Main Stage

Mashina

Mashina, one of Israel's greatest contemporary rock/pop bands, is now reunited after breaking up in 1995. The group had an unstated reputation as the bearers of the national spirit and their influence is such that radio stations still dedicate tributes to the group. Mashina won the 2005 DVD of the year at the Israel Music Awards. They are credited for 13 albums to date.

Mashina's excellence derives partly from the band's original but evolving sound, which included early synth-pop and Madness-inspired saxophone pieces, to introspective Israeli-styled semi-folk/country inspired pieces, to harder, edgier rock. One of the signature sounds of the band, which runs through almost all of its pieces and which has since carried over into other Israeli groups, is its distinctive guitar sound; it bears a resemblance) to U2's raw edge, although Mashina's has a unique and distinctive Middle Eastern flavor.

Find out more about Mashina - visit their site: www.mashina.com

Mashina sound samples

Mashina - proudly sponsored by the Israeli community in the Bay Area.

Israeli Fashion Show

Featuring men's and womens clothing from Israels hottest fashion designers -- modeled by some of our own community leaders!

Click here to see a list of participating designers and for a list of Bay Area stores where you can find these fashions.

Community Sing-along

Join the world's biggest Jewish community sing-along that will take place at Israel in the Gardens. For singers of all ages!

"Shirat Haaretz" Songs of Israel

Performing on stage, over 100 Bay Area students from Jewish Day Schools and supplemental schools will join together in a choir to sing Hebrew songs of Naomi Shemer under the direction of Fran Avni. These beautiful songs, sung by our youth, will bring the spirit of Israel to Israel in the Gardens and showcase the talents of our local youth.

Performances and other activities

Opera Singer Yevgeni Shapovalov
Bay Area wide school choir
- Brandeis Hillel Day School, SF & Marin
- Tehiyah Day School
- Oakland Hebrew Day School
- Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School
- Yavneh Day School
- Congregation B'nai Emunah
- Congregation Beth Israel Judea
- Or Shalom Jewish Community
Doron (Nesher) & Joel (Ben Izzy) on the Map! (see Family Activities)
Lysaya Dance School
Win a vacation to Israel!
Enter the raffle to win a family vacation package to Israel. Stop by the Federation & Israel Center booths to get your tickets!

Israeli Film Festival
Continuously showing the best of Israel's recent
Drama, Comedy, Satire, Documentary and Animation Shorts!

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m: @ Action Theater inside the Metreon

Televised Satire- An award-winning satire and one of the most influential television shows that redefined the boundaries of the genre in Israeli society. Starring Dov Navon, Keren Mor, Rami Hoiberger, Menashe Noy, and Shai Avivi.
Written by Israel's top-notch writers including Etgar Keret, the most popular writer among Israel's young generation.

Established in 1989, The Sam Spiegel School is considered to be among the leading film and television schools in the world. The School's films represent Israel at some 80 international film festival annually such as Cann and Berlin, won the Best Film School in Europe an the World over seven times, and trained some of the best professionals in the history of Israel's film industry.
Screening: Personal Goals by Ran Carmeli 1996, Sea Horses by Nir Bergman 1998 (which later developed into the award winning Broken Wings), Cock Fight by Sigalit Liphshitz 2000, and Sliding Flora by Talya Lavie 2003.

A collection of short films by different artists premiered at the 2002 Jerusalem Film Festival. A joint initiative of the New Foundation for Cinema & Television, the Jerusalem Film Festival and TelAd/Channel: "We felt we had to do something about the situation, because we filmmakers have no weapons besides our camera, and so it should be… The films cover a wide range of genres, techniques and issues. This variety is a faithful reflection of the sometimes unbearable complexity of our feelings and interpretations, as Israeli citizens, to the present reality."

Animation Shorts from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design

Ever since its opening in 1906, Bezalel has been the most prominent academy of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture in Israel, and now holds one of the best animation departments in the country which cultivates some of Israel's best animators who are recognized world-wide. Screening a selection of animation clips from the last couple of years.