Sometimes concerts come with a history lesson. Monday’s main event at New York’s City Winery was one such evening, as the organization If You Heard What I Heard presented a “Night of Resilience” fundraiser. The headliner was reggae rapper Matisyahu, but the main focus was never forgetting the Holocaust.
Matisyahu has turned into a lightning rod, vocally supporting Israel at a time when protests over the Gaza ear are starting to spike again. Last year, three of his concerts were cancelled when staffers refused to work at the venues. There was no such problem at City Winery, which was patrolled by a large security force hired by the nonprofit. They weren’t taking any chances.
“No one will stop us from holding our concert,” If You Heard founder and executive director Carolyn Siegel declared in her opening remarks. It was their second such effort with Matisyahu as the headliner following last May’s Los Angeles benefit that brought in $200,000. Siegel told The Hollywood Reporter she’s hoping the New York show exceeds that. Their goal is to raise $1 million this year. (Hopefully attendees like Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice and Jackie Goldschneider helped in that regard.)
As the years go by, Americans are less connected to the horrors of the Holocaust that tore Europe apart during World War II, devastating the continent’s Jewish population. Some may not even know six million Jews were exterminated by Germany and others might even contend it never happened or at least not to that extent. That’s where If You Heard What I Heard steps in. They share survivor stories as told to grandchildren, the last generation to learn first-hand what really happened some 80 years ago. A video segment depicted some of the 62 survivors and their descendants who’ve already been interviewed by the group. They have a waiting list of 450 more families to document, hence the push for additional funding and the concert. “We really need to tell the stories,” Siegel stressed.
Matisyahu has become a folk hero to the predominantly Jewish crowd on hand. When his shows were canceled, he was defiant, posting: “They do this because they are either antisemitic or have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Before he became Matisyahu, Matthew Miller grew up in nearby Whites Plains, a northern suburb of New York. He visited Israel when he was 16 and soon dropped out of high school and started to develop a rapping style that incorporated his love of reggae. He eventually moved to Brooklyn to study as part of the orthodox community. Combining Jewish spirituality with music, Miller became Matisyahu and released his first album, Shake Off the Dust… Arise, in 2004.
At City Winery, he and his quartet performed eight songs, including “Sunshine,” “Lord Rise Me Up” and “Surrender.” The band sat as they played, with the frontman stretching his long legs (he’s 6-foot-4) and gently moving to the beat. Matisyahu is part rapper, singer and beat boxer and alternates between the three styles. His music deftly combines elements of Bob Marley and Phish, creating an intoxicating jammy stew.
Towards the end of the set, Matisyahu invited survivor David Zajac and his great grandchildren to the stage. Born in Paris, Zajac was just four years old when the Nazis rounded up his family in 1942. While his great grandfather was sent to Auschwitz and died there, Zajac’s great grandmother collected him and his brother and fled to a farm south of Paris where they were eventually rescued in 1945.
In his few words on stage Zajac advised, “Speak out against antisemitism and live a Zionist life.”
Added Matisyahu: “We have to stick together. We have to honor those who survived. From seeing the survivors we know that at any point things can flip on us, so we need to have a place to be. So thank you to our survivors. Thank you to all of you out there who are proud to be Jewish. It’s an honor and privilege, even through all the darkness, to be able to come together. God bless our soldiers and God bless our survivors. God bless the music and God bless the band.”
The singer segued into his best-known tune, “One Day,” from the 2009 album Light. It was a joyous ending despite the sadness of present day reality: where Israeli hostages remain unreleased and the war continues.
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