Judaism Through the Arts
Thursday, April 19, Congregation Beth El
Israel Fest
Sunday, April 22, Simon Family JCC
Screenwriting professor by day, Tel Aviv DJ by night, Eyal Rob is a Tel Aviv guy, a native of that highly cosmopolitan metropolis of 440,000 people (the same size as Virginia Beach) on the Mediterranean. Tel Aviv is the financial and technological center of the country. “It’s also a fun town,” says Rob, who has built a career as a musician, actor, and teacher with a big following in his native country.
Rob will be in Tidewater entertaining a variety of audiences with his wit, wisdom, and insights on the music scene and life in Israel.
Spinning tunes on Thursday, April 19 at 6:30 pm at Congregation Beth El in Norfolk for the Simon Family JCC, CRC, and community partners’ Israel Today series, along with Congregation Beth El’s Judaism Through the Arts, he’ll help the community celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s 70th Independence Day, the same day Israelis are, with a free event.
Attendees of Israel Festival will have the opportunity to listen, dance, and learn with Rob, co-founder of Israel’s first music television channel, Israeli journalist and culture critic as he shares tunes from Israel’s past 70 years, on the main stage of Israel Fest on Sunday April 22.
Israeli Chef, Guy Alfandari will be in Tidewater, too.
A popular caterer in New York, the Tel Aviv born Guy is an expert in international cuisine. Bites by Guy features Israeli cuisine along with other traditional dishes served across Israel from Yemen and Morocco, Poland and Russia, and Egypt. “My grandfather was a chef, and my dream my entire life was to cook and bake like him,” she says. “I started making sweet desserts, and then clients began asking for more foods. So now I do it all.”
At Israel Fest, prepare to feast on authentic Israeli Street Food, including:
• Pierogi, a central European dumpling filled with sweet onions
• Spicy Moroccan fish, served with challah
• Bahsh, Bukharin green rice with meat
• Jahnun, a Jewish- Yemenite pastry, served with boiled egg and fresh tomato sauce
• Araies, an Egyptian flavored mix of beef and lamb meat in pita bread
So bring dancing shoes, an appetite, and of course family and friends for a musical and gastronomic experience of a lifetime, and activities for the entire family. And remember, at 2:30 pm, make sure to be on the JCC’s back field for the creation of the community’s largest ever, Israeli flag.
– Joel Rubin