Discover, Watch, Listen: music and a courtroom

Israeli Opera: Somewhere

A few weeks ago, a video came out of 60 Jewish and Arab singers and musicians joined together on the Israeli Opera’s stage to record a special rendition of “Somewhere,” which was written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim for West Side Story. United on one stage, these beautiful musicians convey a message of hope for a better future for all in Israel. This was a special project of the Israeli Opera, the Galilee Chamber Orchestra (by Polyphony Education), the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University.

Koolulam: Like a Prayer

Koolulam put the call out for the human family to record themselves singing Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” to raise awareness and support for the hundreds of hostages in Gaza. Over 100 locations participated. Family and friends of hostages participated as well. The “Like a Prayer” video is a beautiful wish for the safe return of all of the children and adults who were abducted on October 7th.

International Court of Justice

Israel has been called to the International Court of Justice (the highest United Nations legal body) by South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and is requesting an immediate ceasefire by Israel. I would encourage you to watch Israel’s oral arguments here. The video is over three hours long and records arguments and testimony offered by Tal Becker, Malcolm Shaw, Galit Raguan, Omri Sender, Christopher Staker, and Gilad Noam.

You can read the complete transcripts (intensely legal documents significantly referenced with footnotes) of both the South African case and the Israeli case. One document is 85 pages long and the other is 75 pages long so the reading may not be easy, but this all provides us much to think about.

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From Rabbi Ilyse Glickman:

This is our ongoing blog series to introduce the DJC community to podcasts, books, websites, and other media offerings that may expand our understandings of the current war in particular and Israel/Palestine more broadly. I hope you listen/watch/read these recommendations with curiosity, openness, and empathy. Please let me know what you think about today’s offerings: rabbiglickman@djctoronto.com. I look forward to the conversation.