Giving Poles a taste of popular matkot ball game (archives)
Photo: AP
Yemenite Step on Warsaw beach
Israeli Embassy sets up Tel Avivian seaside in Polish capital as part of annual festival of Jewish culture
Polish couples taking a stroll on the banks of Warsaw's Vistula River were surprised to find a Tel Avivian beach on the site, including popsicles, the popular matkot ball game and even Israeli folk dances.
Even the Polish weather imitated the Israeli heat for one day, with temperatures climbing to 32°C. Hundreds of young Polish men and women arrived at the site and took part in various activities.
The special beach was set up in honor of the Singer Festival of Jewish Culture held in the Polish capital annually. The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw has been working to add Israeli content to the festival in a bid to present different aspects of Israel to the Polish citizens, beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Alon Simhayoff, the embassy's cultural attaché, gave a speech on Israeli music, and the highlight was a lesson delivered by Polish-Jewish choreographer Michal Pirog, who led the participants through the steps of Hora and taught them how to do a Yemenite Step.
The local Tel Aviv Café, which has been active in the city for more than a year and was opened by a graduate of the Foreign Ministry seminar for young Jewish leaders, offered Israeli cooking workshops, while a Polish band wowed the audience with a jazz-klezmer performance.
The event was sponsored by the Israeli Embassy and produced by the Shalom Foundation.
"In Poland there is a lot of interest in Jewish culture and Jewish history, and Jewish festivals are held all across the country," said Cultural Attaché Simhayoff.
"Until today, the festival's audience was mostly older, and its image among young people was not very good. So we decided to recruit the Tel Aviv beach in order to attract a young audience and convey the proper Israeli spirit."
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