Robb Zelonky is scheduled to appear in Irvine after a two-month tour of California, bringing a special show with songs tailored to Jewish culture. He has also produced four secular CDs.
Some years ago, folk diva Chava Alberstein discovered the rundown immigrant neighborhood around the south Tel Aviv central bus station. For the Israeli superstar, the area became a refuge, a place to stroll or sip coffee unmolested by fans. The residents were foreign workers from countries such as China, Thailand, Nigeria and Romania.\n\nBut as their numbers swelled to replace Palestinians after the intifada, Alberstein — considered Israel\’s Joan Baez — saw conditions deteriorating.\n\n\”These people are brought to Israel, their passports are confiscated so they can\’t go anywhere and they\’re forced to live in the worst situations,\” she said. \”You see people crawling out of the most unbelievable hovels. It\’s bothered me for a long time.\”
It may have been a silent film, but Paul Wegener made an international noise with "Der Golem." The 1920 German Expressionist classic — screening April 21 at the Skirball Cultural Center — remains a popular incarnation of the Golem.
Maybe the post-apocalyptic parking situation was a tip-off. The overcapacity of automobiles surrounding Woodley Park seemed to confirm that this year\’s Israeli Independence Day Festival outdid itself in terms of spectacle and attendance. An estimated 50,000 attended, festival director Yoram Gutman confirmed, making this year\’s festival the biggest yet. As Gutman told The Journal, \”There are so many Israelis who live in the Valley, so maybe that has something to do with it. I never saw so many Persian Jews and American Jews.\”
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