A Sizzling Celebration

Miami’s Jewish community gathered at a number of cultural events in honor of Israel’s milestone birthday.

by Shira Papir

While Israel’s 59th birthday was marked by a fair share of celebrations here in Miami, these were rather minute in comparison to the revelry that took place here for its 60th. While last year’s most memorable celebration was a five-mile walk around the city of Aventura, this year’s festivities began on March 26 with a performance by the Cleveland Philharmonic at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Its renowned conductor was Michael Stern, the son of noted musician Isaac Stern.

As the orchestra played the “Hatikvah,” the crowd remained standing as they did in the 10-minute ovation following the performance. With the impressive medley of violins, cellos and a star pianist they performed some of the very same symphonies (like Beethoven’s Fifth) that were performed by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra when Israel became a state on May 14, 1948.

On May 5, two nights before the major celebrations began, Israeli pop star Noah graced the stage at The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and performed an assortment of her original music along with traditional Jewish and Israeli music. She succeeded in bringing the audience to their feet in continuous applause during the entire show.

Of Yemenite decent, Noah was born in Tel Aviv and raised in New York until her return to Israel at the age of 17. Not only did she sing, but she also played an array of instruments throughout the performance. She even used her chest as a drum to create unique sound effects. Mist filled the stage for certain songs and the enthusiasm from the audience elicited two encores.

“It was a really incredible experience to see everyone singing along to the words of the Israeli songs,” said Rachel Fiske, a middle school student at Hillel Community Day School, who attended the show. “Noah had an amazing spirit that got everyone excited to celebrate Israel’s birthday.”

The festivities climaxed with the activities that took place at the Michael Ann Russell Jewish Community Center on May 7. The sizable campus was transformed to represent the entire country of Israel with each field, pool and gym representing a different city, ocean and desert.

The living-in-Israel experience began after school hours at 3 p.m. Once my friends and I received our mock passports at the mock Ben Gurion Airport, we had an afternoon of Israel fun ahead of us. We shopped in the shuk of Carmel, climbed Masada (on a rock climbing machine), got a Dead Sea massage treatment and even rode actual camels on the football field.

A massive model Western Wall was erected and an IDF boot camp was set up in the gymnasium which involved authentic Israeli training and rigorous physical drills. Those who participated had their faces painted with smooth paint for camouflage and even received dog tags. They emerged from the gymnasium drenched in sweat and eager to go relax in the Bedouin tents.

People were really impressed by these genuine Bedouin tents. On the JCC’s grassy field, tents were set up with straw blankets covering the cream-colored sand that was mixed into the luscious emerald grass. Teenage volunteers, clad in head wraps and robes, doled out Bedouin delicacies. Mouths watered at the sight of traditional sweet tea served alongside sticky croissants glazed with honey.

Israeli singing sensation Laila Malcos performed live to close the evening with high spirits to celebrate Israel’s 60th year of existence. She was born in Argentina and made aliyah in the early 1990s, combining her national salsa style with contemporary Israeli music.

While many of my friends and relatives were disappointed that they couldn’t spend Israel’s 60th birthday in Israel, the JCC compensated for the unfortunate circumstance with its artificial, yet heart-felt reproduction of the Israel experience. Their performance was truly outstanding as they brought the spirit of Israel to the JCC for a 24-hour period. People in the community continued to share effusive praise for the event well into the following week.

The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School and Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School also celebrated Israel’s birthday festively. The school called off all classes on May 8 and sent elementary school students to the soccer field to enjoy a carnival. Israeli music blasted through the speakers and permeated the entire school with energy and excitement. The school was adorned with blue and white balloons as well as streamers and 60 student-created posters about Israel’s history and people.

As the lower school students enjoyed their carnival of slides, bounce houses and rock climbing walls, the middle and upper school students participated in a blue-versus-white color war at a sports facility just 10 minutes away. The students were split into two teams and competed in baseball, soccer, basketball and football.

Before the carnival and color war, students gathered for a morning assembly that was conducted by two high school students from the Students Aligned For Israel (SAFI) club. Eighteen lower school students were selected to carry the flag of their home country. The waving flags represented countries including Cuba, Venezuela, Holland, France and Argentina. The students ran down the aisle after their name and country of origin was called and sat in assigned seats.

The pivotal moment came at the end of the program. The flag-toting students flipped their placards in unison to reveal all 18 flags comprising one big Israeli flag, symbolizing the Jews and Zionists all over the world in support of Israel.

One of the most memorable events that Hillel organized in honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut involved lower school students. Sixty days before celebrating Israel’s independence two students from each lower school grade were selected to write down their wishes and hopes for Israel on a piece of paper. The notes were placed inside biodegradable balloons and released into the sky.

Students had faith that no matter where the balloons landed, people the world over would understand the love and connection the students of Hillel day school have for the State of Israel.

Kohav Nolad (Israel’s version of “American Idol”) was simulated in the high school during the festivities of Yom Ha’Atzmaut. Students took to the microphones in groups and as solo acts singing karaoke to their favorite Israeli songs. This was the first time this was done at Hillel and was a huge hit amongst the enthusiastic high school singers.
Miami truly outdid itself in the celebratory events that filled the weeks leading up to and during the day of Yom Ha’Atzmaut. While Jewish Miamians could not be in Israel to celebrate the big 6-0 with their brothers and sisters, we still managed to make Israel’s 60th birthday one that Miami will never forget. n

Shira Papir is a sophomore at the Ben Lipson Hillel Community High School in North Miami Beach, Fla.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization