautiful pro-Israel rally spontaneously erupted in New York City on July 25, filling the street with chants celebrating the Jewish State. This outburst responded to an ugly crowd of anti-Israel zealots targeting Jewish-owned businesses in what they called a “direct action.”

The anti-Israel protesters marched through the streets, stopping traffic while screaming “Free, free Palestine!  Free, free Gaza!” These seemingly innocuous slogans were mixed with darker ones such as:

• “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” i.e., from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, ‘Palestine’ will replace Israel.
• “Intifada, intifada!” which is a call for violence against Israelis to replace Israel with "Palestine."

Eventually the anti-Israel hooligans reached the normally quiet Diamond District on 47th Street between 5th and 6th avenues.  The district came into existence in the 1920s and grew dramatically in the 1940s as Orthodox Jews in the diamond business fled the Nazis. The demonstrators chose this street in particular, of course, to disrupt Jewish-owned businesses.

The “Free Palestine” pack made its way through scaffolding and construction zones, periodically stopping to do a “mic check,” but also with the effect of bringing their voices into unison again. During one “mic check,” jewelry store owners began emerging from their shops to see the commotion, causing a frenzy among the demonstrators. One of them, a woman, broke the chants and maniacally shouted “intifada, intifada!” And then something striking happened.

Amidst the raucous shouts of “Free, free Palestine!” a different call emerged. A pro-Israel crowd appeared, clapping and chanting “Is-ra-el, Is-ra-el!” Some business owners closed their stores to join, supporters flooded the sidewalk, and the street filled with chants celebrating Israel. The “Free Palestine” zealots looked dazed and confused, their voices out of unison, a couple of stray “Allahu Akbars” honked out as a last resort.

As Zionists filled the street, they called out “Ha-mas ter-ror-ists!” A full-throated celebration of the Israel Defense Forces then broke out with an “I-D-F!” chant. The spontaneous display of pride in Israel ended with the crowd of now hundreds singing songs celebrating Israel.

So, anti-Israel fanatics started the day with a vitriolic “direct action” to disrupt Jewish-owned businesses. But they inadvertently inspired a memorable, moving, and spontaneous display of celebration of the Middle East’s only true democracy. It was a true New York moment – one everyone in the Diamond District that afternoon will always remember.

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(A tip of the kippah to Phoebe Weisbrot for bringing this video to our attention.)

Chicago Dancing Flash Mob Adds New Twist to Shabbat Liturgy

Last week the complex of office buildings in Chicago's Federal Plaza was the scene of a flash mob arranged by the Key Tov Orchestra, a Chicago-based wedding band. The troupe of men and women dancers performed in front of Alexander Calder's Flamingo sculpture to the delight of passers-by.

The song that they're dancing to is Hashem Melech, popularized last year by Israeli singers Benny and Gad Elbaz. The lyrics are taken from the Ein Kamocha prayer recited in synagogue on Shabbat as the Torah is removed from the ark.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Jerusalem Musical Flash Mob Performs Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty

When you visit Jerusalem's new First Station (Tachana Rishona) entertainment, activity and dining center, you never know what surprises you'll find there. It's open seven days a week with restaurants and coffee shops, Segway tours, hybrid bikes, walking tours, and a play area for kids. 

The station has an interesting history as a primary means of transportation between Jaffa and Jerusalem that started in 1892 and ended in 1998. Last year it was converted to the eight restaurant complex that also features ice skating, marionette theatre, and scheduled and unscheduled entertainment.

In March, just in time for Purim, an unscheduled event took place in the open area between the restaurants and shops. Without any announcement, fifty students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, together with children from Sderot's Perach Tutorial Project, gathered at the station for a surprise concert. They were joined by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and philanthropist Shari Arison.

The flash mob style performance was part of Good Deeds Day, an annual event that originated in Israel in 2007 and now takes place in over 50 countries worldwide. On this day, volunteers reach out to the less fortunate and the vulnerable.

The crowd that was shopping and dining that day enjoyed a bonus musical performance, and we hope that you'll enjoy the video of the event.

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South Africa Synagogue Choir in Passover Supermarket Flash Mob

It's not often that we get to post a Jewish flash mob from Johannesburg, South Africa, but so far the Jewish community there is the only one we've seen that takes parts of the Haggadah into the public sphere. 

In this case Rabbi Dovid Hazdan of the Great Park Synagogue South Africa arranged a flash mob at Pick 'n Pay, a major supermarket to draw attention to the display of Kosher for Pesach products that are available.

The flash mob performed a rendition of Vehi She'amdah, a portion of the Pesach Haggaddah, to the surprise and delight of shoppers.It generated Jewish pride and positive happy energy as it added to the community’s awareness and preparation for Pesach.

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing this video to our attention.)

Purim Silliness Begins - Laughing Flash Mob Invades Jerusalem Light Rail System

It's Adar, and the fun has begun. What better way to usher in the Purim season than with a flash mob invading Jerusalem? 

The laughing flash mob gathered outside the old city of Jerusalem on Thursday February 13, 2014 to get on the Jerusalem light rail and spontaneously burst into fits of extreme laughter. 

The unsuspecting passengers of the Jerusalem light rail did not know what was going on and the laughing flash mob caused smiles, laughs, and even some involuntary participants. Let's keep the laughter going from this month of happiness and joy to the rest of the year and to the rest of the world.

Enjoy!

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Jerusalem Choral Flashmob for Alzheimer's Brings Joy to Shoppers in Mamilla Mall

The Mamilla Mall just outside of the walls of Jerusalem's Old City is more than an upscale shopping destination. It's also become somewhat of a performance venue.

Melabev is the leader in Alzheimer's care in Israel. Professionals and volunteers in Melabev's day care centers in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh conduct activities to enhance the quality of life, restore dignity and stimulate the remaining cognitive and memory skills of the participants. Some 600 families currently benefit from Melabev. 

On October 3, 2013, hundreds of shoppers at Jerusalem's Mamila Mall were surprised by a Flashmob of the Ramatayim Men's Choir, directed by Richard Shavei Tzion,


This Flashmob created awareness of Melabev and its 10th Annual Walkathon - Walking for Alzheimer's Care - in memory of Rachel Wasserman, z"l.  www.walk4alz.com

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Doctors and Medical Staff in Jerusalem Hospital Rap and Breakdance for Cleanliness

The doctors and medical staff at Shaarei Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem wanted to show they're serious about the importance of hand washing in all areas of the hospital. Hand hygiene is critical for fighting infections. 

So to illustrate their point graphically and musically they created a rap and breakdance video in a parody of the popular Israeli song Hafinali by the group called Subliminal. 

We've been sitting on the video for a few weeks because originally it was all in Hebrew with only Hebrew subtitles. English subtitles were just added and we're publishing it here today to share with you.

In the video, a staff member playing the role of a germ that infiltrated the hospital and is running rampant is tracked down and captured by everyone who washes their hands with water, soap, and sanitizer.

The singers and dancers include an infectious disease specialist and head of pediatrics, epidemiology nurses, members of infections disease and women's medicine departments and the intensive care unit.

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing the original video to our attention.)

Love and Respect - Flash Mob Dances in Jerusalem to Support Pre-Nuptial Agreements

 

In mid-May, lots of couples dressed up as brides and grooms went out to dance on Ben Yehuda Street in the middle of Jerusalem to the sounds of the song "Love and Respect". The dance was created as part of a campaign of two organizations Kolech and Mavoi Satum to support the Mutual Respect prenuptial agreements. These are dedicated to to insure that women who seek a Jewish divorce (get) will not encounter a “dead end” that results from insensitive legal interpretations and stringencies.

In Jewish law, a woman must obtain a bill of divorce from her husband before she is able to marry again. According to women’s rights groups, there are several thousand open cases of men refusing to give their wives a get, using it as a tool to extort more favorable terms in the divorce settlement.

Mavoi Satum is promoting what it calls “an agreement for mutual respect,” a document which, if the couple signs, legally obligates a partner to pay $1,500 a month or half  of his or her salary, until he gives or she accepts a get. The penalty terms would begin six months after one party requests the request for divorce.

Not exactly Jewish humor, but it's encouraging to see some progress being made toward resolution of what has been a difficult issue in Jewish life for a long time.

And it's always nice to enjoy the sights and sounds of singing and dancing in the streets of Jerusalem.

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(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing this video to our attention.)

Tchaikovsky Flashwaltz Surprises Doctors and Patients at Hadassah Hospital

Earlier this month forty students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance took a classical approach to the flash mob as they flashwaltzed Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers at the new Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower in Jerusalem. Doctors, patients and passers-by joined in the fun.

The surprise concert was part of Good Deeds Day, an annual event that originated in Israel in 2007 and now takes place in over 50 countries worldwide. On this day volunteers reach out to the less fortunate and the vulnerable.

The Academy students enjoyed the day so much that they have decided to schedule regular concerts at the hospital. Hadassah Medical Organization treats over one million patients annually, without regard to race, religion or national origin.

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for bringing this video to our attention.)

Camp Morasha Flash Mob Takes Over Syracuse Mall

If you've been following this blog, you're probably aware that we're suckers for flash mobs, especially when they have a Jewish or Israeli connection. Here's a recent one that should bring a little Yiddishe nachas. 

A few hundred boys and girls, campers at Camp Morasha, took over the Destiny USA (formerly Carousel) Mall in Syracuse, New York this summer to put on a choreographed dance extravaganza called Anu B'nei Morasha that proclaimed who they are and what they do. 

Morasha is a Modern Orthodox co-ed camp based in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, with over a thousand campers attending each summer. It runs a Morasha Yachad program that gives more than 40 disabled campers an inclusive camping experience together with their mainstream peers.

Some wearing shorts and T-shirts, others wearing pants and skirts, the dancers blend together into a single entity, but if you look closely you'll see an invisible line dividing the boys and girls.

About 3 and a half minutes into the video, the solid mass splits into two sections, revealing an aisle through which some campers with developmental disabilities, including two in wheelchairs, and their counselors march forward as the dance continues to its conclusion. 

Enjoy!

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Hava Nagila is Alive and Well in Buenos Aires Flash Mob

The Abasto de Buenos Aires was the central wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1893 to 1984. Since 1999, it has served as a shopping mall.

In June, shoppers in the Abasto Mall were treated to a spontaneous outpouring of Jewish song and dance to the music of Hava Nagila by a flash mob brought in by YOK, a project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The dance was in celebration of Dia de la Bandera, an annual holiday to celebrate the Argentinian national flag. Because it was performed in Argentina, the dancers couldn't resist incorporating elements of the tango, and while they were at it, also included a few measures of To Life, L'Chayim!

Today a vibrant Jewish population is integrated into the towns and business of Buenos Aires. The neighborhoods of Once, Villa Crespo and Belgrano have the highest concentration of Jewish businesses and families, and Abasto even holds the only kosher McDonald’s outside Israel.

There are city fairs for Jewish holidays, hosted by YOK Time, a non-profit organization that encourages approaching Judaism “in your own way”. YOK’s Rosh Hashana fair offers attendees free apples and honey to celebrate the New Year and goods from local Jewish artists, and on Passover you can participate in a gefilte fish contest and listen to Klezmer music, all in the barrio of Palermo. 

YOK, which stands for ‘Yo OK’ or ‘I am OK,’ creates these urban festivals to “establish a space where people can gather to share their Jewish culture and traditions with the whole community,” according to Dana Jones of Project YOK.

Enjoy!

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What Do You Get When You Mix Matzah and Salsa? A Flashmob in Paris!

Last week the streets of a Jewish neighborhood in Paris erupted into a Flashmob singing and dancing Passover songs. 

Starting with Mah Nishtanah and progressing to Chad Gadya and Let My People Go, the dancers were part of an innovative French project called Flashmob Matzah that integrates music and dance. Enjoy!

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(A tip of the kippah to David el Shatran for bringing this video to our attention.)

Women Dance Towards Change in Bet Shemesh Flashmob

Last Friday, a group of 250 women from Bet Shemesh decided to raise their voices against the exclusion of women from the public domain by holding a mass public flashmob dance in the city square.

The women, residents of the city from all ages and sectors, religious, traditional and secular, gathered together in a flashmob dance to the sounds of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.

As Liron Nagler-Cohen reported yesterday in Ynet News,

The song was not chosen randomly, and neither was the timing. "We had all kinds of ideas," says Miri Shalem, the project's initiator and director of the Ramat Beit Shemesh community center.

"We thought, for example, about Aretha Franklin's 'Respect' or 'I Will Survive'. It was important that the song would be in English, so that the message would be conveyed abroad too."

The song was not chosen randomly, and neither was the timing. "We had all kinds of ideas," says Miri Shalem, the project's initiator and director of the Ramat Beit Shemesh community center.

"I Will Survive" was eventually dropped, "because we didn't want a connotation of survival," says Shalem. The rhythmic Queen song was chosen by the choreographer, Liat Amar, and the rest is history.

Flash mob is a way to convey a social message – and when religious and secular women dance together in the center of the city most identified with the exclusion of women, the message gets through.

The initiators – all social activists who hold management positions – set up a "women's council" several years ago, whose members are ultra-Orthodox, religious and secular women, veteran residents alongside new residents.

"We were very unhappy with everything that's happened recently in terms of the exclusion of women," adds Orna Nachmani, manager of the Beit Shemesh seminary.

"It was important for us not to attack a certain public, but on the contrary – to come and say that we have a voice. We expressed our voice through the dance."

Here's a video of the Bet Shemesh flashmob, followed by a video of the original Queen performance, with all the lyrics.

Enjoy!

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Flash Mob Surprises Shoppers and Diners on Jerusalem's Mamilla Street

On November 11, 2011 (11/11/11) shoppers and diners in the new Mamilla shopping district in Jerusalem were surprised when about 200 members of Hora Jerusalem erupted in a flash mob rendition of the popular Israeli song, Pit'om Kam Adam. 

The dance troupe is part of the Art Department of the Jerusalem Municipality, and performs under the auspices of the Israeli Ministry of Education. 

Hora Jerusalem ensembles perform a wide repertoire, which includes primarily Israeli folk and traditional Jewish dances, created especially for the troupes over the last 50 years, by the best of Israel’s choreographers. The ensembles also perform international folk dances, contemporary and modern Israeli dances. This blend of old and new dances provides a stimulating and memorable performance. The activities of Hora Jerusalem encompass many children, teenagers, adults and graduates of other troupes.

We love to share Israeli flash mobs, and we've been on the lookout for them. The last two we posted were the "flesh mob" on the beach at Rishon LeZion last year and the Michael Jackson Beat It flash mob at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station.

Today's entry is a class act with beautiful choreography and the characteristics of a true flash mob, its participants seeming to emerge from nowhere, and dissolving into the crowd at the end of the performance. The dance was choreographed and directed by Adi Gordon Rawlings.

The song, Pit'om Kam Adam (At Once a Man Rises) tells of a man waking up in the morning and feeling the strength of the people and nation of Israel that against all odds, rose to the occasion and created a country for themselves. An English translation of the Hebrew lyrics appears below the video.

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(A tip of the kippah to Sheila Zucker for calling our attention to this video.)

Suddenly a man wakes up in the morning
He feels he is a nation and begins to walk
And to all he meets on his way he calls out 'Shalom!'

Corn stalks are growing up behind him
Between the cracks in the sidewalks and lilac trees
Shower down rich fragance on his head
The dew drops are sparkling and the hills are a myriad of rays
They will give birth to a canopy of sunlight for his wedding

Suddenly a man wakes up in the morning...

And he laughs with the strength of generations in the mountains,
and the shamed wars bow down to the ground,
to the glory of a thousand years flowing forth from the hiding places,
a thousand young years in front of him
like a cold book, like a shepherd's song, like a branch.

Suddenly a man wakes up in the morning
He feels he is a nation and begins to walk,
and he sees that the spring has returned
and the tree is turning green since last fall's treeshedding.