Cleveland Israel Arts Connection - Fall Journal

THEATER

MUSIC

FILM

DANCE

LITERATURE

VISUAL ARTS

Roe Green, Honorary Producer CELEBRATING

10 YEARS

OF ISRAELI ARTS & CULTURE

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION

Dear Friends, It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since the inception of the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection. Your support has made our dreams of success a reality!

In that time we have welcomed over 100 Israeli musicians, authors, visual artists, dancers, choreographers, actors, filmmakers, and we connected personally with dozens more on the two amazing arts and culture missions to Israel we led in 2015 and 2018. All this has been accomplished in partnership with 50 outstanding Cleveland arts organizations.

The breadth of our program would not be possible without our patrons and sponsors. We are so grateful for their past and continued support, especially in these uncertain times. Their generosity has allowed us to present to Northeast Ohio the vibrant array of arts and culture created in Israel that we have come to expect and enjoy.

On the following pages of this journal, you will see a retrospective of some of the offerings of the past ten years. Additionally, a few of our friends have written essays about their relationship with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection. While we could not include all of our partners, we’d like to extend a special thank you to Brian Amkraut, Deborah Bobrow, Jane Glaubinger, Nathan Motta, Mary Ann Ponce, Terri Pontremoli, Barbara Tannenbaum, Thomas M. Welsh, and Pam Young for sharing their stories.

We want to acknowledge one thing that is not included in this journal: our most significant collaborative project, the Violins of Hope (VOH). Five years later, VOH continues to inspire people locally as well as nationally, as other communities emulate what we did here in Cleveland. We are so grateful to CWRU, Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, and The Cleveland Orchestra, as well as the many other partners who brought this project to life.

Due to these unprecedented times, our arts community has been severely impacted. While the ability to experience arts and culture in person has been severely limited, we invite you to take advantage of as many virtual opportunities as possible.

The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Facebook group is updated

BECOME A PATRON

OF ISRAEL ARTS & CULTURE

Join our Patron Society and help ensure high-quality, thought-provoking, and emotional Israeli arts and culture continues in Cleveland.

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Erica Hartman-Horvitz & Roe Green

almost daily with myriad ways to connect with the Israeli arts scene. If you are not already a member, we invite you to join; simply search for Cleveland Israel Arts Connection from your Facebook account.

Please be sure to check our website regularly (https://www. jewishcleveland.org/involved/arts) and our Facebook page for the virtual programs that we’re continuing to sponsor and create.

We look forward to the time when we can all gather in person to enjoy the magic, inspiration and creative world of Israeli arts and culture. Until then, we wish you good health and happiness.

Next year in Cleveland!

Warm regards, Roe Green

Erica Hartman-Horvitz P.S. from Erica: To my friend Roe Green. None of this would be possible without you. As Honorary Producer, you are the driving force behind the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection. It is my pleasure to co-chair this amazing program alongside you. Congratulations on receiving the very well-deserved 2020 Cleveland Arts Prize Martha Joseph Award for contributing to the vitality and stature of local arts.

You will enjoy “Meet the Artist” receptions through our exclusive Arts & Culture Salon Series, name recognition in the twice yearly arts brochures and on www.jewishcleveland.org, plus the satisfaction of knowing you are helping connect Cleveland and Israel through the arts.

For more information about the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Patron Society, please contact Hedy Milgrom at hmilgrom@jcfcleve.org or 216-593-2850.

VISUAL ART

IF YOU THIRST FOR A HOMELAND Flame-worked glass by Dafna Kaffeman A collaboration between the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection and the Chrysler Museum of Art Trudy Wiesenberger, Curator, Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D., Curator, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Opening 2021 Roe Green Gallery Jewish Federation of Cleveland Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

“If You Thirst for a Homeland and Seek Shelter in Its Bosom, Love It and Live in Its Mountains and Valleys, Its Flora and Fauna.”

Flame-worked glass, felt, letter stencils, 2017

Israeli born glass artist Dafna Kaffeman has been challenging viewer’s notions about tolerance, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and morality in Europe, the United States, and Scandinavia.

Photo: Debra S. Yasinow

Her exquisitely crafted plant specimens, made in flame-worked glass from Israel’s natural world, are combined with embroidered texts. Handkerchiefs, often associated with mourning, are the backdrops for many of the glass plants. Inspired by nature, her pieces convey the complexities of life in Israel. Her work ignites an intellectual and emotional response.

Kaffeman began her studies at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem and received her BFA at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. In 2002 she received her MFA from the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. She now heads the glass department at Bezalel. Her work has been exhibited in the Corning Museum of Glass, the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Sponsored with support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

“Sometimes things that aren’t being said are said by not saying anything.”

Flame-worked glass, embroidery, handkerchief, 2018

“Jerusalem Sage” Flame-worked glass, embroidery, handkerchief, 2019

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VISUAL ART

Exhibition: Bezalel on Tour

“Absolute Naked 5” by Hila Lulu Lin Exhibition: Prints from Kibbutz Cabri

Emanating Diversity

Jane Glaubinger Retired Curator of Prints, The Cleveland Museum of Art The visual arts in Israel are exceedingly vibrant, encompassing a multitude of aesthetic approaches and a wide spectrum of themes and concerns often rooted in a common cultural experience.

Diversity was the premise of Prints from Kibbutz Cabri, an exhibition I curated in 2013 for the Roe Green Gallery. The Gottesman Etching Center, a modern, well-equipped printmaking workshop at Kibbutz Cabri in northern Israel, enables artists to explore a variety of printmaking techniques to express their vision. The selection included the large, roughly hewn figurative woodcuts of Ofer Lallouche and the diminutive etchings depicting the medieval Monfort Crusader Fortress in the Upper Galilee by Yigal Ozeri.

“Michal and David / Jaffa Road”

by Ivan Schwebel Exhibition: David’s Journey

Emblematic of Israeli identity, the land itself, steeped in historical and religious significance, has been the focus for several artists shown in the Roe Green Gallery. While Michael Kovner’s paintings reveal the artist’s deep emotional response to nature and to the beauty of Israeli landscape, Sigalit Landau has made the Dead Sea an active component of her work. Landau sinks everyday objects into the Dead Sea, which has nine times as much salt as regular ocean saltwater.

The salt calcifies forming a thick shiny white layer, transforming the item into a sculpture, the process an analogy for love, loss, growth, and hope.

Other exhibitors, like Shony Rivnay, experiment with the formal issues of painting such as color and shape and his bright abstractions of biomorphic forms investigate the relationship between the elements in a painting. Shai Azoulay, also a strong colorist, sometimes depicts a multitude of objects, allegorical symbols of ritual, ceremony, and mysticism. Each artist, in their own way, adds to the complexity and richness of Israeli contemporary art.

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VISUAL ART

“Hora” by Moshe Matosovsky Exhibition: Israel: Land & Identity, Artworks from the Levin Collection, Jerusalem

“Salt-Crystal Bridal Gown VIII”

by Sigalit Landau with Yotam From Exhibition: Growth & Change

ARTISTS & CURATORS Arie Azene • Shai Azoulay • Samuel Bak • Oded Balilty • Bezalel Academy of Art & Design • Frédéric Brenner • A. Will Brown • Natan Dvir • Yotam From • Emma Gashinsky • Jane Glaubinger • Tamar Harpaz • Elinoy Kisslove • Efrat Klipstien • Michael Kovner • Lisa Kurzner • Sigalit Landau • Daniel Levin • Ofer Levin • Hanoch Piven • Shony Rivnay • Ivan Schwebel • Tal Shochat • Sharon Tal • Chen Tamir • Barbara Tannenbaum • Trudy Wiesenberger • Nevet Yitzchak 5

VISUAL ART

“Tapuach (Apple)” by Tal Shochat Exhibition: The Desert Shall Rejoice and Blossom

“Chasing Thoughts” by Shai Azoulay Exhibition: One Hour a Day

“Off the Ruling Class, A Multimedia Installation”

by Nevet Yitzhak Exhibition: moCa Cleveland

PARTNERS FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art • Gordon Square Arts District • Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage • moCa Cleveland • SPACES 6

VISUAL ART Exposing Israeli Art

Barbara Tannenbaum Chair, Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, and Curator of Photography, The Cleveland Museum of Art Long before I visited Israel, I was familiar with the work of Israeli artists who are established figures in the contemporary art scene. As a curator specializing in photo-based art, I also had the pleasure of one-on-one meetings with emerging Israeli photographers through review sessions. These are unique to the photo world. These speed-dating-like encounters made me realize that there was a much deeper and richer art scene in Israel than we saw or read about in the United States.

Thanks to the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, I was able to visit Israel in spring 2017 on a trip organized for curators and art critics by a non-profit organization called ArtIs. It was my first time in the country. Our itinerary was a feast of riches.

In addition to numerous studio visits, trips to galleries and museums underscored the fact that there were many more marvelous artists than we would have time to meet in person.

That was not a surprise.

“Abu Tor” by Michael Kovner Exhibition: The Landscape: Jerusalem and Beit Shean

There was a revelation, however—one that sheds light on the importance of projects like the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection and the Roe Green Gallery. I was surprised by how limited opportunities are in Israel for artists to support themselves through sales of their art. This is true in the United States, too, but we have an alternative: a large network of colleges and universities where artists can earn a decent living through teaching. Most of those professors use their income to underwrite the expenses of producing artwork. Israel, with its much lower population, has just a handful of universitylevel art departments and art schools, so a teaching career is not an option. Israel has a lively, if small, gallery scene, but a very limited number of Israeli collectors of Israeli art. And corporations there have not built substantial collections of art.

The only way for most Israeli artists to build enough of a career to work at their art full-time is to get their work shown abroad, where there is greater opportunity for recognition and for sales. ArtIs’s purpose is to promote Israeli artists around the world, opening new markets for their art just as many Israeli corporations enlarged by expanding their client base beyond the country’s borders. By bringing Israeli artists and performers to our city, the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, through the Federation’s Roe Green Gallery, plays a vital role in promoting Israeli culture and perhaps even more importantly, in supporting individuals so they can create their art.

“Moses” by Hanoch Piven Exhibition: Piven World

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LITERATURE

Brian Amkraut Executive Director, Siegal Lifelong Learning at Case Western Reserve University

The Siegal Lifelong Learning Program has long recognized the valuable contributions that Israeli writers have made to the general field of world literature and the specific genre of Jewish literature. As with other areas of world culture, innovation, and intellectual engagement, the state of Israel punches well above its weight in the literary realm, with scores of acclaimed authors and recipients of some of the world’s most coveted literary prizes and awards.

Photo: Moti Kikayon

Israeli Literary Art in the 21st Century

Eshkol Nevo

During the late twentieth/early twenty-first century, the ‘Big-3’ of Amos Oz, David Grossman, and A.B. Yehoshua dominated both within the world of Hebrew letters and globally with translated works in dozens of languages (Siegal proudly partnered with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection to welcome both Oz and Grossman over the years). More recently, the ranks of acclaimed Israeli authors have diversified to include successful writers representing a more accurate cross-section of Israeli society than the secular male Ashkenazim who dominated for so long. Highly successful female authors such as Nava Semel, Dorit Rabinyan, and Ayelet Tsabari have joined us in Cleveland, and even greater diversity can be seen in up and comers Ayelet Gundar-Goshen and Emuna Elon.

Photo: Colin McPherson

Contemporary Israeli satire is clearly evident in the work of Etgar Keret, whose short stories have graced the pages of The New Yorker, in addition to his highly successful novels.

As is the case with successful fiction throughout the ages, these Israeli authors delve deeply into the humanity of the Israeli characters they present, and thereby tell universal stories even if framed in the parameters of the highly turbulent constantly changing political environment of the modern Middle East. The Siegal Lifelong Learning Program is pleased to continue partnering with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection to bring these author’s works and their personal stories to our community.

Etgar Keret

Amos Oz z”l

AUTHORS Vadim Blumen • David Grossman • Yossi Klein Halevi • David Horowitz • Sayed Kashua • Etgar Keret • Eshkol Nevo • Amos Oz • Dorit Rabinyan • Ruvik Rosenthal • Ari Shavit • Ayelet Tsabari 8

LITERATURE

Dorit Rabinyan

Sayed Kashua

David Grossman

PARTNERS John Carroll University • Mandel Jewish Community Center • The Laura & Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at CWRU 9

DANCE

Israel: An Incubator for Contemporary Dance Pam Young Executive Director, DANCECleveland

Each December dance presenters from around the world arrive in Tel Aviv for ‘International Exposure,’ a showcase of Israeli dance companies at the beautiful Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theater.

I had the great good fortune of attending in 2008, where over 100 representatives from presenting organizations, saw over 50 dance companies and works. This ‘Exposure’ to Israeli dance companies results in hundreds of international performances. These dancers are, in many ways, cultural ambassadors for Israel as well as thought leaders in the art form of dance.

It was here that I first saw Vertigo Dance Company in a full-length performance. It was ‘love at first sight’ although it took over ten years to bring them to Cleveland for a performance at the Ohio Theatre in 2019. We were excited to present them again as part of our 2020 Dance On! Virtual Summer Dance Festival.

Photo: Uri Nevo

Cleveland is fortunate to have the innovative Cleveland Israel Arts Connection program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. I know of no other community that has a program to support and promote the remarkable artistry of Israeli dance, theatre, and visual artists along with the organizations that are presenting this work. Through this program, the Federation has provided sponsorships to DANCECleveland for Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollock Dance Company, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, and Vertigo Dance Company. It would not be possible for us to bring these esteemed dance companies to Cleveland without this support and help. Thank you, Jewish Federation!

“If At All” Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company

“Shadowbox” GroundWorks DanceTheater Composer: Oded Zehavi

CHOREOGRAPHERS & DANCE COMPANIES

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Ohad Fishof • Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company • Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company • Ronen Koresh • Vertigo Dance Company • Noa Wertheim • Noa Zuk

DANCE

“It was here that I first saw Vertigo Dance Company in a full-length performance. It was ‘love at first sight’...” ~ Pam Young

Photo: Gadi Dagon

“One, One & One” Vertigo Dance Company

“Oyster” Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Company

PARTNERS DANCECleveland • GroundWorks DanceTheater • Kent State University School of Theatre & Dance • National Center for Choreography at University of Akron 11

FILM

“Heading Home: A Tale of Team Israel” A film by Daniel Miller, Jeremy Newberger, and Seth Kramer

Award-Winning Documentaries

Mary Ann Ponce Founder and Director, Chagrin Documentary Film Fest The Chagrin Documentary Film Festival has been proud to partner with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection for ten years now and to highlight talented Israeli documentary filmmakers. We’ve seen the rise of several prominent Israeli documentarians. Several of the films have won awards, including the Best International Documentary Award to “Before the Revolution” (2013) directed by Dan Shadur and the Audience Choice Award to “You Only Die Twice” (2019), directed by Yair Lev. It was a thrill to have these filmmakers on hand to receive their awards and to experience the impact their films have had. It is extremely enlivening for our audience to welcome fascinating Israeli filmmakers to the Festival over the years, including Mr. Shadur and Mr. Lev. These wonderful documentary films from Israel have given our audience a window into the Israeli art scene and the films have received a lot of buzz at the Festival.

“You Only Die Twice” A film by Yair Lev and David Den

FILMMAKERS Yael Bartana • Enosh Cassel • Duki Dror • David Fisher • Yehonatan Indursky • Ella Kohn • Yair Lev • Eran Polishuk • Dan Shadur • Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov 12

FILM

Story-Telling at its Finest Deborah Bobrow Arts and Culture Director, Mandel Jewish Community Center

Each season as the Cleveland Jewish FilmFest Committee embarks on the film screening process, there is sense of awe at the sheer number of new films coming out of Israel each year. Quality dramas, documentaries and short films covering a variety of historical and contemporary topics are reflected each year. In recent years we have been fortunate to incorporate Israeli TV series in the festival program which adds expanded access to the talented professionals in the Israel film and TV industry. The delight in seeing our “old friends” over and over again cast in different roles exemplifies our strong connection to the Israeli actors and directors.

We felt immense pride to see Daniel Sivan’s success with the Netflix series “The Devil Next Door,” knowing that his visit to the Cleveland Jewish FilmFest the year prior, with two of his documentaries, facilitated access to several local interviews and filming opportunities for his newest project about John Demjanjuk.

“My Hero Brother” A film by Yonatan Nir

When selecting films, the screening committee routinely discusses the Jewish content in each film.

We made a conscious decision several years ago to approach Israeli films a little differently. We concluded -- What’s more Jewish than a film set in Israel spoken in the Hebrew language?

We are grateful for the amazing support of the community for the Cleveland Jewish FilmFest and to the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection specifically for their encouragement and support to showcase the best of Israel’s flourishing arts and culture scene in Cleveland.

“Fill the Void” A film by Rama Burshtein

PARTNERS @Akiva • Chagrin Documentary Film Festival • Cleveland Cinemas • Cleveland Institute of Art • Cleveland International Film Festival • Jewish Education Center • Mandel Jewish Community Center • The Park Synagogue • WVIZ/PBS ideastream 13

THEATER

Conflict and Love

Nathan Motta Artistic Director, Dobama Theatre As I walked down a treelined thoroughfare in Tel Aviv I passed small stands selling coffee and refreshments until the end of the street opened up to reveal the Habima - the national theatre of Israel. I thought of the wonderful play “King David,” that I had seen there the afternoon before.

“On the Grill” by Dror Keren Cars and buses rushed by as I walked Dobama Theatre another kilometer or so until I came upon the impressive Cameri Theatre complex. The Cameri building holds a number of different theatre spaces and they all had things playing that night. Audience members moved like bees in a hive scrambling to make their way to their seats before the lights went down. It reminded me a bit of a busy airport, not just because of the number of people rushing about, but also the diversity of the people I saw. The audience was old and young, seemingly from all income levels and parts of the city. As I walked into the theater to see Dror Keren’s “On the Grill,” I noticed a number of Israeli soldiers in uniform scattered throughout the audience. These were young people about to take in a show with friends and family just like everyone else.

When the performance began, it all felt very familiar. The lights went down, the music began, and everyone settled in for the action to start. But very early on I realized that this experience would be a bit different. There was a deeper connection in the room I hadn’t felt before. When the sound cue of a jet roared through the speakers, there was a knowing tension in the hall.

When a song was sung on stage, many patrons joyfully sang along to songs they’d known since their childhood. And when a young man in the story received a call that he must report to the border where a conflict arose, there were understanding murmurs of many in the audience.

Good theatre requires two things, conflict and love. Without conflict, nothing happens, and without love, no one cares. In Israel I found both. I was introduced to a country that has endured generation after generation of living in an area of conflict. But I also found a nation whose people show a deep love for their culture, their arts, their fellow citizens, and humanity. All that came through in the theatre I experiences. When Dobama Theatre produced the English language and American premiere of “On the Grill,” it was a joy to bring that important story to Northeast Ohio. But it also felt important to connect the lives of the people I had been introduced to in Tel Aviv with the lives of the people in my Cleveland community.

Dobama Theatre is delighted and honored to be a partner of the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection and we look forward to our continued partnership and future programs. It is our hope to bring another important Israeli play, “The Tunnel” by Roy Chen, to Greater Cleveland in the coming years. We’ll be collaborating with the playwright on the development of the English translation and hope to mount the American premiere in a future season. Once this global pandemic has passed, it will be essential for us to gather together once again for the communal experience of live theatre. Dobama Theatre will do all it can to be ready to welcome our shared community back to the theatre when that moment comes. Until then, stay healthy, be safe, and let’s take care of each other.

ACTORS, PLAYWRIGHTS & THEATER COMPANIES Emanuella Amichai • Eran Biederman • Yuval Boim • Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv • Roy Chen • Davai • Aaron Davidman • Ami Dayan • Roy Horovitz • Dror Keren • Nalaga’at Deaf-Blind Theatre Company of Tel Aviv • The Visual Theatre of Emanuella Amichai 14

THEATER

“Wrestling Jerusalem”

by Aaron Davidman Cleveland Public Theatre

“Not By Bread Alone” Nalaga’at Deaf-Blind Theatre Company of Tel Aviv Playhouse Square

“Under Construction” Davai BorderLight International Theater Festival

PARTNERS BorderLight International Theater Festival • Cesear’s Forum • Cleveland Play House • Cleveland Public Theatre • Dobama Theatre • Great Lakes Theater • Interplay Jewish Theatre • The Musical Theater Project • Playhouse Square • Talespinner Children’s Theatre 15

MUSIC Jazz Knows No Boundaries

Terri Pontremoli Artistic/Executive Director, Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland Tri-C JazzFest has been extremely fortunate to partner with the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection for over a decade. Since the first brainstorming session at Starbucks with Debbie Yasinow and Israel Wiener, it has been a wonderful relationship that has resulted in presentations by the likes of Ester Rada, Anat Cohen and The Hazelnuts.

Under the auspices of the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection in 2015, I had the honor of attending a showcase of Israeli jazz and world music artists in Israel. It was deeply touching to witness the reverence these musicians had for American jazz and to feel the connection between our two cultures through this soulful and significant art form. The memory still burns brightly. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for the amazing presentations the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection has made possible in Cleveland.

Anat Cohen

Ester Rada

MUSICIANS & COMPOSERS Ariel String Quartet • Avi Avital • Omer Avital • Joshua Bell • Yefim Bronfman • David Broza • Capaim • Anat Cohen • Ron Dank • Avner Dorman • Duo Amal • Tamar Eisenman • Alon Goldstein • Daniel Gortler • Hadag Nachash • The Hazelnuts • Maya Isac • Israel Philharmonic Orchestra • Jerusalem String Quartet • Rami Kleinstein • Yaron Kohlberg • Yasmin Levy • Yoni Levyatov • Mayumana • Adi Neuhaus • Noa • Amit Peled • Matan Porat • Ester Rada • Idan Raichel • Or Re’em • The Rimon School of Jazz & Contemporary Music • Rita • Gilad Segev • Gil Shaham • The Shimons • Amitai Vardi • Ilan Volkov • Amnon Weinstein • Shai Wosner • Or Yissachar • Oded Zehavi • Itamar Zorman 16

MUSIC The Hazelnuts

Photo: Christie Goodwin

Avi Avital and Omer Avital

PARTNERS Apollo’s Fire • BlueWater Chamber Orchestra • Case Western Reserve University • ChamberFest Cleveland • CityMusic Cleveland • Cleveland Institute of Music • Cleveland International Piano Competition • The Cleveland Museum of Art • The Cleveland Orchestra • Cleveland State University • Cuyahoga Community College • Maltz Center for the Performing Arts • Nighttown • One World Fest Cleveland • Opera Circle • Tri-C JazzFest • Tri-C Presents • The Western Wind

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MUSIC World Music: At Home in Israel and Cleveland

Thomas M. Welsh Director of Performing Arts, Music and Film, The Cleveland Museum of Art In this unprecedented moment where all live concert activity around the world has come to a complete standstill, we’re given a once in a lifetime chance to really stop and reflect on the meaning of music and performance in our lives – not only how much we miss it right now, of course, but also our interdependency and deep need to be connected with creative spirits around the world. I am thinking of some of the great highlights of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s performing arts series in recent years, especially those artists who have traveled to us thanks to the museum’s working relationship with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

People still talk about the Idan Raichel Project concert in Gartner Auditorium in February 2013, vividly recalling the power of that show – both its energy and volume! Raichel’s band, one of the most popular in Israel, really shook the rafters that night. For those who remember it, and for those who pull me aside on occasion, don’t worry – we’re trying to get Idan back to Cleveland, and it will happen again someday.

Yasmin Levy

Then when our friends at the Ashkenaz Festival in Toronto phoned to tell me they were coordinating a tour for Ethio-Israeli singer Gili Yalo in August 2018, I jumped at the chance to include him on our popular City Stages, the museum’s free, outdoor global music series. We presented Yalo and his amazing band of (mostly) Israeli musicians on the south terrace overlooking the Fine Arts Garden – the stars and the weather aligned to make for a beautiful, rocking night of music inspired by the golden age of Ethiopique African pop music from the ‘70s.

Mandolinist Avi Avital stopped in Cleveland during his short tour of the US in February 2019 with his remarkable quartet co-led by bassist/oud player Omer Avital. Best known as a virtuoso classical musician, Avi is also a first-rate improvisor and composer, whose group – the aptly named Avital meets Avital – works the seams between jazz and folk music based on Mediterranean sources and Israeli harmonies. This was a really exciting band that deserves to be much better known – and I’d remiss if I didn’t mention their wonderful pianist Yonathan Avishai, and mind-bogglingly great drummer Itamar Doari.

Photo: Gaya Saadon

Idan Raichel

Gili Yalo

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Last November, at the invitation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, I was fortunate to be one of just three American presenters who traveled to Jerusalem for “Israel Showcase for Jazz and World Music,” an international festival designed for a deep dive into the greatest music of the moment going on in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. In an action-packed four days I heard a wide variety of Israel’s best contemporary musicians – some of whom already know Cleveland well, it turned out – and came home with inspirations and ideas for the future. This ongoing dialogue with the great artists of Israel, thanks in no small part to our local partnership with the Federation and Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, has been crucial to expanding the museum’s offerings for our audiences. I know you’ll agree with me when I say I can’t wait to get back to the business of presenting live music in the museum and around town. Meanwhile, we can enjoy these artists and more online – have fun exploring!

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection is a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, connecting our community with the most dynamic 21st century cultural experiences that Israel has to offer. Working in partnership with Northeast Ohio’s leading arts organizations, we strive to identify, enhance, promote, and create unique and engaging Israeli cultural opportunities.

J. David Heller, Board Chair Erika B. Rudin-Luria, President

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION ADVISORY GROUP

The Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

is brought to you by these generous individuals and foundations:

Roe Green, Honorary Producer STAR PATRONS Roe Green Foundation Richard Horvitz & Erica Hartman-Horvitz Robert & Susan Immerman Karen & Alan M. Krause

Roe Green and Erica Hartman-Horvitz, Co-Chairs Edna Akrish Leslye Arian Ziona Austrian Eric Baer Samantha Baskind Zeda Blau Richard Bogomolny Amy Budish Rebecca Carmi Reneé Chelm Joanne Cohen Deena Epstein Natalie Epstein Marc Freimuth Mady Friedman Barbara Galvin Peter Galvin Matthew Garson Jay Geller Valerie Geller Jane Glaubinger Florence Goodman Rochelle Gross Lilli Harris Rebecca Heller Stephen H. Hoffman Joan Horvitz Sara Hurand Bob Immerman Susan Immerman Robert Jackson Roseanne Kadis Susan Koletsky Susan Krantz Karen Krause

Lisa Kurzner Leora Lanzola Daniel Levin Karen Levinsky Toby Lewis Irwin Lowenstein Evan Miller Linda M. Olejko Gloria Plevin Debbe Deutch Rabinowitz Deborah Ratner Barbara Robinson Sharon Rosenbaum Linda Sandhaus Nancy Schwartz-Katz Charna E. Sherman Anita Siegal Scott Sill Marjorie Simon Margaret Singerman Ivan Soclof Marilyn Soclof Cathy Stamler Marla Comet-Stark Robert Stark Barbara Tannenbaum Richard Uria Herb Wainer Susan Wasserman Penni Weinberg Elie Weiss Judith Weiss Trudy Wiesenberger Ruth Wolfson

STAFF Rachel Lappen, Chief Development Officer Hedy P. Milgrom, Senior Development Officer Israel Wiener, Israeli Arts & Culture Consultant Debra S. Yasinow, Director, Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

PLATINUM PATRONS Stanley I. and Honnie R. Busch Memorial Endowment Drs. Jane Glaubinger & Eric Baer Toby Devan Lewis Steve & Penni Weinberg GOLD PATRONS Richard Bogomolny & Patricia Kozerefski The John and Peggy Garson Foundation Harley & Rochelle Gross Robert & Eileen Sill Family Foundation Sara Hurand & Elie Weiss Idelle Wolf

SILVER PATRONS Zeda W. Blau Barbara Robinson Rebecca & Irad Carmi Sharon & Bruce Rosenbaum Marc Freimuth Linda M. Sandhaus, M.D. Barbara & Peter Galvin Charna E. Sherman Florence Goodman Michael & Anita Siegal Family Lilli Harris Foundation Amy & Steve Hoffman Marjorie Simon Shachar Israel Margaret Singerman Jewish Arts Endowment Fund Richard & Beverley Uria Roseanne Kadis Herb & Jody Wainer Hedy & Michael Milgrom Susan Wasserman Gloria Plevin Judith Weiss Ashley Hartman Robinson Trudy & Steve Wiesenberger

FRIENDS The Edna & Yair Akrish Family Leslye Arian Deena & Richard Epstein Jonathan Freilich Debra S. Yasinow

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NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID CLEVELAND, OHIO PERMIT NO. 581

Jewish Federation of Cleveland Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive Cleveland, Ohio 44122

The Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection is brought to you by these generous Sponsors:

Roe Green, Honorary Producer PLATINUM SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR

The Leonard Krieger Fund of the

SILVER SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSORS