The Israeli-American Council (IAC) Celebrate Israel festival was held May 15 at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center. Speakers included Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles David Siegel, Miri Shepher, a board member of IAC’s Los Angeles office and others. The all-day event, which began at 11 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m., drew more than 15,000 attendees.
Israeli-Iranian pop singer Rita closed out the festival. Rita, whose last name is Yahan-Farouz, sings in Hebrew, Farsi and English. Her announcement that her set was over prompted the crowd to chant “Od paam!” Hebrew for “once more!”
Festival attendees David Leifer and David Fox discussed with the Jewish Journal what message they would like to send to the people of Israel. Leifer, who shares the same birthday as Israel, appears on the left in the video.
The full story comes out later this week.
