[Dixielandjazz] Jazz, Juggling & School Supplies for Sderot Children

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

After a busy week, I have managed to put together a report of our
entertainment foray into Sderot on Monday. The report speaks for itself, so
without further ado, here it is:

Monday, August 27, 2007—Sderot, Israel. As the summer heat and humidity
reach their peak in the north-western Negev Desert and the summer vacation
draws to a close, the families of Sderot are getting ready to send their
children back to school. Why are these children different from most other
Israeli children? They are different because their schools sit within range
of Kassam rockets fired by Arabs from Gaza, just a few kilometers away. The
modest town of Sderot might not attract attention from anyone but its own
residents, were it not for the fact that Sderot has been the most popular
target of the terrorists in Gaza for the past several years. The rocket
attacks have only become worse since the deportation of some 8,000 Jewish
families from what was formerly Gush Katif along the Gaza coast in 2005, a
move conceived and executed by the Ariel Sharon Government as an alleged
gesture toward peace.

The relentless, daily rocket attacks have driven many of the residents of
Sderot from their homes. However, many have stayed, either out of Zionist
idealism, sheer courage, or perhaps they have nowhere else to go. Local
business are struggling to survive. And one can only imagine the
psychological effect of daily barrages of rockets on the children and adults
alike, particularly since the Israeli government is doing precious little to
put a stop to the attacks, and the rest of the country goes on with business
as usual.

Some organizations and individuals in Israel are making efforts to support
the people of Sderot with material and moral support. Wanting to contribute
to the cause, the Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band has found opportunities to
visit Sderot and to work in conjunction with a non-profit organization
called Standing Together (www.stogether.org), run by David Landau of Efrat.
Today was our third venture into Sderot to provide entertainment while David
and his crew do their great work.

The order of the day for David Landau’s people was to distribute school-bags
and school supplies to over 1000 children who will return to school next
week—some in bomb shelters or fortified school facilities, and others in
school buildings that have not yet been fortified. Doctor Jazz came along to
entertain the children and their parents as they waited in line in the heat
for their turn to receive their school supplies.

Our team today consisted of the Doctor Jazz Trio—Shimi Gilad on banjo, Alon
Ganany on washboard, and Elazar Brandt on trumpet, trombone and tuba. Our
talented photographer and friend Yulia Mestechkin captured the action on
film all day long. Joining us for the first time was Yosef Broidy, who
amazed the audience with original juggling action as well as his antics on
his unicycles. Yosef not only juggled the usual balls, clubs and flaming
torches while precariously balanced on his unicycle, but he also skipped
rope with a burning rope, and played tunes on the guitar and harmonica, all
while riding the unicycle. We provided musical accompaniment for Yosef’s
show, and did musical shows of our own, featuring our happy classic jazz,
peppered with some traditional Jewish and Israeli songs.

Our show went on for nearly three hours in conditions that felt like a
sauna, and then the line began to slow down to a point where we could take a
lunch break. We now have a favorite falafel and shwarma restaurant in the
center of town, a short walk from the school where we played. The owners
remembered us from previous trips, and served up tasty salads, grilled meats
and fries along with some welcome very cold drinks. The few hundred shekels
we spent there is part of our support of the local vendors, who appreciate
our business during these trying times, in addition to the fact that we
cared enough to come and visit them.

After our siesta in the air conditioned restaurant, it was time to get back
to work. We headed across the street to a busy bus stop next to the shopping
center in the heart of town. The hot August weather is probably enough to
keep most people off the streets even without the Kassams, but with them,
traffic was really slow. We perched ourselves on the wall next to the bus
stop and began to make music, and soon we began to attract an audience.
People coming and going from the stores stopped to listen. People getting on
and off the buses joined in. Some cars even stopped and the drivers got out
or rolled down windows to enjoy our happy jazz. As usual, we began to hand
out rattles to the people to play along with us, and some of them also sang
along, including a couple of familiar faces from our last visit.

For a moment, we considered trying to march down the aisles of buses and
playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” as they stopped to let passengers
on and off. But we restrained ourselves 
 for now. Maybe next time. Anyway,
the smiles on the faces of the people we performed for all day made the trip
more than worth while. We might not be able to stop the rockets, but we
certainly can give people some moral support and some relief from the
stresses they live with.

We began doing performances like this one as volunteers, fellow Israelis
wanting to help our landsmen in difficult circumstances. However, lately we
have begun seeking and finding friends who are willing to make modest
financial contributions to subsidize our “mitzvah” (benevolent,
not-for-profit) gigs. This allows us to do this kind of work more often, and
also to draw more professional entertainers so we can give better quality
shows.

Today’s trip was sponsored by a fund in Holland that supports Israel in
various ways. We thank you, and hundreds of people who live in Sderot also
thank you. Your contribution accomplished several objectives:

* of course, you provide the entertainment where it is badly needed and
greatly appreciated.
* some of your contribution is spent on lunch in a local restaurant.
* each of us purchased groceries in a local market and we filled the car
with gas.
* you paid for a modest day’s work for 5 Israeli working entertainers.

We have more opportunities coming along to do this kind of “mitzvah” gig,
including two more trips to Sderot, one before Rosh Hashanah, and one during
Sukkot. Recently we have also performed for hospitalized children and for
special needs children in schools designed to care for them. We would like
to begin to offer live music for special family and community events where
there is no money to pay for it, such as weddings and bar mitzvah parties
for former Gush Katif families, victims of terror, and people in distress
because of last summer’s war in the north. And it pains me to say that there
is little doubt that we will see more war and terror in the years to come,
so we intend to take part in providing moral support for families,
communities and soldiers affected by it all.

Donations of 100 to 500 dollars or euros will go a long way toward realizing
these objectives. 500 euros sent our five-person crew to Sderot today. $100
will send a two-piece jazz duo to a school or hospital or other smaller
events. Tax-deductible receipts are available for US donors (contact me
first for instructions). We will send a written report with pictures and
thanks from the recipients to the sponsor of each performance. The video of
today's trip has been posted on our website—
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz —and You Tube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ybZeEaGOj4. Donations not requiring receipts can
be sent by PayPal to us at jazzmin at actcom.net.il, or contact me for
addresses to send checks. Donations to support the work of Standing Together
can be made via their website, www.stogether.org.

Elazar Brandt
Doctor Jazz Dixieland Band
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
jazzmin at actcom.net.il
(+972-2) 679-2537