From a Dessert Festival in Kiryat Gat to Dror Mishani’s New Book: Weekend Recommendations
Muslim and Jewish stand-up come into a bar
Two new stand-up specials let you choose whether you prefer Jewish humor or Muslim humor. You can also have both. Ari Shaffir, in the show “Jew” (Netflix), performs at the tiny “Rolet” club in Brooklyn and talks about his childhood as a Haredi boy in Brooklyn who studied at a yeshiva in Jerusalem and, at 20, abandoned religion in favor of sex, drugs and stand-up. Shaffir jokes a lot about the religious lifestyle of his parents and ancestors, but ultimately prefers to laugh at other religions, with neurotic Jewish humor that will sound very familiar to Israeli ears.
On the other side, Ramy Youssef is an American comedian of Egyptian descent who has already become famous, among other things thanks to the sitcom named after him, or a successful supporting role in “Poor Things” alongside Emma Stone. His new stand-up special, called “In Love,” is available on HBO Max, and it is also filmed in a tiny club, in Chicago. Artistically, this special is interesting because it was shot on film and directed by Christopher Storer, the creator of “The Bear.” Youssef is a charming comedian, speaking softly, almost like he is confiding a secret, about the fact that he is not as religious as his parents would like, and that he and his wife are now at the stage where they prefer adopting a dog over having children, to the disappointment of his devout Muslim parents. Like Shaffir, Youssef also treats the pride of his religion with irony. He says he took a photo with Zohran Mamdani to support him in the New York mayoral election. “If he succeeds, I’ll tell everyone how proud it is to have a successful Muslim,” he says in the show. “But if he’s a failure, I’ll remind everyone that he’s half Indian, and the Indian half of him is the part that failed.”
All the sweets are moving south
The dessert festival usually held at Sarona Market in Tel Aviv returns in a particularly joyful, and even especially important, edition. Today and tomorrow it is taking place at Big Kiryat Gat Mall, in the new sprawling neighborhood of Kiryat Gat, where a large part of the Neir Oz community that was evacuated after October 7 still lives.
The festival will host some of the best sweet makers from the heavily shelled north, where the war has not yet ended, joined by pastry chefs, chocolatiers and confectioners from other parts of the country. For example, there will be the wonderful cookies of Koron, the acclaimed patisserie from Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot, I tasted them and they are wonderful, sweets from Tusha Bakery from Achziv Beach and from Yaeli Bakery from Regba. The talented Asaf Grushkowsky will sell handmade marshmallows and a sfogliatelle pastry, and Manal Ismail will offer knafeh, and that is really only a small part.
Album
I scream
Since she lost her partner and the father of her children, Shaldag fighter Ido Rosental, on October 7, Noga Friedman has not stopped creating. It began with the web journal that became the book “Yamim Ke’kalkalam,” continued with the graphic novella “Guf Rishon Rabim” and the documentary “Shum Davar Lo BeSeder,” which documented her life and work. Now she is releasing the album “Biladecha Itecha,” which she worked on over the past two years with Daniel Salomon, who composed the ten original songs she wrote with her, and is also responsible for the arrangements and musical production. The result is a beautiful album about pain, loss, longing, and a woman who remained to turn all of these into raw, honest, moving and love-filled art.
The music tugs at the heartstrings and recalls a little of Salomon’s work with the wonderful Dana Adini, especially on the song “Khi et HaZman.” The album opens with “Ani Tzeriha,” made up of clichés and advice given to anyone who has lost their dearest one, but Friedman sings, “I hear you and listen only to myself.” Friedman plays with words to express herself, and one line that stays in the mind and heart is “Hayeish shelcha kol kach einenu, ha’ayin shelcha kol kach yeshno” from the song “Kol Kach.” At the center of the album is a cover of Bill Withers’s “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which fits in naturally. “When I sing, it’s a little easier,” she sings in “Bamim,” proving once again that music is a wonderful tool for healing. In “Atah Lo Yodea,” she tells her beloved about all the things that have happened since he left. The album ends with two especially powerful lines: “We scattered you all over the world, so how can it be that you are not here.” Two festive launch shows will take place tomorrow and on 29.6 at Gray Tel Aviv.
Mystery without murder or a detective
Dror Mishani’s new thriller, “HaZdamnut Lifnei Acharona” (A House for Book), is a story about an apparently small lapse in judgment that derails the lives of several people. The novella, written in the second person, “you,” tells of a literary thriller translator from French, a widowed man who is quite lonely, who meets at a dinner with friends a woman who interests him, a cellist with a beautiful voice that keeps echoing in his head long after the meeting. After losing his wife, the translator did not believe that love awaited him again, and then it almost happens, until he makes a mistake, an unforgivable act, that puts the new relationship in danger and turns the romantic novel into a thriller.
The victim is love
Mishani, who became famous for the detective novel series about detective Avraham Avraham, knows how to capture reality in fine detail, human motivations, and the social background in which his stories take place, and despite the quiet tone of his writing, his stories are charged and dark. In this book there is no detective and no murder, but there are people who want a chance to start over, and do not always manage to choose correctly. In this thriller, the victim is love itself.
Back to the soundtrack of the 90s
The series “Florentin” is still considered one of the most significant Israeli cult series of the 1990s, a mythical series that became a symbol of a young Tel Aviv generation and captured the spirit of the era, young people after military service, shared apartments, temporary jobs and LGBTQ characters on screen. The iconic song “Makah Afura” by Monica Sex accompanied the series, which turned the Florentin neighborhood from a neglected area into a cool bohemian neighborhood everyone wanted to live in. Now, 30 years later, the series cast members, Nir Friedman, Karin Ophir and Uri Banai, are staging “Florentin HaMofet,” a musical evening with songs that accompanied the period, including Friedman’s “Chai BeFlorentin” and “Ochelet MiHaTzad,” Banai’s “Parparim,” as well as the series’ mythical opening song and more.
Friedman says, “They remind us of this series on a daily basis. It probably takes people back to a sweet point in their lives, and it doesn’t let up, after so many years people are still talking to us about it.” He notes that “the series was accompanied by amazing music of the period, and Monica Sex’s soundtrack sold tens of thousands of copies at the time, so we are presenting the songs that I call ‘life soundtrack.’” In the show, the trio reveals secrets from the set and talks with the audience, and Friedman adds that “videos from the period and clips from the series will be screened on the screen. We are starting preview performances to see how much we missed the audience and how much the audience missed us.” The next performances are on June 4 at Beit Tarbut Sheret in Petah Tikva, on June 9 at the auditorium in Kfar Saba and on June 27 at the Mishkan for the Arts in Ness Ziona, with an appearance by Yarmi Kaplan.
Timeless ease for summer at Gertrude
Gertrude has always understood what women in Israel want and taken their needs into account, comfort, quality, feminine and romantic minimalism with a nostalgic touch. The summer collection designed by Tal Rozenfraiv for the long-established brand founded in 1991 by Neta Tevet and Ruti Milgrom, who split 12 years ago and today Milgrom is the owner, is proof of that. It is more romantic and less nostalgic, but presents a relaxed line that blurs the line between tailored and casual, between indoors and outdoors. Japanese linen and cotton fabrics, light and pleasant to the touch, relaxed and loose cuts, harmonious natural colors, soft feminine silhouettes and effortless chic, this is a precise, timeless collection that suits the Israeli summer.
Since joining the brand in 2020, Rozenfraiv has sharpened her signature and the brand’s calm DNA. For example, the Linora linen dress with short sleeves and dropped shoulders can also be worn over Miro linen pants for a stylish updated look. Or the wide Miller pants with pleats and a drawstring, made of light and pleasant cotton fabric for a light look, paired with a basic T-shirt or a sleeveless shirt made of matching fabric in a clean tailored cut for a clean feminine look. To purchase, click here
Elite Minmar
