New radio station encourages dialogue
A Jewish-Muslim Internet radio station was launched in Britain.
Salaam Shalom Radio, which began operating in Bristol last month, will broadcast music and programs highlighting different aspects of Jewish and Muslim life, to “allow two cultures which have been linked for thousands of years to talk together and share their experiences,’’ according to the station’s Web site.
The Internet radio station is the main focus of the Salaam Shalom project, designed to help encourage dialogue and understanding between the Muslim and Jewish communities in Bristol and beyond. — jta
L.A. opera features persecuted artists
The Los Angeles Opera received a $4 million grant to highlight pieces by Jewish artists whose work was affected by the Nazis.
Opera board member Marilyn Ziering, whose late husband was a Holocaust survivor, donated more than $3 million to the “Recovered Voices” project, and raised the remainder from private donors.
Music director James Conlon is conducting concerts for the project, which will include the work of composers such as Alexander Zemlinsky, Kurt Weill, Erwin Schulhoff and Viktor Ullman. “The Third Reich silenced two generations of composers, the greatest single rupture in what had been a centuries-long stream of German classical music,” Conlon said in a statement quoted by Playbillarts.com.
“We have a special opportunity at L.A. Opera to present works recovered from oblivion and at the same time mitigate a great injustice. We can take an important step toward reviving the music of those whose lives were affected by the Holocaust or whose work was otherwise deemed ‘offensive’ by that authoritarian regime.” The series began this month. — jta
NYPD detains, releases Israeli producers
Producers of an Israeli television dance show said they were detained as a potential security threat while taping in New York.
Yoav Tzafir and Tzivka Hadar, who produce the hit televised contest “Born to Dance,” said Sunday, March 4 that while preparing to tape the final episode in New York the previous week, they accidentally found themselves in neighboring New Jersey. They decided to capitalize on the navigation error by taping the ride back, but their cameras attracted the attention of undercover police.
Arrests and interrogations followed. “The police officers thought we were gathering intelligence for the Iranian army,” Hadar said. “After we showed them the photographs of the contestants, they let us go.”
“Luckily for us everything worked out,” he added, “and we even invited the police officers to the finals.” — jta
IDF ‘Last Supper’ fetches astronomical price
An ironic photo homage to Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” featuring Israeli soldiers in typical green uniforms and black boots gathered on one side of a long table sold recently for $264,000 at Sotheby’s in New York — a price three times greater than anticipated.
The 5-by-3 foot photograph was taken in 1999 by Israeli photo artist Adi Nes and had previously been exhibited in Tel Aviv, San Diego and Chicago.
The poll is in — Jews love Matisyahu!
After a month of voting on the Web site jvibe.com, the final tally is in for the annual Jewish Music Awards — and Chassidic rapper/reggae artist Matisyahu is wearing a pair of golds.
The Phish follower turned Chabadnik topped the poll for Best Jewish Album (“Youth”) and Most Innovative Music. The new artist most likely to stick around is Golem, and Best Music Act You Wish Would Refer More to Being Jewish is Jack Black. Miri Ben-Ari was voted Best Israeli Artist and Rich Recht won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California