What an odd choice of guests for this year’s Israeli Presidential Conference, which began on Tuesday at the Jerusalem Convention Center: Colombian-Lebanese singer Shakira and Jewish-American stand-up comedian Sarah Silverman.
Let’s begin with the latter. Yes, she’s funny. Yes, she’s famous. Yes, she’s “it” right now. Yes, she’s Jewish. Yes, she has a sister who is a rabbi who is living in Israel. But does all of that qualify for adding her name to a list of some of the world’s greatest Jewish thinkers? Surely someone must have warned Israel’s last remaining elder statesman that he may be slightly uncomfortable sharing the stage with someone whose jokes include bits like “Auschwitz? Wowschwitz!” Though Peres emigrated from Poland in 1932, most of his family stayed behind and perished in the Holocaust, so there’s little chance he’ll chuckle. Maybe she’ll get more of a smile by coming up with new Israel-relevant material, including a parody of her Emmy award-winning performance that might go something like: “I’m F***ing Tzipi Livni.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3RYrQSir7k[/youtube]
And then there’s international Latin bombshell, Shakira, whose transformation from stocky brunette to curvy blonde paralleled her rise from domestic to international fame. The daughter of an American man born to Lebanese parents, in the past, she has been accused of harboring ill feelings towards the state at constant war with her grandparent’s homeland. What better photo-op to prove that’s not that case than visiting the Wailing Wall with boyfriend Gerard Pique, of Barcelona football fame? Oh right, sharing the stage with Israel’s president.
I’m not sure how either were picked. Perhaps Silverman was planning on being in Israel right now anyway (she’s performing later this week in Tel Aviv), so conference organizers – aware of the sensitivities of a global economic crisis – thought it wise to just book her. Hey, she can crash on her sister’s couch. No need to pay for a room at the King David or even a flight. And perhaps Shakira was a last minute fill-in. Her participation was only announced days ago, for a conference that is planned months in advance. Either she was only just confirmed, most likely after someone else bailed, or organizers knew that her attendance would cause a bit of controversy so they kept it hidden as long as possible.
A failed facebook campaign, not enough time
Getting wind of Shakira’s expected arrival in Israel, a group on Facebook quickly organized a campaign trying to convince the singer not to come. It did not work. She’s here. Had they had a month to prepare, they may have been more effective. Indeed, a number of stars bowed to pressure and cancelled visits to Israel, courtesy similar pressure groups. Singers like Elvis Costello blogged about their decisions not to come. Meanwhile, Macy Grey publically polled her fans about her dilemma and in the end decided she wanted to sing despite a potential backlash. Bob Dylan – a Jewish-American singer-songwriter, born Robert Allen Zimmerman – didn’t ask anyone what they thought and performed on Monday to adoring fans. No doubt his performance, and Shakira’s arrival – on the same day – marks a setback for boycott campaigns (which, in the interest of full disclosure, this author does not support).
Her hips don’t lie, so give her a chance
Shakira is speaking at the Conference as UNICEF’s goodwill ambassador, and the creator of the “Barefoot Foundation,” an allusion to the freedom she feels while dancing shoeless and to the number of children in developing country who don’t have access to footwear.
The foundation’s goal is to promote universal education for all children, quite a noble cause. And on Tuesday morning, she visited a UNICEF school in Jerusalem, the only such stop on her short visit here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGaHpq8wWLQ[/youtube]
It is nice to see the singer using some of her fame to promote such a genuine cause. So even if her invitation was all wrong, as some might argue, its balanced by the fact the her message is all right.