(IsraelNN.com) Three top candidates vying for the religious Zionist vote in Israel’s upcoming Knesset elections shared the stage of Tuesday Night Live this week, debating in English on the popular show, filmed live in Jerusalem.

Yaakov ‘Ketzaleh’ Katz, the Yom Kippur War hero and settlement movement icon who established Beit El (and Arutz-7) represented the National Union, which he was asked to head recently. Moshe Feiglin, the former protest leader who launched the Jewish Leadership faction within the Likud and has been the main contender struggling with Binyamin Netanyahu for leadership of the party, argued in favor of voting Likud. Rabbi Professor Daniel Hershkowitz, a mathematician from Haifa’s Technion, agreed to head the Jewish Home when it was being constructed as an amalgamation of all national Religious parties.

Tuesday Night Live, Episode 27
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“Only With Us…”
Starting off the evening, Katz (National Union) asserted that his party is the only way to be true to the ideals of the Jewish people. “We represent everything that the people here in this room believe,” Katz said. “Only with us can you be sure that there will be no Palestinian State. Only with us are we sure that there will be no Disengagement. Only with us are we sure that Hevron will not be given up. Only with us we are sure that good people like Feiglin are not in the 36th seat — but maybe he’ll be in the first or second or third.”

Katz’s opening statements were a dig at Hershkowitz, whose party will not rule out sitting in a government that engages in withdrawals, as well as Feiglin, who, due to legal maneuvers by Netanyahu is number 36 on the party list — not a realistic spot for the party that currently has 12 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

Katz said he knew Netanyahu “from the first moment, when he started to run to be prime minister. He was Ambassador to the UN and he called me up and we ran together. And believe me, we made him what he is today. I can say today that Bibi (Netanyahu’s nickname) needs a lot of help and with G-d’s help, it’s a possibility — in the last election he had 12 seats and we had 9 seats — we are not far away. Maybe there will be a revolution and with a lot of help from G-d we will have the 25 seats, and we will govern the next government.”

Host Jeremy Gimpel asked Katz: “Why should we vote for an ideological party rather than a party that can really be an influence in the country?”

Katz: “Because we are the core of [all of the] values of what we believe. By the way, I am holding a poll in my jacket — a poll from Globes that we have 6 seats today — which is very, very important. We are running for more than ten seats and people who know me know I have run many, many revolutions in my life… We always did things that people didn’t believe that we could do. Thank G-d, finally big things got done. You mentioned Arutz-7, but when I worked with Arik Sharon we built over 60,000 housing units. We put a ship offshore to broadcast for fifteen years with a lot of self-sacrifice. And the same way we built the settlements, that way we will reach the day when Ketzaleh will be prime minister.”

Katz added that, “By voting for the National Union we can have 15 Feiglins in the Knesset instead of one, who is not even being elected.”

Three Factors: Land, Nation and Torah
Professor Hershkowitz took exception to Katz’s assertions that only the National Union would prevent the threats facing the National Religious public. “You see, the existence of the people of Israel in the Land of Israel is based on three factors: the nation of Israel, the land of Israel and the Torah of Israel. These three cannot be separated and no one can exist without the other two. And the only home that looks at all three of these factors is the Jewish Home. You see, when the Jewish Temple was destroyed, if you ask a historian why it happened, he’ll tell you because the Jewish people lost on the battlefield to the Romans. But the Gemara doesn’t even mention the loss on the battlefield or the political loss, it says it was because of social problems.

“In order to take care of this land, we have to build every settlement in every part of the Land of Israel - but not only that, you also have to strengthen the education in every part of the Land of israel, you have to strengthen the economy in every part of the Land of Israel, you have to strengthen the society in every part of the Land of Israel — and that’s exactly the platform of the Jewish Home.”

Unity Almost Breaks Out
Jeremy: “So I don’t understand, it sounds like you and Ketzaleh are saying the exact same thing — why won’t you run together?

“Let’s declare it here on Tuesday Night Live that the Jewish Home and National Union are running together…”, Gimpel said, and Abramowitz added “with Feiglin at the head,” to smiles from the audience.

“That’s exactly the question I am asking,” ruminated Prof. Hershkowitz. “If you asked me two months ago whether I would ever ever find myself in politics, the answer would absolutely be negative. Because I got some offers in the past and I declined immediately. The only reason I agreed to join Bayit Yehudi is because, as you know, the National Union with all its parties, and the National Religious Party joined together. They were a Yin-Yang of these parties. And this is exactly what attracted me to the Jewish Home. Unfortunately, some people decided to split from this party. They are not here. Although they are in Ketzaleh’s party, I think to be fair to Ketzaleh — he was not part of that split. At the time he was not in politics. Only later he was called upon by his friends — by the rabbis — to head that party. But actually, it’s a question that still today I don’t have the answer — why they split. Because we all share the same values, the same principles, the same goal. So that’s a question I still have today and I don’t think anyone on the stage here tonight knows the answer.”

How Can We Vote Likud?
Ari: “Moshe Feiglin, you probably could have been in the Knesset many times over, but you’ve joined the Likud. You say you want to bring it to its original values and to Torah. Why should we vote for Likud?”

Feiglin: “Because we need Jewish leadership and we are not going to reach it from our own sectors. It is very simple: If you want to lead the Jews, lead the Israelis — then go to them, be a part of them. And the Likud today is the only cradle where Jewish leadership is going to rise and develop, in and through. And the fact that my candidacy in the Likud — even just to the Knesset list — attracts so much attention and so much fighting, shows that this is the right place to be — because it is real.”

Feiglin commented on the slogan of the National Union: Without any fear at all. “I like that slogan very much,” he mused. “But then, why run back to our own backyard, playing with our own people — who like us, who agree with us, who look like us — thinking that through our own sector we will be able to lead the nation of Israel. It is not going to work this way. We should not be afraid to go to the Jews. They want it. They like it. They love it. We should vote Likud, we should join the Likud, we should lead Likud and only through Likud can we lead the nation of Israel.”

A clip of various prominent Likud member, including Netanyahu, voting for the expulsion of Gaza’s 8,000 Jews and the destruction of their communities, was aired as a question to Feiglin. “Why vote for the 35 Bibis before you on the list?” — asked Gimpel.

Feiglin displayed that day’s newspaper, which featured Likud insiders saying Netanyahu is now seeking to lose Likud mandates to keep the over-30 MKs on the list out of the Knesset. Many of those candidates are associated with Feiglin’s Jewish Leadership faction.

“We just heard that with National Union there will be no Palestinian State and no Disengagement,” Feiglin said. “I wish it would be true. I like Ketzaleh very much and wish it were true. But Ariel Sharon didn’t lose a moment of sleep due to either the National Union or National Religious Party. He lost sleep due to the political battles inside the Likud, due to the ‘14 rebels’ as he called them. So, make no mistake, I am in the Likud for Jewish leadership - but if you want the place where the political struggles are waged on behalf of the Land of Israel - the only effective place is also in the Likud.”

Katz: Feiglin Very Naive
Queried on how he would inspire the people of Israel, Katz answered:

Ketzaleh: “I will tell you what I did in my life. It is also an answer to Moshe Feiglin, who is a very naive guy. A revolution starts with one and ends with hundreds of thousands. When I went to my commando unit, we were the only 3 religious guys ever. Before that there were none with knitted yarmulkas. They were all from kibbutzim [socialist collectives]…But we made the revolution. When I went to the graduation ceremony of my own children, 50-60% of these units were boys with knit yarmulkas… ‘oranges.’ Revolutions start with one and in the end we have thousands and finally we are running the country… We started with few and today we are running the army. We started with a few in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and today we have, in the areas liberated in 1967, over 650,000 Jews. We started with few when we were running the education ministry and now we have up to 15 seats, and we will run the country!

“Finally we’ll have a Prime Minister who will be religious. Finally we’ll have a Defense Minister who will be frum. We don’t have to apologize, we don’t have to feel that we are small. We are the best and we are going to run the country because we have a past, so we will have a future.”

Heroism and ‘Arik’
Asked about his army service and reputation as a war hero, Katz recounted: “I was serving as an officer in a commando unit under Ariel Sharon — in Sayeret Shaked. I am not allowed to say anything bad about Ariel Sharon,” he joked, “because he saved my life.”

Katz had been wounded in a battle he and a dozen fellow soldiers had to wage against 80 Egyptian commando troops… “We killed all of them in the fighting, but I was very badly wounded — cut into two pieces,” he recalled. “My driver and one of my soldiers behind me was killed. Arik Sharon sent a helicopter to rescue me.”

For the next 25 years, Katz was Sharon’s main consultant, serving as Sharon’s deputy minister of settlement assistance from 1990-1992. “Together with Arik Sharon we did many many great things. He always used to say, ‘Ketzaleh, I don’t understand how you love me so much but don’t believe a word I say.’”

The Likud will Spit in Your Face
Taking his turn at arguing why the Likud is the wrong choice, Prof. Hershkowitz described the courtship with the Likud every election season in no uncertain terms: “Every 2-3 years, the Likud spits in our face,” he said. “Just before the elections, they call upon the National Religious public to vote for them. And people are tempted think for a moment like Moshe, that maybe the way to change things is from the Likud — from a party that after all is not based on our values — not based on the Torah, Land and People of Israel.

“The day after the elections they will do it. They will spit in our faces. And they do it the same way every time to Moshe. Next time he will be the 37th position, maybe the 47th. This is very sectorial thinking.

“We should employ a very narrow view of our needs. You see, I want to keep the whole Land of Israel — OK? You see, the point is, holding the Land of Israel now — there is a big threat to that. But the threat is not only that they destroyed Homesh, or that they froze building in all of Judea and Samaria. That is a threat, but three weeks ago I visited a non-religious high schoool in Modiin. They asked students what Shema Yisrael was. The most popular answer was “Shema Yisrael is a song by Sarit Haddad [a popular Israeli singer with a song by the same name as the central incantation of Jewish prayer: ‘Hear Oh Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one.’] If the students in Modiin do not know what Shema Yisrael is, they don’t know what we are looking for in Shechem, or Hevron, or Jerusalem or Haifa. You see, the next prime minister may come from Modiin. And if we are led by people that aren’t aware of our basic values, who don’t know that this piece of land belongs to the Jewish people and only the Jewish people — if they do not know it, then they will not hold on to it.”

Hershkowitz expressed his hope that the parties would yet reunite and that Feiglin’s constituency would also join what he says he hoped will be a movement.

A Prime Ministerial Question
Ask what he would do his first week in office, Feiglin focused on the unspoken assumption of such a question:

“I am proud you are asking this question,” he said. “Because I believe, in all honestly, that I am the only one sitting here that it is a relevent question for. I don’t think I’m better than Ketzaleh or Professor Hershkovitz, but I am in the right ballgame.”

Feiglin answered Hershkowitz’s criticism of Netanyahu and the other Likud MKs with sarcasm. “Now I am more sure than ever that you would not join a Netanyahu government — only one led by [Kadima’s] Tzipi Livni,” he said. “Because Netanyahu is so bad, etc. etc.”

“Look, voting for Ketzaleh or Hershkowitz, you are actually voting Bibi. Are either of them going to go with anyone else? By voting Likud you are getting me and the other loyalists who can guard Netanyahu from within, instead of being outside and irrelevant.”

Feiglin reflected on the difficulties of his chosen path. The night before he declared that he was running for prime minister of Israel was the scariest of his life, he said. “I feared people would say, ‘He thinks he’s Napoleon.’ I said to myself, maximum they will laugh at me. I have to do my part. Well you know something: now no one is laughing. But not only is no one laughing, we are sitting here tonight. The reason why my dear friend Ketzaleh is sitting here tonight talking about leadership is because of that night ten years ago. We managed to get this idea of Jewish leadership to the nation.”

Feiglin remains confident that, whatever the way, a leadership faithful to the principles and traditions of the Jewish nation will arise. “We will get there because there is no other chance for Israel to survive and flourish without leadership that worships G-d; leadership that understand that our goal is to perfect the world in the kingdom of G-d. Not just to exist, not just for some ‘lull’ with Hamas. That is the reason we exist as Jews and without that we don’t have a right to be here at all.”

As for the answer to the actual question: “The first thing I am going to do is go to the Temple Mount,” Feiglin said.”

Be sure to check out the second part of the debate, to be feature in next week’s episode of Tuesday Night Live.

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

Make me an MK to keep Netanyahu in line, Feiglin urges nat’l religious
Feb. 5, 2009
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST

Should the modern Orthodox public support Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu from inside or outside the party in next week’s elections?

That was the question at the top of the agenda Tuesday night during a debate for the national-religious public that put Moshe Feiglin, an ultra-nationalist who is No. 36 on the Likud list, against the new chairman of the National Union, Yaakov Katz, and the chairman of Habayit Hayehudi, Prof. Rabbi Daniel Hershkovitz.

During the debate at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue, Feiglin repeatedly stressed that the only place to effectively shape policy was within the Likud.

“By voting for me, you are voting for those who can guard Netanyahu from within [from doing things we don’t want] and not be irrelevant from outside,” Feiglin said. “Only through the Likud can we lead the entire State of Israel.”

For their part, the religious leaders from the two right-wing parties, who failed in their attempt to forge a joint list, said the Likud was not to be trusted, and that only they would safeguard Israel from further withdrawals from the West Bank.

“Only with us we will be sure that there is no Palestinian state, no [more] disengagement,” Katz said. “Only with us will we be sure that Feiglin is not in the 36th seat, but in the first, second and third.”

“Every two or three years, the Likud spits in our face,” Hershkovitz said. “They use us like disposable dishes.”

Feiglin said that both the National Union and Habayit Hayehudi were narrow sectoral parties which failed to attract a wide swath of the population, and that a vote for the Likud would ensure that both he and fellow right-wingers placed low on the Likud list would get into the Knesset.

After the right-wing organizers of the debate - which will be broadcast around the world on the program Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem - showed a news clip with members of the Likud joining Kadima and the Left in voting for Ariel Sharon’s 2005 Gaza pullout, Feiglin was pressed with what was billed as “the hardest question of the evening” - why should religious rightists vote for the Likud?

“We all remember where the real political battle with the Sharon and the disengagement was,” Feiglin responded. “Was it within the National Union or the National Religious Party? All the political fights were inside the Likud.”

After a half-hour of debate, it was clear that all three participants basically shared the same goals, and that the only difference between them was how to achieve them.

“We have the same values, the same goals,” Hershkovitz concurred, conceding that he had “no answer” on why his party and the National Union split.

Public opinion polls have shown that the National Union will get between four and six Knesset seats, while the newly-formed Habayit Hayehudi is hovering between two to three seats.

In the last elections, the National Union-National Religious Party, running on a joint list, garnered nine Knesset seats.

Leaders of both parties suggested at the event that they hoped to reunite after the elections, and expressed regret that the parties’ failed in their goal to unite the national-religious camp before the vote.

Avigdor Lieberman’s right-wing Israel Beiteinu Party, which is polling right behind the Likud and Kadima and is in a dead heat with Labor for third place, according to the latest polls, was not represented at the debate.

If you saw them walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t give them a second glance. Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel look like the typical North American, modern Orthodox immigrants that populate the Jerusalem area landscape - well-groomed, shirts tucked in and polite.

But put them in front of a TV camera, and watch out! Abramowitz and Gimpel are hosts of Tuesday Night Live, touted as the first ever Israel-based Jewish TV show broadcast to the world. Since its debut at the end of 2007, the Internet-available talk/variety show has not only gained a rising audience among viewers in cyberspace, but its bi-monthly tapings at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem have become the hottest free ticket in town for the local national religious crowd, as well as visiting tourists with a fervent love of Greater Israel.

“That love for Israel is something we all share - from the Right to Left, Orthodox to secular,” explained Abramowitz, a 28-year-old native of Texas, who has served in the IDF and attended Bar-Ilan University.

But at a taping of the show earlier this summer, there didn’t seem to be many left or secular members of the standing room only audience of more than 600. Instead, it felt like a religious Zionist lollapalooza.

In the lobby of Heichal Shlomo, vendors are hawking a range of products, from New Age candles and hand-painted T-shirts to CDs of Jewish soul music and sandwiches. People are buzzing with excitement as they make their way to the fourth-floor auditorium.

“It’s a whole scene. People are selling Judaica and jewelry, and paintings, tie-dye T-shirts for babies. Non-profits handing out information. We’ve created a Jewish festival,” says Gimpel, who immigrated with his parents at 12 in 1991.

Miriam K. from Ramot says she marks the days off each month on her calendar, waiting impatiently for taping night. Wearing a long skirt and T-shirt, she makes sure to arrive early to get a good seat in the front row of the balcony.

“I like coming to see the show because I enjoy the guests they bring on and the music, and the whole sense of love and passion for Israel that they and the audience give off,” she says.

Like the Paul Schaeffer Orchestra on The David Letterman Show, a spunky Jewish rock band on stage left begins warming up the crowd by playing some Carlebach-inspired circle dance music, complete with scorching electric guitar solos that soon have the audience swaying.

Following a quick off-camera briefing by a producer who goes over guidelines for the taping, like “always look happy” and “don’t get up in the middle,” the hosts are introduced to enthusiastic applause and more music.

Abramowitz and Gimpel, who only a week before were both articulate and impassioned, but somewhat reserved, when speaking to The Jerusalem Post in a Jerusalem café, are transformed into TV supermen - part animated Jewish revivalists, part entertaining emcees. Working the audience like Las Vegas pros, they gather energy by trading off each other’s verbal riffs focusing on their message of Jewish unity.

This show is geared around Jerusalem Day, with special guest Nobel Prize winner Robert Aumann, and the duo’s opening monologue/sermon sticks to the “Jerusalem is the undivided capital of the Jewish people” theme, transmitted through personal anecdotes and heartfelt declarations about the dangers of giving up the city to “terrorists.”

“I think a left-wing, secular Israeli would be challenged by the show, that they would be interested in it,” said Abramowitz. “We get some of our best feedback and interesting e-mails from them. So we’re always very respectful to the other side. Would they be offended by the show? Absolutely not.”

“If they’re open to Judaism, there shouldn’t be a problem,” added Gimpel. “Look, we’re no rabbis, - we’re just guys that love Israel and Judaism, and we’re just sharing our enthusiasm.”

The duo, who met in the army, originally expressed that enthusiasm by founding Ohr Olam - The Israel Center for Biblical Zionism, an organization whose mandate is “inspiring the world, ingathering the exiles, and empowering the Jewish people.” They also host a radio show on Israel National Radio called A Light unto the Nations and Gimpel has been associated with Heartland to Heartland, MK Benny Elon’s organization dedicated to mobilizing grassroots Jewish and Christian support for the “Biblical Land of Israel.”

Well-versed in public speaking, Abramowitz and Gimpel began appearing about four years ago to talk about Israel to birthright groups and other visiting Jewish and Christian groups. That branched out into regular speaking tours in the US, where they discussed Zionism and Israel in venues ranging from college campuses to evangelical churches.

“We’d go anywhere - and no matter where we spoke, people would say, ‘We don’t ever hear this. All we hear from Israel are these government sound bites, not this passion and love for Israel and Judaism,’” said Abramowitz.

“It was such a hit, but I was getting tired of going to America so often,” said Gimpel, a married father of two who lives in Neveh Daniel. “So last year we thought, why don’t we let Israel speak for itself? Let people tune in to us, and see a positive, excited voice of what Israel really is.”

According to Gimpel, it was a quick eight months from the time they began thinking about launching a TV show to the first broadcast, with funding readily procured through private Jewish and Christian donors.

“Our premise was to have a variety show - with Jewish music and Israeli bands that are up and coming. We bring in different rabbis, stand-up comedians, spiritual leaders, all the people that show the real Israel - the happy Israel,” said Gimpel. “The world only sees the terror, the corruption and the challenges that face Israel, and we wanted to show the Israel that the world never gets to see.”

With a “to do” list, Abramowitz and Gimpel went about the logistical aspects of putting a band together, acquiring backdrops, cameras, a podium and looking for a venue to host the show.

“At first, we looked at some smaller places that held 100 people or so, but we thought that if we’re really going to be a Jewish voice to the world, this could really take off, so we should think big,” said Abramowitz.

But even the 600-seat Heichal Shlomo has proven to be confining for the show, with people unable to find a seat lining the aisles of the auditorium.

Like the ICBZ’s mission of “instilling a comprehensive understanding of modern day Israel through the prism of Jewish history and biblical values,” Tuesday Night Live quickly became a show that appeals not only to pro-Israel Jews, but perhaps even more, to Christian fundamentalist supporters of Israel.

“We really transcend religious affiliation,” said Abramowitz. “There are tremendous amounts of non-Jews who are interested in the show.”

Themes of the show have varied from Sderot to assimilation to Remembrance Day and IDF soldiers.

“The media portrays the army as big, angry nameless oppressors - but these are 18-year-old Jewish boys who are defending our country and homeland and protecting our people from terrorists,” said Gimpel.

One side agenda that Gimpel and Abramowitz keep in their pocket is the hope that the show will encourage aliya from North America.

“We’re trying to show Jews throughout America especially that moving to Israel is not something that a martyr would do. It’s a life of real spiritual excitement and vibrancy,” said Gimpel.

“One of our best segments is pre-taped film montage called ‘Meet the Streets.’ Whatever the show’s about that week, we go out to the streets of Jerusalem and we ask people what their thoughts are. It just shows what an exciting flavor Jerusalem offers, and by extension, all of Israel. And to show people you’re not sacrificing anything by moving to Israel - the real sacrifice is not moving here.”

While the live audiences indicate that Tuesday Night Live is preaching to the converted, Gimpel and Abramowitz claim that a wide variety of people are attending the tapings and approaching them afterward with words of encouragement. The number of Hebrew-speaking Israelis in the audience is negligible, however, and Gimpel readily declares that Tuesday Night Live is “more of a Jewish show than an Israeli show.”

“In my mind, when composing our thoughts about what we want to say, I think about a birthright group as the target audience,” said Abramowitz. “I think about people who are perhaps secular and disconnected, but have an affinity and an interest about Judaism. And when you speak to that group, it sort of appeals to everyone.

“People respond well if they feel that you’re being you. And I have a real passion and love for Judaism. So I try to share that element of me, because that’s who I am. And I feel like we don’t need to put a spin on it in any way.”

That straightforward, no-nonsense approach has enabled Tuesday Night Live to not only pack its tapings with loyal crowds, but has made the show a hit on the Internet, where it’s available in live stream or download form at both landofisrael.com and Israelnationalnews.com. While they say they can’t provide accurate numbers on how many viewers each show has, Abramowitz claims that it’s in the tens of thousands.

“We get e-mails and letters from people everywhere,” he said, with Gimpel adding, “from China, Ireland, South America, from literally the four corners of the earth.”

They disclosed that negotiations are under way with both Comcast and Time Warner to syndicate the show internationally, which would dramatically raise its profile and viewership. And while they’re comfortable appearing before large audiences, Gimpel and Abramowitz admit that as amateur TV hosts, they sometimes come up with last-minute jitters.

“I remember that the first show I was fairly terrified, but now we go out there and it’s much more free flowing, and we feel very connected to the audience,” said Abramowitz.

“What I try to say to myself before I go on is that I’m so fortunate to have the opportunity to share my passion and excitement with all these people. I try to get into the zone of not thinking too much about what I’m doing. Because if I start thinking that I’m in front of 600 people talking, then I’m not thinking about what I’m saying. So I really try to gear myself spiritually and emotionally and invest myself in it.”

One of the unexpected fringe benefits to being a local “celebrity” is getting recognized, and Abramowitz and Gimpel are still adjusting to their new status.

“I don’t see myself as a media star,” laughed Gimpel.

“After our second show, someone came up to me and put his arm around me and had his photo taken - I’m like, what is he doing? That’s weird, it’s too much,” added Abramowitz.

Vanity aside, Gimpel and Abramowitz see Tuesday Night Live - which will resume taping in December, when ticket availability will be announced - as their mission, and proof positive that a good idea can have a ripple effect.

“If two guys want to, they can change the world,” said Gimpel. “We’re nobodies, we’re not rabbis or scholars - we’re Ari and Jeremy and we’re just going to do the very best we can for Israel.”

“That’s part of our appeal,”added Abramowitz. “If we had the world ‘rabbi’ before our names, it wouldn’t work.”

by Laura Ben-David

It began with a steady stream of people heading into the unassuming building on King George Street in Jerusalem. As the stream of people grew into a crowd, they began to make their way up four flights of stairs to the place where it would all be happening.

There, in the bustling, filled-to-capacity theatre, was an eclectic mix of young and old. Students, housewives, professionals, retirees - all came together to help create something new. The energy in the room was palpable. There was a deep anticipation of something never before experienced.

As the band struck up the music, the drumbeat captured the crowd with its lively rhythm. Finally, the moment we’d all been waiting for; the studio audience went wild when, for the first time ever, it was Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem.

What is Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem, you ask? Why, it’s the first-ever Israel-based Jewish TV show broadcast around the globe. While you won’t be watching it on Tuesday nights, it certainly won’t be live, and chances are good you won’t even be in Jerusalem when you’re watching it; yet, for those of us fortunate enough to be at the very first taping, it was all of those things. And it will be so for the hundreds of lucky individuals who come every other Tuesday night for the tapings of what’s likely to become a niche hit.

A lively mix of comedy, Torah, Jewish values and, most of all, Israel, TNL is co-hosted by best friends Jeremy Gimpel and Ari Abramowitz, who, among many other things, are international lecturers, guest speakers and reservists in the IDF. A perfect complement to each other, they demonstrated a charisma that both the camera and the audience seemed to love.

The interactive opening show put a big focus on being in Israel, and Jeremy and Ari gave members of the audience a chance to share why they chose to live here. The answers such as, “Because I love it here,” and, “Because I can,” were honest and from the heart, and reminded us all of why we chose to live in this blessed land.

In all actuality, the event was one huge party. Upon arrival, we were greeted with more pastries and fruit than we could possibly eat (and we can eat a lot…). We then all entered the studio with full tummies (okay, and some full pockets - you never know how long the show would be). Sated, and perhaps a bit sugar-buzzed, we were all quite ready to be a part of an event that had been promoted better than some political campaigns. It didn’t hurt that between Jeremy and Ari they knew at least half the audience, or that a fair number of the crowd were students who could cheer at anything. But all that notwithstanding, the program was well planned and well executed, and deserved all the applause that it got.

The show uses the tag line, “Inspire the World, Ingather the exiles, Empower the Jewish People.” Well, there were certainly Jewish people from all over gathered in that one room. I don’t know about everyone else there, but after that whole experience, I sure was inspired. And if doing all this on a global scale isn’t empowering, then I don’t know what is.

Article courtesy Laura Ben-David

Photo Feature: ‘Tuesday Night Live’ Debuts in Jerusalem

by Ezra HaLevi

JPost.com Article- Dec 31, 2007

Live from Jerusalem… it’s Tuesday night

ITAMAR GUR , THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 31, 2007

To know the true voice of Israel, one must listen to the people of Israel,” says Jeremy Gimpel, co-creator and co-host of Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem (TNL), a new Israel-based Jewish television show, scheduled to air tomorrow night at 8 p.m.

Though currently the show will only be available to viewers on IsraelNationalTV.com and TheLandofIsrael.com, negotiations are under way with major satellite and cable companies in the US with the goal of international syndication. “It’s time to set the record straight,” says Ari Abramowitz, Gimpel’s co-host. “Life in Israel isn’t defined by terror and corruption. We want the world to hear the positive voice of a country that has triumphed against all odds.”

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, is scheduled to be TNL’s first guest on January 1. “A leader who can transplant his congregation from comforts of Manhattan to the barren hills of Judea exemplifies the Jewish spirit that we want to convey,” explains Gimpel. Other featured speakers and musical guests are already lined up for future shows every other Tuesday night.

The live broadcast, which encourages audience interaction, is part of Gimpel and Abramowitz’s unique approach to Israel advocacy. By lining up live music, dynamic Jewish leaders, and an audience of hundreds, they are attempting to create a new genre of entertainment in Israel. “Some people go to formal Torah classes in synagogue, some attend rock concerts in smoky bars or sing at karaoke parties, but for many, those options are just not that appealing,” says Abramowitz. “We want to provide a new alternative for the Jewish community in Israel that will be inspiring and fun… We have people coming with long beards, long hair, earlocks, and eyebrow rings. In a society so fractured by politics, religion, and culture - we hope this show will bring some much needed Jewish unity.”

When asked about the show’s ultimate purpose, Abramowitz says simply, “Inspire the world, ingather the exiles, and empower the nation. Isn’t that what the Jewish people are supposed to be doing?”

Israel National News Dec 29. 2007:

Arutz Sheva and Ohr Olam Launch New TV Show 22 Tevet 5768, December 31, 2007

by Baruch Gordon

(IsraelNN.com) Arutz Sheva Israel National TV and The Ohr Olam Center for Biblical Zionism are jointly launching a Jerusalem-based Jewish TV show celebrating the wonders of Israel, the beauty of Judaism, and the experience of life in Jerusalem. “Tuesday Night Live” will premier on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, with a live studio audience and be available for internet viewing by Thursday evening.

Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel, an IDF soldier and commander, respectively, in the reserves, are co-hosting the show, which will take place live every other Tuesday at a large downtown Jerusalem auditorium in the Heichal Shlomo building. The show will feature guests, live Jewish music, and talk.

The two young dynamic Jewish leaders currently host a radio show on IsraelNationalRadio.com, and frequently visit the US on speaking tours. Gimpel explained the initiative: “With the world focused on Middle East violence, Israel is often defined by the terror, corruption, and despair portrayed by international media. Tuesday Night Live will create a new perception of Israel in the eyes of the world and reveal the joyful heart of a nation who has triumphed against all odds.”

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. on January 1, and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. The Heichal Shlomo auditorium is located on 58 King George St. in Jerusalem, across from the Plaza Hotel. Entrance is free.

Seats may be reserved by email at Rachel@thelandofisrael.com, and the remainder will be distributed Tuesday night on a first-come, first-served basis.