Editor’s note: Due to the ongoing security situation, this week’s edition mostly includes cultural options that can be enjoyed from the safety of your home.
FRIDAY, JUNE 20
Find some solace in these difficult times by enjoying the Israeli Philharmonic’s “In Your Home” option. This free service includes historical concerts such as the 1968 Independence Day performance conducted by Leonard Bernstein, and new productions such as Lahav Shani conducting Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2.
For more information, visit www.ipo.co.il/en/listen-from-home
SATURDAY, JUNE 21
Take in Concerto for Hagashash and Orchestra, a production by the Revolution Orchestra, which honored the now defunct trio of Yeshayahu Levi, Yisrael Poliakov, and Gavriel Banai.
The Hagashash comedy trio (also known as The Pale Tracker, and Hagashash Hahiver) worked with some of the best writers in the country, such as Nisim Aloni and Amos Kinan, and have gained a cult status that remains unrivaled.
The performance combines live music, with video recordings of the trio and their comedic sketches.
Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURCJ12hYxs
SUNDAY, JUNE 22
Visit Hasimta shop at 1 Rabbi Arye Street and meet Andrey Jazom Rakitin, designer of The Jerusalem Tarot cards deck.
Based on Jerusalem locations, such as Robert Indiana’s sculpture Love at the Israel Museum (The Lovers’ Card) or spring in Sataf (The Star), this deck will be inspiring and uplifting during these difficult times.
Interested in occult matters? Pick up Esoteric Symbols: The Tarot in Yeats, Eliot, and Kafka, by June Leavitt. Based on her doctorate at Ben-Gurion University, the book explores how these three remarkable writers used tarot cards.
Hasimta’s hours on Sunday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Due to the war with Iran, consider contacting Rakitin online to confirm that he will be there. Visit www.facebook.com/andrey.rakitin for more. Leavitt’s book can be ordered on Amazon for $44.
MONDAY, JUNE 23
Support Israeli punk rock by buying a digital copy of Hakuiak, a nonsense word invented by the band Come to the Bar (Bo Labar) and made public with their same-titled album released in June.
The sound is loud, and the lyrics are crude and very funny to those who enjoy this type of music. If so, consider the group Lama Ani Hai, (Why I Am Alive) with their hit song “Super Mario Jump a Little Bit Higher.”
Lama Ani Hai is at shorturl.at/Vkzb5; Hakuiak can be found at bolabar.bandcamp.com/album/ (NIS 40)
TUESDAY, JUNE 24
Before the Islamic Republic of Iran came into being, Tehran had an opera house. Enjoy the clear voices of Evelyn Baghtcheban and Pari Zangeneh in two albums that, sadly, sang a swan song to that aspect of Persian culture. These are the 1979 Rangin Kamoun and the 1976 record The Series of Music for Young Adults.
Visit parizangeneh.bandcamp.com to learn more. Rangin Kamoun is available via Spotify.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25
Watch the 2019 black comedy Born in Jerusalem and Still Alive via the Lev Cinema VOD service. Yossi Atia plays the lead role as a Jerusalem tour guide who leads people through historical sites where suicide bombing attacks had taken place.
Other offers include Here We Are and The Future, two Israeli films that might well be worth viewing if you missed them when they were in theaters.
Visit ticket.lev.co.il. NIS 19.99 per 48-hour viewing option.
THURSDAY, JUNE 26
Readers who visited the Jewish Museum of Maryland last month were able to catch the tail end of To Say I Was Here, an exhibition focused on Jewish musicians who recorded in the early 20th century in Ladino, Turkish, Greek, and Arabic.
Curated by Ian Nagoski, an anthology of these musicians, which includes Moses Cohen, Joseph Moskowitz, and Jack Mayesh, is now available online.
The next exhibition at the museum will be the works of Jewish-American illustrator Steve Marcus.
$5 for a digital album. Visit canary-records.bandcamp.com
Throwing a special event? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Email hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let In Jerusalem know about it. Write “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. Although all information is welcome, we cannot guarantee it will be featured in the column.