Beth El celebrates Yom Ha’atzmaut with music, dancing and food

Tal Shalom-Kobi’s ensemble performs for a full house at Beth El. See below for more photos.

Beth El marked Israeli Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) on April 30, 2025 with an Israeli dinner and a musical performance by the Berklee School of Music’s Tal Shalom-Kobi and an ensemble of Israeli students.

Attendees also saw a short video addressed to Beth El by Donniel Hartman, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

• Click to see video of the event

The group took the audience on a tour through a lens of history to present day in “100 Years of Song and Poetry,” a musical/storytelling concert featuring the works of the most cherished and popular women songwriters and poets of the past century in Israel. They shared stories and anecdotes about the lives of poets Leah Goldberg and Rachel, songwriters Naomi Shemer, Nurit Hirsh, and many others. The ensemble was founded in 2015 and is led by Shalom-Kobi, a Berklee College of Music professor and a longtime researcher/performer.

Ensemble:

• Noa Blumer — vocals
• Rinat Fishman — clarinet
• Itamar Afek — piano/keyboards
• Tom Maor — drums
• Tal Shalom-Kobi — music director, bass, accordion