JNS
“Our role is not only in higher education and groundbreaking research,” said Daniel Chamovitz, professor and president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. It’s also about “building a cosmopolitan, attractive society the youth of Israel want to be a part of.”
“Sometimes I lay under the moon
And thank God I’m breathin’
Then I pray, ‘Don’t take me soon
Cause I am here for a reason.”
The Jewish world is holding its collective breath as the days inch forward to mark an entire year of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the terror group infiltrated the border on Oct. 7 and wreaked havoc in communities in southern Israel.
So it’s not surprising that about 350 Jewish and pro-Israel supporters were drawn to a concert in New York City on Sunday night aptly titled “One Day”—a small break from the barrage of sober news that keeps coming out of the Middle East. They didn’t venture too far, theoretically, choosing to hear the American Jewish singer Matisyahu, who was performing as part of the inaugural New York benefit for the Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU).
Dressed for the most part in requisite New York black, attendees ate, drank, socialized, and later, danced and clapped in what was once the Grand Dame of Manhattan movie theaters—the Zigfeld in Midtown—now a ballroom space for galas and corporate events.
They also came to honor Gary DeBode, outgoing board chair, for the work that he and his family have done in the past four years and more to support the university based in Beersheva.
“Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know someday, it'll all turn around because
All my life, I’ve been waitin’ for
I’ve been prayin’ for, for the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There’ll be no more wars, and our children will play.”
In addressing the audience after dinner and before the show, Doug Seserman, CEO of A4BGU, noted that due its proximity to the terrorist attacks, the university was significantly affected on Oct. 7. Some 1,200 people were killed that Shabbat and Simchat Torah morning—364 of them at the Nova music festival, many of them in their 20s and early 30s—with thousands wounded and 250 men, women and children kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
He said that “10% of the dead belonged to BGU.” Others were abducted, injured and evacuated to other areas of the country.
With hundreds of faculty, staff and students living in the communities bordering Gaza, thousands on active reserve duty and nearly everyone within the range of Hamas rockets, the threat has been close at hand and very real, according to “Strong and United: We Will Prevail,” the university’s emergency response impact campaign report issued in January.
The goal of $1 million raised from the event, said Seserman, will go to the rebuilding and recovery of the south.
He said he was overwhelmed by the attendance and the need for an annual event “to build a strong presence and leadership structure in the tri-state area and to engage a wider audience of Americans who support the university’s essential mission.”
And he acknowledged that the response to the damage done in Israel could have been to do nothing, to give up hope (which he said would be a tragedy) or to “double down on our commitment.” He validated option No. 3.
“While we already understood how crucial this was before Oct. 7, the attacks and their aftermath have made it clearer than ever that the future of Israel is in the south with BGU leading the way as the Negev’s anchor institution and engine for growth,” Seserman told JNS. “A4BGU is at the forefront of rallying Americans around this mission by championing unprecedented fundraising goals in support of BGU’s global $1 billion campaign, ‘Way Forward.’”
“It’s not about win or lose
Cause we all lose when they feed on the souls of the innocent
Blood-drenched pavement
Keep on movin’ though the waters stay ragin’
In this maze, you can lose your way, your way
It might drive you crazy
But don’t let it faze you, no way, no way.”
Daniel Chamovitz, professor and president of BGU, told the audience that back in 1963, the year he was born, there were more camels than people in Beersheva. The university was established in 1969 with a mission to be an engine for the development of Israel’s Negev region. These days, the school enrolls 20,000 students and employs 900 faculty members.
In terms of helping the south recover, Chamovitz in his official capacity noted that “our role is not only in higher education and groundbreaking research.” He said it’s also about “building a cosmopolitan, attractive society the youth of Israel want to be a part of.”
He quoted David Ben-Gurion—one of Israel’s founding fathers, first prime minister and the namesake of the university—saying: “If we don’t make a stand in the Negev, we won’t make a stand in Tel Aviv.”
“Sometimes in my tears I drown
But I never let it get me down
So when negativity surrounds
I know someday, it’ll all turn around because
All my life, I’ve been waitin’ for
I've been prayin’ for, for the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There'll be no more wars, and our children will play.”
Deborah Reisner said the benefit was the first A4BGU event she has been to; it’s her husband who has been active with the group for about a dozen years.
But she knows quite a bit about managing communities; she is the administrator for the town of Rye in Westchester County, N.Y. (population 49,613, as of the 2020 census).
Concerning the university, she said she has been impressed by “the pursuit of learning and the ways learning can be applied to the human experience, as well as the inclusive community in the desert.”
Eric Brenner of New Providence, N.J., a biology professor at Pace University in New York, said he liked the fact “that they’re really trying to make the desert bloom—the vibrant community that’s part of the Negev.”
He has visited BGU and has colleagues there, and said he is impressed by discoveries related to “the transformation of agriculture and science.”
“One day, this all will change, treat people the same
Stop with the violence, down with the hate
One day, we’ll all be free and proud to be
Under the same sun, singin’ songs of freedom like ...
All my life, I’ve been waitin’ for
I’ve been prayin’ for, for the people to say
That we don’t wanna fight no more
There’ll be no more wars, and our children will play.”
The 45-year-old, 6-foot-4 Matisyahu (born Matthew Paul Miller) has gone through many iterations in his life and career, though consistently has kept Israel at the forefront of his music.
His blend of reggae and beatbox with spiritual themes, akin to hip-hop meets nigunim (a form of Jewish religious song) came to the fore in 2005 with his hit single “King Without a Crown.”
Matisyahu visited the Nova site in January; out of it came the song “Ascent,” released in March. It opens at one of the burnt kibbutzim in southern Israel and shows images of the Nova music festival site, interspersed with footage of the terror attacks and hostages taken on Oct. 7, including Noa Argamani, who was rescued by Israeli security forces in June; and Shiri Bibas and her young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her husband, Yarden Bibas. It also incorporates old photos of World War II and the Holocaust; of Theodor Herzl and Ben-Gurion; and the early years and pioneers of the modern-day State of Israel.
He played several concerts in Israel earlier this year, receiving an award in Jerusalem on March 31 from the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the group Combating Antisemitism for his efforts on behalf of advocating for the Jewish state since Oct. 7. He’s played at many more locales throughout the United States and has had to deal with a number of them being canceled this year due to “safety concerns,” that euphemism when venues or pro-Palestinian pressure by activists have closed the door to art and artists.
On Sunday night, Matisyahu featured “Ascent” after his first song, “Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light),” released in 2006. Along with his guitarist, he played some extended tunes before concluding with “One Day” (2009) and a plea to “free the hostages.”
He said he is often asked if he really believes the optimistic lyrics of the final song that headlined the event. His response: “We never lose sight of the hope that peace can be achieved. It’s what the Jews bring to the world … and we will never give up on it.”
“One day (one day), one day (one day)
One day (oh-oh-oh)
One day (one day), one day (one day)
One day (oh-oh-oh)
One day, one day, one day."
