Koolulam Organizes Singers in 100+ Locations to Raise Awareness of Hostages in Gaza

Koolulam led an international musical project advocating for the return of the hundreds of abducted civilians currently being held in Gaza by Hamas. Our loved ones. 

More than 100 locations around the world took part in this urgent call. The song for this project was chosen by Tamar Forti, who lost her brother, Nir at the Nova peace party. As Madonna's fan, she found comfort in this song's lyrics and asked Koolulam leaders to use it to raise awareness for the hostage situation. 

The special video was produced in collaboration with The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv and the families of the abducted and missing forum to raise awareness for the hostage situation worldwide. 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

 

 

Media and PR: Sharon Malin – Sharonmalin.malin@gmail.com For further information follow us on Facebook:   / koolulam   Follow us on Instagram:   / koolulam   Sign up to our Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2AxJpNv #Koolulam #bringthemhome #bringthemhomenow The song – Madonna's – 'Like a Prayer' (1989). Original Lyrics and production by Maddona and Patrick Leonard Musical arrangement & production - Nitzan Zifroni and Ben Yaffet Video Music video director & chief Editor: Yair Tamir Video clip editors: Maor Keshet, Matan Ben Shimol Alisan Davidi and Roy Kreizman Graphic design: Eyal Armor After effects - Eran Moshketal Technical support - Studio Omer Leshem Camera Crew Cinematography - Uria Sayag Cinematography - Nir Maman X-jib operators - Daniel and Yitzchak Hanit Camera assistant - Yerahmiel Adler Camera equipment - AG Production Solutions Lighting additions equipment - Hakol BAKOL Amplification additions equipment - Israel Raz Rehearsal room - Rafsoda, Savta studio Stills photographer - Tali Raz Stage Conductors: Roni Stav & Matan Ben Shimol Children's Choir: Neve Oz Bands and Petah Tikva Stage Sounds, under the direction of Samdar Horowitz Lightning designer: Ziv Holtzman Head of sound: Sela Wisblom Choirs and congregations from Israel and the world Koolulam credits Founders - Michal Shahaf, Ben Yaffet and Or Teicher Director, Koolulam Israel - Limor Abkasis Chief Producer - Assaf Diamant Artistic director - Yotam Kushnir Line Producer - participating countries - Bella Fisher Koolulam production team - Dafna Hillel, Guy Maor, Yara Konfino Gabai, Corail Maman, Hadar Levy Translation - Ella Widislavsky Social networks photography: Hillel Mish'an Special thanks To The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv team: Haim Sela and Adi Polak The staff of the kidnaped and missing forum - Nimrod Arlok, Tzahi Eliyahu, Gazit Kolton, Dorit Gvili, and Almog Israelov. Amir Feingold. Big Thanks to all of the musical conductors around the world who took part in this project and didn't stay silent: Galit Shear - London, England Tamara Samuel - Sydney, Australia Kenneth Birnbaum (SAR High School), Naomi Cohen & Adena Korn (Abraham Joshua Heschel School), Daniel Henkin (Ramaz Upper School) - New York City Alasdair Ong - Hong Kong Carey White - USA/New Jersey Escuela Olami ort Mexico (teacher Donna Rotblatt) - Mexico city Lisa Jacobson - Ashwood Victoria - Australia Reesa Pawer - Canada\Richmond Beny Zekhry - Brazil Justin Kett/Sacks Morasha Jewish Primary School - London, United Kingdom Dor Magen Kiryat Tiv’on - Israel Cantor David Rosen - Toronto, Canada Jessica Alterman - Argentina Oren Kaunfer - USA Kayla Sawoski - Los Angeles, CA United States Anthea Canes - Los Angeles Corey Fooks - Australia, Melbourne Kristian Summerer - USA/Doylestown Clive Noble - Haifa, ISRAEL Radim Raszka - Family Gospel Ostrava Czech Republic/Ostrava Maria Haegele - Germany.Bochum Laura Wolfson - Canada/Oakville Buki Silber - USA/New York Melissa Valverde - Costa Rica Paula Baruch - Canada, Hamilton, Ontario Buki Silber - USA/New York Martín Nisnevich - Argentina - Buenos Aires Tzameret Ben David - Silicon Valley, California David Niego - Bruxelles IVOR JOFFE - CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA Liyu Lu - Western Galilee. Israel Alain Picard - Switzerland Marcela Obermeister Shasha - Amsterdam The Netherlands Adi Gafni - Portugal, Lisbon Mindy Escobar - Leanse - El Paso, TX USA Dela Huettner - Switzerland/zurich Tamar Pinto - Washington DC Leah Peer Denver Colorado, USA Cantor Judy Adelman Gershon - Toronto Canada Brian Scott Maui, HawaiiNaama Perel - Pittsburgh, PA, USA Michael Ballak cameraman, Marcela Obermeister - Netherlands Jack Leopold - Waterville, Maine Jewish community of Uruguay URUGUAY Jack Leopold - Waterville, Maine, USA Liyu Lu - Chinese Community.China Adi gafni - Lisbon Portugal Jonathan Shapiro – Connecticut, USA Nisa Felps - Baltimore, Maryland, USA Marcela Obermeister Shasha – The Netherlands

Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center and Koolulam Bring 2,000 People Together to Sing "Lean on Me"

We just can't get enough of Koolulam, the extraordinary Israeli mass singing phenomenon, that brings people from all walks of life who hadn't met before to sing popular songs together.

Koolulam has been doing this since 2017. It's a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society.

The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a single collaborative musical creation. At Koolulam, the audience is the artist.

Every participant enters as a unique individual and comes out, while still unique, as a part of a larger whole.

For every Koolulam event, a different well-known song is chosen to be performed. The musical team works hard toward each event, putting together a fresh and innovative arrangement of the chosen song. They write new instrumental arrangements as well as an original three-part vocal arrangement.

On September 14, 2022 the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center invited Koolulam to bring their magic to its sanctuary to remind its members to lean on each other. Watch the results of the voices of 2,000 people singing Lean on Me together!

Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Koolulam Gets 1,000 Participants to Sing "One Day" in Hebrew and English in Karmiel

In June 2022, the Jewish Community of Pittsburgh visited Israel on their Mega Mission to Israel. "The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh" and "Partnership2Gether" invited residents of Karmiel and Misgav to sing together with the social-musical initiative Koolulam. 

Over 1000 participants learned to sing a harmonized version of the song One Day in English and Hebrew.

The musical engine behind Koolulam is Ben Yefet, a gifted music educator and conductor. He creates arrangements for the songs, teaches them in about 45 minutes, and then conducts the humongous ad-hoc choirs for the recordings. As the events have grown in size, Yefet has been joined by co-conductors and musicians.

Koolulam was established with the goal of bringing together people from all walks of life by means of a collaborative musical creation. In each event, a new rendition of a well-known song is taught to participants and is immediately thereafter performed.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

Happy Birthday Israel! Tonight the Jewish World Celebrates Israel's 74th Independence Day

Chag Sameach to all of our readers and to the State of Israel in celebration of its 74th Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day). The celebration starts tonight at the conclusion of Yom Hazikaron and continues all day Thursday.

Today we're posting a tribute to the land of milk and honey. With a background of Israelis of all ages joining Koolulam singing Chai (We are alive) the video travels the length and breadth of the country with familiar scenes of popular sites and a clip of David Ben Gurion proclaiming the state in 1948. 

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Koolulam Salutes Bravery of Israel's Medical Crews Fighting Covid-19

Koolulam is the singing project that brings Israelis from all walks of life who hadn't met before to sing popular songs together.

Koolulam has been bringing people together for four years. It's a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society.

The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a single collaborative musical creation. Koolulam brings together people from all walks of life to do one thing: stop everything for a few hours and just sing – together. At b, the audience is the artist.

Every participant enters as a unique individual and comes out, while still unique, as a part of a larger whole.
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For every Koolulam event, a different well-known song is chosen to be performed. The musical team works hard toward each event, putting together a fresh and innovative arrangement of the chosen song. They write new instrumental arrangements as well as an original three-part vocal arrangement.

On Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, Koolulam gathered around 300 of Israel’s medical crews to salute their bravery with facing Covid-19 and to sing the Shlomo Artzi song Tetaaru Lahem (Imagine Yourselves) together at the Torch-Lighting Ceremony on Mt. Herzl.

The English translation appears below.

Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

ne yourselves a beautiful world

Less sad than it is

And we are walking there with the sun in our pockets

And above the rooftops, The stars

And the time goes by fearless

And I am going to meet her in heaven

 

Imagine yourselves some joy

Beacause it is so rare around here

A cool city in the dark and both of us under the blanket

She caresses me and says

Whatever you wanted will happen tomorrow

And she is full of reflactions of sadness and happiness

 

Imagine yourselves in a middle of a beautiful day

The sky is above you, The love is with you

Yes, That's the way it happened, suddenly she said

I can still remember her, like in a storm

Imagine yourselves me falling into her arms

 

Imagine yourselves a simple world, a room for a night, a house in the rain

Tree scents filled with strawberries, And both of us are drunk

"If we ever break up i'll die", she whispers nervously

Imagine yourselves another chance of suddenly returning to youth

https://lyricstranslate.com

 

 

Teta'aru Lachem (תתארו לכם)

Imagine Yourselves

תתארו לכם עולם יפה

Imagine yourselves a beautiful world

פחות עצוב ממה שהוא ככה

Less sad than it is

ואנחנו שם הולכים עם שמש בכיסים

And we are walking there with the sun in our pockets

ומעל גגות, הכוכבים

And above the rooftops, The stars

והזמן עובר בלי פחד

And the time goes by fearless

ואני הולך לפגוש אותה בגן העדן

And I am going to meet her in heaven

תתארו לכם קצת אושר

Imagine yourselves some joy

כי הוא כל כך כל כך נדיר כאן

Beacause it is so rare around here

עיר מגניבה בתוך החושך ושנינו בשמיכה

A cool city in the dark and both of us under the blanket

והיא מלטפת אותי ואומרת לי

She caresses me and says

"מחר יקרה מה שרצית"

Whatever you wanted will happen tomorrow

והיא מלאה השתקפויות של עצב ושמחה

And she is full of reflaction­s of sadness and happiness

תתארו לכם באמצע יום יפה

Imagine yourselves in a middle of a beautiful day

שמיים מעליכם, האהבה איתכם

The sky is above you, The love is with you

כן, ככה זה קרה, לפתע היא אמרה

Yes, That's the way it happened, suddenly she said

אני עוד זוכר אותה, כמו בסערה

I can still remember her, like in a storm

תתארו לכם אותי נופל לתוך זרועותיה

Imagine yourselves me falling into her arms

תתארו לכם עולם פשוט, חדר ללילה, בית בגשם

Imagine yourselves a simple world, a room for a night, a house in the rain

ריחות עצים מלאים בתות, ושנינו שיכורים

Tree scents filled with strawberri­es, And both of us are drunk

"אם נפרד אני אמות", היא לוחשת וגועשת

"If we ever break up i'll die", she whispers nervously

תתארו לכם עוד הזדמנות לחזור פתאום לנעורים

Imagine yourselves another chance of suddenly returning to youth

תתארו לכם את החיים, זזים אחורה וקדימה

Imagine yourselves life, moving backwards and forward

מה שחסר שוב מתמלא, מה שהיה פתאום ישנו

Whatever is missing is getting filled again, Whatever once was is now here

ואני מביט לתוך עיניה ונגנב בכוח פנימה

And I look into her eyes and lose my mind from the power within

תתארו לכם אותנו מגשימים את כל החלומות

Imagine yourselves us fulfilling all of our dreams

תתארו לכם באמצע יום יפה...

Imagine yourselves in the middle of a beautiful day...

תתארו לכם עולם יפה, פחות עצוב ממה שהוא ככה

Imagine yourselves a beautiful world

ואנחנו שם הולכים, עם שמש בכיסים

Less sad than it is

(תתארו לכם עולם יפה, עיר בתוך החושך)

And we are walking there with the sun in our pockets

עולם פשוט, תתארו לכם קצת אושר

(Imagine yourselves a beautiful world, A city in the dark)

 

Koolulam Brings 8,000 Strangers Together to Sing About Love

The amphitheater in the Mini Israel Park at Latrun is home to some of Israel’s greatest outdoor summer concerts. The concerts at Latrun are conveniently located for the center of the country, and attract some of Israel’s greatest musicians every year. The intimate venue, with beautiful peaceful surroundings is a brilliant place to enjoy great music.

On August 15th, 2019, 8,000 people came together at the Latrun amphitheater to sing about love and how it triumphs everything. This happened thanks to one newlywed couple called Yariv and Elinore, who after participating in Koolulam events that strengthened their love, decided to fund a mass singing event instead of a traditional wedding. 

This enabled thousands to experience what they had felt while attending a Koolulam event almost two years ago. And this is what it looked like... Koolulam is a social-musical initiative, meant to bring together people from any and all walks of life. The idea is to simply stop everything for a few hours and just sing - together.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Koolulam Brings 2,000 People Together to Sing Mahapecha Shel Simcha

We just can't get enough of Koolulam, the singing project that brings Israelis from all walks of life who hadn't met before to sing popular songs together.

Koolulam has been bringing people together for two years. It's a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society.

The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a single collaborative musical creation. Koolulam brings together people from all walks of life to do one thing: stop everything for a few hours and just sing – together. At Koolulam, the audience is the artist.

Every participant enters as a unique individual and comes out, while still unique, as a part of a larger whole.

For every Koolulam event, a different well-known song is chosen to be performed. The musical team works hard toward each event, putting together a fresh and innovative arrangement of the chosen song. They write new instrumental arrangements as well as an original three-part vocal arrangement.

In this video, Koolulam brought 2,000 people together in the Jezreel Valley to sing a new three-part vocal arrangement of the song Mahapecha Shel Simcha (A Revolution of Joy) to celebrate Israel's 70th birthday. It took just under an hour to learn all the parts.

Enjoy! 

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

Yavneh Academy Gets the Koolulam Spirit with "Hallelujah"

We've been posting the singing extravaganzas of the Israeli Koolulam ever since they started the project for Israel's 70th Independence Day celebration last year in Tel Aviv.

Koolulam’s popularity has soared since then, with Israelis jumping at the opportunity to come together with thousands of strangers — to sing. But it's popularity hasn't been limited to Israel. The idea has become infections and has stimulated groups of singers to come together in other locales.

The excitement has reached Paramus, New Jersey, home of the 77 year old Yavneh Academy, a modern Orthodox co-ed yeshiva. On Yom Haatzmaut last month, the entire student body came together to sing Hallelujah in their own version of Koolulam.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Koolulam Unites Israel (Tower of David) and America (AIPAC Conference) in Song

On March 24th, at the general session of the AIPAC Annual Conference in Washington D.C., Koolulam brought 18,000 people together to sing an original song for the first time in Koolulam history. 

Together with a simultaneous broadcast of 1,000 Israelis singing the same song at the Old City of Jerusalem, the United States and Israel sent a message - the two countries are connected for good.  

Koolulam is a social-musical initiative, meant to bring together people from any and all walks of life. The idea is to simply stop everything for a few hours and just sing - together.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THEPLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

Koolulam: Bringing People Together in Song for Two Years

As Israel prepares for the last day of Passover, blue and white flags are going up in the streets and on the highways as the country gets ready for the 71st anniversary of its establishment in 1948.

We have fond memories of all the new music videos that were released just a year ago for the 70th anniversary, especially the Koolulam production that brought together 12,000 Israelis from all walks of life who hadn't met before to sing together in a special event with the artist Shlomi Shabat, accompanied by the Jerusalem Street Orchestra.

Koolulam has been bringing people together for two years. It's a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society.

The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a single collaborative musical creation. Koolulam brings together people from all walks of life to do one thing: stop everything for a few hours and just sing – together. At Koolulam, the audience is the artist.

Every participant enters as a unique individual and comes out, while still unique, as a part of a larger whole. 

For every Koolulam event, a different well-known song is chosen to be performed. The musical team works hard toward each event, putting together a fresh and innovative arrangement of the chosen song. They write new instrumental arrangements as well as an original three-part vocal arrangement.

This ILTV video tells the whole story. Enjoy!

We wish you a happy and kosher last day (or days) of Pesach and Shabbat shalom. We'll be back with a new blog post on Sunday.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

‘One Love’ Video Released from Koolulam Singdown at Tower of David

On June 14th, in honor of the historical visit to Israel by Indonesia’s religious leader Sheikh Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, Koolulam invited 1000 people who had never met before to a special event at the Tower of David in Jerusalem, to sing one song, in three languages and in three-part vocal harmony. 

The event was produced in conjunction with the Tower of David museum and Jerusalem.Com.

The song was Bob Marley’s iconic “One Love,” in English, Arabic, and Hebrew.

We previously posted the Koolulam performance of Al Kol Eleh to celebrate Israel's 70th anniversary in April. 

The musical engine behind Koolulam is Ben Yefet, a gifted music educator and conductor. He creates arrangements for the songs, teaches them in about 45 minutes, and then conducts the humongous ad-hoc choirs for the recordings. As the events have grown in size, Yefet has been joined by co-conductors and musicians.

Koolulam was established with the goal of bringing together people from all walks of life by means of a collaborative musical creation. In each event, a new rendition of a well-known song is taught to participants and is immediately thereafter performed.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.