Songs of Israel DVD

God, people, land and, of course, food. These are the things that make a country what it is. Israel, unique amongst the nations of the world, is also the most diverse religiously, ethnically, geographically, and culinarily due to its historic role as "the belly button of the universe" (as Israelis like to call it).

"Israel in Song" takes you on a visual adventure of this land of extremes, traveling through the wooded green mountains and hills of the north to the desert springs of the south, from the urban landscapes of Israel's four major cities to the coasts of the Mediterranean, the Dead Sea, and the Red Sea at Eilat, stopping, of course, to appreciate all the wildlife in between.

Christians, Jews, Moslems, and Druze come together in a collage of city and village life that features the traditional dress, festivals, religious rituals, and most famous houses of worship of them all. Whether at work in the olive groves or fishing in the fields, playing together at skateboarding or surfing, or shopping side-by-side in the outdoor market, as the camera sweeps from one location to another, the true proximity in which they live becomes strikingly clear.

Sprinkled with historical footage, the viewer witnesses first-hand the most important stages and moments of the state's founding and development. Military victory and loss, early immigrant life on the "kibbutzim", and crucial political figures and events give depth and meaning to the modern panorama of life in Israel.

This land is, however, first and foremost the Jewish Homeland, a land of redemption for God's Chosen People. 35 folk, religious, and even modern songs from every corner of their exile and Israel itself, lamenting and celebrating every aspect of the Jewish experience, invest your visual journey with an emotional intensity that... well, it's o.k. if you cry.

But they're all in Hebrew, right? Yes, indeed. But we suspected you might like to sing along, so we've phonetically transliterated (written the Hebrew words spelled out in English letters) every song on the screen as they're sung, and included a booklet of all the songs, their English transliterations, and translations and summaries. B'kayf! (Have fun!)

List of the 32 songs including in the DVD:

Zemer Lach - Yismacho Hashamim - Hen Efshar - Tzena Tzena - Hevenu Shalom - Hava Nagila - Sisu at Yerushalim - Mi Yvne Bayet - Mmi Haish - Shir Shemesh - Hora Shcarchoret - Yatzano At - Ein Gedi - Ose Shalom - David Melech Israel - Od Avinu Hai - Haleluya - Beshedmot Beth-Lehem - Shouv Yotza Hazemer - Nitzanim Nirue Baretz - Lean Noshevet Haroach - Pam Param Pam - Ki Avad asher Avad - Emak Shely - Kalinka - Dugit Nosat - Boui Roch - Tzivonim - Livlevo Agas Vegam Tapuach - Roach Mevadert - Yerushalim Shel Zahav - Shalom Haverim

Director: Arik Lebovich