July 26, 2007 / 11 Av 5767

Ancient mingled with modern as world-famous Israeli musician and singer David Broza took the stage at Masada for two spectacular sunrise concerts on June 30th and July 1st that will be aired on Public Television in the United States this December. The Jewish Agency, one of the concerts' sponsors, provided tickets for 1,000 youngsters from Sderot and the North as well as Gush Katif evacuees to attend the concert.

"Bringing the children to these magnificent performances is part of the Jewish Agency's effort to bring normalcy back to the lives of children and youth in war-torn regions,” said Yael Raz of the Jewish Agency. “Especially in Sderot, they are facing a dangerous security situation, and this gave them the chance to just be kids again, to be free from fear and to enjoy the summer."

For the youth of Sderot, the concerts were just one of a wide variety of special activities they enjoyed as part of the Jewish Agency Safe Summer Camp Initiative. The initiative is providing 8,000 children and teens from Sderot with day and sleepover camp experiences in areas outside the range of Kassam rockets. Those who attended from the North are all participants in Jewish Agency programs such as Youth Futures and Net@ designed to provide equal educational opportunities for immigrants and youth at-risk.

"The kids were very excited and they really enjoyed the concert," said Yael. "We got tens of letters from the kids thanking the Jewish Agency for hosting them."

During the concerts, Broza was joined by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Shawn Colvin.