7/5/2010


“It is a gesture for this young man and his family... to tell the world that four years without a single visit is too long” - Zubin Mehta

On July 5th, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed a concert conducted by Zubin Mehta in support of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The humanitarian concert was attended by ten to fifteen thousand people, including Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and a number of Israeli politicians and foreign diplomats. Mehta said he had cleared his schedule to conduct Monday’s concert as "a gesture for the young man and his family to tell the world that four years without a single visit is too long." Sergeant Shalit has been held in Sderot by Hamas, on the Gaza border, since he was captured by Palestinian militants in a raid on June 25, 2006. He has received no visits from the Red Cross or any other organization.

Before the performance, Sgt. Shalit's family and supporters visited the site of his capture along the border. Shalit’s father, speaking at the site, said: "Gilad is physically close to us but at the same time very far from us…If people had done the right thing back then, Gilad would be with us now."

Maestro Mehta and the Orchestra believe that music has more power than we can possibly imagine. The musical program included classical works by Verdi, Mozart, Beethoven and singer Shlomo Artzi, who joined the IPO to perform two of his popular songs and a premiere of a work by Tomer Hesseg, A Mother’s Cry.

This was not a political concert and was completely inspired and motivated by IPO musicians. The goal of the musicians was to appeal to the people holding Sgt. Shalit to let the Red Cross in to see him. The Israeli government was not involved in this concert and was paid for by private sponsors.

Click here to view photos from this concert.