Blue and white birthday

IT was something old, something new, and a lot of blue and white at Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations on Monday evening.

New was the venue: L’chaim Yisrael was the first Yom Ha’atzmaut concert to be held at St Kilda Town Hall.

Also new was the Kochav Nolad contest, a variation on the Israeli TV talent quest, the finals of which were staged in front of 2000 partygoers during Yom Ha’atzmaut revels at Luna Park.

The winning act – picked by both the judging panel and by the public in an online poll run by The AJN – were singers Yarden and Carmel Raz.

The musical duo was later introduced on stage at the St Kilda Town Hall concert by AJN national editor Zeddy Lawrence to perform the prize-winning song.

Of a riper vintage were comperes at the gala event, Jack Felman and Lena Fiszman, in their familiar bobba and zaida caricatures, with help from Allen Brostek, the third member of their Los Trios Amigos troupe.

But the most venerable image of the night was that of Melbourne grandfather Bernard “Dov” Henenberg, born in 1932, and a veteran of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.

His feats, which included defending Tel Aviv as it was strafed by Egyptian aircraft, and warding off Iraqi tanks near Tulkarem, were recognised with an official decoration, authorised by

Israel’s Defence Ministry, and presented by Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Yuval Rotem.
Addressing the capacity audience of around 800, the envoy described Israel as “a vibrant democracy”, a constant in the region amid “shifting sands from Pakistan to Gibraltar”.

Rotem spoke of Israel’s many achievements, from science and agriculture to the arts, adding, “Let us raise our eyes to the day when peace will number among our greatest achievements.”

Zionist Council of Victoria (ZCV) president Sam Tatarka chronicled Israel’s struggle to find peace amid hypocrisy from the United Nations and “confused signals” from Washington.

Singers Rachel Elberg, Matan Franco, Anita Lester, Elliot Freeman and Troy Sussman belted out new and familiar material, while models strutted their stuff on the catwalk, in a showcase of Israeli fashion.

Organisers paid tribute to outgoing ZCV executive director Ginette Searle, who produced the concert, her last before becoming the Zionist Federation of Australia’s executive director.

After the concert, more than 400 young adults partied at Out of the Blue, a late-night birthday bash for Israel.

PETER KOHN