Back to the gardens

Bay Area birthday bash for Israel returns to Yerba Buena
Friday, May 20, 2005 | by dan pine

Storyteller Joel ben Izzy has more than a few choice tales about Israel in his rhetorical bag of wares. He plans on telling as many as possible next month at the annual Israel in the Gardens festival in San Francisco.

As a teaser, Ben Izzy describes a beggar he once encountered in Jerusalem who single-handedly rewrote the definition of chutzpah: "He looked at the shekel I gave him and said 'I want dollars.' Then he brought out a credit card machine."

Ben Izzy is a fixture in the Bay Area Jewish community, and his appearance at Israel in Gardens is only one of many highlights at this year's event.

Returning to San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens on Sunday, June 5, after a turn in SBC Park last year, Israel in the Gardens brings together the disparate elements of the Bay Area Jewish community in an annual celebration of Israel's independence.

This year, for Israel's 57th birthday celebration, participation is even greater than in the past. In addition to the usual tag-team of the S.F.-based and East Bay-based Jewish Community Federations, the Sacramento and Silicon Valley federations are on board as well, all sharing the tasks of creating the event.

"They are all part of the planning committee," says Israel in the Gardens director Caron Tabb. Adds event co-chair Jan Reicher, "Bringing in the sister federations helps promote it further. They become sponsors financially and they then have ownership of Israel in the Gardens."

Similarly, event organizers have gone to great lengths to reach out to the Russian and Israeli wings of the Bay Area Jewish community. Direct advertising in Russian and Hebrew increased this year, and the event itself will be a trilingual affair.

"The Israelis feel really comfortable coming to the event," adds Tabb. "They hear Hebrew, they meet their friends. It brings a taste of home."

Last year 13,000 people attended Israel in the Ballpark. Yerba Buena Gardens has a 10,000 maximum capacity at any one time, but Tabb says she expects attendance to top last year.

Reicher raves about the event committee, as well as the mutually positive spirit with which they completed their work.

"It's heavy lifting every year," she says, "but the meetings have been very lively, with members from all across the community: Russian, Israeli, tried-and-true donors, Camp Towanga, Brandeis, JCRC."

As always, Israel in the Gardens will feature live music (headliners this year, the Israeli band Mashina), yummy food, belly dancers, extensive children's activities and a "shuk" (Middle Eastern-style bazaar). Booths sponsored by local and Israeli retailers and artisans, Jewish community organizations and more will line the perimeter, with more than 60 organizations participating. "What this says," Reicher notes, "is that the community is behind us."

This year, planners have cooked up a few twists to the basic game plan, most notably an Israeli fashion show and an Israeli film festival.

And then there's ben Izzy, who teams up with an Israeli counterpart, Doron Nesher, to engage in some cross-cultural storytelling. They're calling it "Stories from the Map of Israel."

"We have a huge map of Israel," says ben Izzy. "We'll be standing on the map talking about Israel, jumping from place to place. We'll start with a symphony of cell phones. This is a chance to share little stories about what makes Israel such a wonderful, frustrating but thoroughly endearing place."

Last year, attendees showed up at SBC Park and had to run a gauntlet through a phalanx of noisy anti-Israel protesters. Security has always been a concern for event organizers and this year is no different.

"As we do every year, we put in place a huge amount of security measures," reports Tabb. "We met with the FBI, security consultants, the Israeli consulate. SFPD has people in place. It's a very secure venue."

That should permit attendees to enjoy a day in the sun and direct a little love and psychic energy towards the state of Israel, which is looking pretty good for 57.

"Our focus," says Tabb, "is to create an event to make this community feel proud, and not be shy about Israel's right to exist in peace."

Adds Reicher, "We need to come together as a community, whether Israelis, Americans or Russians, and celebrate our connection to our homeland."