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JERUSALEM – Against a backdrop of national trauma, political polarization, and social unrest, the 64th annual Israel Festival is moving far beyond its traditional Jerusalem base in a bold, unprecedented effort to bring culture to the country’s physical and emotional periphery.
Set to take place from July 1 to 24, the 2025 edition of the Israel Festival is expanding its reach to towns and communities near the nation’s borders, including the Western Negev, the Golan Heights, and the Upper Galilee.
For the first time in its history, venues will include Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, Kfar Blum, Majdal Shams, Ofakim, Kibbutz Urim, and Kibbutz Tze’elim—places still reeling from the violence and displacement following Hamas’s October 7 attacks and the ongoing security crises along Israel’s northern and southern borders.
Titled thematically as a “dream of recovery amid the reality of war,” the festival seeks to use the healing power of art to reckon with the complexities of the national mood.
The program’s expansive geography reflects the organizers’ commitment to inclusivity and their belief that culture must go where it is most needed—not only to major cities but to the battered frontlines of Israeli society.
“Against the backdrop of the physical and social rehabilitation challenges of Israeli society, political polarization, and international isolation, we operate out of a deep belief in artistic creation as a unique tool for strengthening the fabric of shared life in Israel,” said Eyal Sher, the festival’s CEO.
“We hope that the works will bring light, tenderness, and compassion to the extremely difficult reality in which we are all placed.”
Sher is joined by artistic directors Itay Mautner and Michal Vaknin, who shaped the festival’s content with the current national climate in mind.
“This year’s festival stems from what is happening around us and within us,” they explained in a joint statement. “Its contents offer another perspective on our circumstances. At times, it takes a documentary perspective, and at other times, it is poetic and full of spirit.”
Their central message is clear: “Don’t look away. Don’t close your eyes.”
From Jerusalem to the Margins
The festival opens on July 1 at the Jerusalem Theater Plaza, where a special open-air amphitheater has been constructed to host the first of two gala concerts titled Music People.
The performance will pair young, emerging musicians from Israel’s North with veteran performers such as Amir Lev, Leah Shabat, Jane Bordeaux, and Daniella Spector. The show will reprise on July 17 at Tel Hai Academic College, underscoring the festival’s commitment to cultural decentralization.
On July 2, internationally acclaimed trumpeter Avishai Cohen will join the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra for From Ashes to Gold, a deeply personal composition suite based on Cohen’s eponymous 2023 album.
The work was written in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities and offers a soul-searching journey through grief, resilience, and creative rebirth.
Anchored in the National Consciousness
This year’s lineup is anything but escapist. The performances wrestle directly with trauma, identity, and memory—both personal and collective.
Among the most poignant is Brothers, a new album launch performance by musician Tuval Haim. Haim’s brother, Yotam, was kidnapped on October 7 and later tragically killed by IDF forces in a case of mistaken identity.
Tuval’s performance, featuring guests such as Tomer Yosef and ECHO, promises to be a searing act of remembrance and reconciliation.
Speeches Against Despair, a multidisciplinary production by comedian and writer Guri Alfi and performer Eli Haviv, offers a novel take on historical oratory.
Blending spoken word, music, and performance art, the show features a stellar cast including Noa Koller, Noga Erez, Norman Issa, Maya Landsman, and the Michael Ensemble.
Another standout is Al-Malab (The Pitch), a site-specific performance set on a damaged soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams.
The piece, co-created by Raed Shams and Yonatan Blumenfeld, dives into themes of childhood, memory, and fractured landscapes—both literal and metaphorical.
Art Meets Spiritual Inquiry
In a unique melding of scholarship and performance, Coming Home by Chaya Gilboa offers a performative Talmudic study experience, supported by an ensemble of artists including Maya Belsitzman, Orit Tshuma, Daniel Engel, and Liat Atzili.
This creative lesson explores the concept of “home” through religious texts, contemporary Israeli life, and artistic interpretation.
Meanwhile, the festival’s ambitious literary celebration Spurs marks 25 years of the Sapir Prize for Literature with a dynamic “takeover” of Jerusalem’s historic Hansen House.
The project brings together some of Israel’s most acclaimed writers—Etgar Keret, Esther Peled, Shimon Adaf, and others—alongside visual artists, musicians, and performers in a sprawling, interdisciplinary homage to the written word.
Healing Through Presence
What binds this eclectic lineup is a shared urgency—a need to confront the current Israeli condition not with propaganda or simplistic solutions but with complexity, honesty, and grace.
By staging events in regions close to the conflict—such as Kibbutz Urim and Kibbutz Tze’elim near the Gaza border—the Israel Festival sends a clear message: cultural life must not be quarantined to safety.
In its choice of venues and themes, the festival mirrors the fractured geography of the country and seeks to offer moments of unity through the collective experience of art.
It also offers a subtle but firm response to Israel’s growing international isolation, positioning artistic dialogue as a form of soft diplomacy and internal resilience.
The Power of Performance
Founded in 1961, the Israel Festival has evolved over the decades from a classical music event into one of the Middle East’s most comprehensive arts festivals, featuring theater, dance, visual arts, and multidisciplinary performances from both local and international creators.
Yet this year’s edition is perhaps its most introspective—and its most outward-reaching.
“This is not an ordinary year,” said Sher. “And this is not an ordinary festival. We are holding a mirror up to our society and asking: Who are we now? And what kind of future can we imagine?”
If the festival succeeds in its mission, that future might look a little more compassionate, more connected—and more courageous.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members