Israel?

[liav_t]

Will Leonard come to Israel in August? I really want to see him perform, and this is my first, and maybe only shot at it (not exisiting until 1987 prevented me from coming to previous shows). Unfortunately I'm am drafted soon, and won't be able to see him in europe .

[Einat]

Hi Liav , I share your hope.
We had a fan gathering in London a few months ago, and Leonard surprised us and showed up. He was sweet, nice and kind to us all .
One of the things he told us back then was that he going on a tour soon (oddly enough- I was sceptical although it was Leonard Cohen himself declaring it) . I felt.. ( I think you could almost call it a national duty ! ) obliged to ask him not to skip Israel this time and so I did when I had a brief chat with him. He said he won’t skip us, but to be honest I felt he was just being polite.
I’m sure Leonard knows and is well aware he has many many fans in Israel that would love to see him perform and would welcome him with open arms.
I guess we will have to be patient and see if something changes, but overall I think the news about tour alone are a good reason to rejoice anyway.

[liav_t]

I can't believe you actually met him .
talking to leonard cohen sounds like a fantasy to me.
If anybody that has any effect on L. Cohen or the tour is reading this, please help bring leonard over here. I will personally buy him lunch with my almost non-existent army salary.

[yonatan_levi]

Hey Liav,

I think the best thing for us to do would be talking to both Shuki Weiss's office and the Canadian embassy in Tel-Aviv. There's a slight chance this could help... since he's coming really close (Turkey, Greece) and as far as I understand there's some negotiation going on, but this is only based on a rumor.

Yonatan

[Einat]

Hi Liav,
I can’t believe I met him either, I was so happy to meet him I totally forgot to panic. It was a lovely experience and I think it was very generous of Leonard to give us each a Leonard Cohen moment. I hope you will have one as well.
Nice of you to offer him lunch – I cant see how he would resist a cheese Burekas from the Shekem !
Hi Yonatan,
I’m sure Shuki Weiss is already aware of the tour , personally I don’t think a plea to the Canadian Embassy could help much (but I may be wrong).
Looking at the list of cities and realising he is going to tour so close to us, I can’t help but wonder... I assume the reason of not coming to Israel is not technical /financial , I’m not even sure it is political – perhaps (just a thought) he is concerned of becoming emotionally stirred and overwhelmed during the concert like it happened on one of his performances in Israel (I think it was in Yad Elitahu)- he broke into tears and had to stop the show- the audience was crying with him. Quite a traumatic and unusual experience, I assume.

[yonatan_levi]

Wow, I had no idea that happened during that concert.
I think contacting the embassy might do good since they are often involved in spreading Canadian culture in Israel. Anyway, you're right about Shuki Weiss knowing about all this... and as dates keep being added to the list, there's still a chance. I think I'll just end up going somewhere in Europe to see him.

[liav_t]

Firstly, unless a burekas is a deep emotional experience to Leonard, I'm willing to invest a little more.
Secondly, I am planning to write an E-mail to the Canadian embassy tomorrow - and as they say, the more the merrier (I attached the address below).
I really hope the (current) skipping of Israel is not a political statement by Mr. L. Cohen, although I think it's unlikely.
Yonatan, do you know what's Shuki's opinion about the subject?
Einat, why did leonard break into tears during a preformance?

Candaian Embassy URL:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/telaviv/

[yonatan_levi]

I've no idea what's his opinion about it - but I've heard a rumor from someone in the "industry" that there might be something going on in terms of negotiation. Anyway, I'm pretty sure he's aware of the fact that the tour's taking place, so I'm not sure what we can do about it...

[Einat]

Hi Liav,
You can read about the performance and the tears from Ehud Banai's perspective (being in the audience) in his official site: http://www.ehudbanai.co.il/ (look under : Yotze'h la'or - 'A letter to Leonard Cohen') . Its a very interesting read. Banai actually sneaked out from his army base to watch Cohen's performance , I hope you wont have to do that !
Hi Yonatan,
If you'll have any more info to share please post it here! Thanks
..and I agree- sadly I dont think we as fans can so alot, I believe it really depends on his will to arrive to Israel. If he feels too ambivalent or he feels he cant experience his stay in Israel in a positive and enjoyable way than there is nothing to do about it.

Anyway, I opened today a group on facebook with regards to this issue
I called it (how surprising) : 'Leonard Cohen, please dont pass us by - include Israel in your tour' . You are both invited to join the group and so is any other person who supports the cause ! Lets see if it takes off.

[liav_t]

We can do nothing but try to make us as noticeable as possible. I hope we can also attract L Cohen's direct attention in some polite way. I look through leonardcohenfiles.com later, and E-mail the administrator. Maybe it's all futile, but one can only hope.
Einat, I read the letter, and it sounds like it was a very emotional evening. I wonder what why he stopped the show at the first place.
The Facebook group is a grand idea. I joined, and invited as many people as I could. It's very comforting to see that I'm not alone.

[liav_t]

I have sent a letter to Leonard's managemnt in hope of attracting more attention:


Good Day,
It has come to my attention that Mr. Leonard Cohen will tour Europe this summer with his band. At the moment, the tour does not include Israel. I, and many other Israelis, are great fans of Mr Cohen's work and are deeply touched by his songs.Cohen's Israeli fans are currently deeply disappointed Israel is being left out of the tour, and would like nothing more than to see Israel added to the countries the tour will include.
A Group on the subject has just been opened in facebook:
"Leonard Cohen -Please Don't Pass Us By! Include Israel in your tour" - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7210614962
I hope you'll be able to notify Mr Cohen about his Israeli fans' hope to see him perform here - I amongst them.
Yours faithfully,
Liav Teichner
Haifa, Israel


The E-mail address is: info@5042mail.com (got it from leonardcohenfiles.com).

I still believe the more - the merrier, at least if every letter is polite.
I suggested writing a letter in the name of the facebook group - a matter which will be disscussed there.

[Einat]

Brilliant ! Well done Liav
I think it goes pretty well with our facebook group- almost 30 members in less than 24 hours , not bad.
I think that these, plus perhaps some moderate pressure from experienced Shabak/Mosad agents - will help us accomplish the goal !

[yonatan_levi]

I invited lots of people. I hope it helps somehow... 49 and counting we can do much better though (oh, and just think about all the old people, the happy 60's survivors, who don't even know what facebook is and would go crazy if they knew leonard might be coming).

[liav_t]

I advertised to group on the relevent tapuz forums (fora ). I hope the rumor will travel to everyone that might be interested and surfs the net. The only problem is that you have to have a facebook account to join, and many people simply don't. Then again, I can't think of a better platform (a net petition?).
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin.

[yonatan_levi]

That's great, Liav!

Another idea: Have you guys been to Prof. Ira Nadel's lecture in Jerusalem two weeks ago? Well, I have and it seems he is well connected to Leonard's managment. Maybe speaking to him and asking for some guidance could help...?