Penn groups rock with Israeli pop star

Dischord and Quaker Notes learned Hebrew songs for the concert. The Israeli flag flew proudly last night as a crowd of all ages -- students and non-students, Americans and Israelis alike -- gathered to watch Israeli pop star David Broza perform at the Harrison Auditorium in the University Museum. The show -- which was sponsored by Hillel, the Undergraduate Assembly and the Consulate General of Israel in Philadelphia -- marked the culmination of the campus-wide Israel Day, an annual celebration of Israeli society and culture. The Israeli Music Festival packed in several hundred fans of Broza from all over the city. But before he took the stage, Penn Israeli dance troupe Yofi!, and two a cappella groups each performed. With an electric guitar wailing in the background, Yofi! danced to one of its standard songs, "Pitom Kam Adam." Yofi! member and College freshman Micah Liben described opening for David Broza as "a huge honor." Dischord took the stage next, followed by the all-female Quaker Notes. Both a cappella groups worked hard to learn the necessary Hebrew to be able to sing their numbers in the language for the show. Organizer Jesse Rubenfeld, a College and Wharton sophomore, arranged their songs and backup music. "We worked pretty hard," Rubenfeld said. "They put in a lot of time." Rubenfeld, who originally intended the festival to be composed entirely of student performances said he'd like to have more a cappella groups perform at next year's event. After the stage was reset, Broza, garbed entirely in black, made his entrance -- and the audience made it clear through their rousing applause that he was who they had come out to see. Despite feedback problems with the sound system, Broza did not hesitate to start his set, stopping only to tell the audience, "It's good to be back here." His last performance at Penn was in 1997 at Irvine Auditorium, and he also played in Harrison Auditorium about 15 years ago. Broza, 43, has been compared to American musicians like Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. He has gained international renown during his 20 years as a performer and sings in several different languages. Broza opened himself up to requests and sang his repertoire of folk, blues and rock. The audience members, almost all of whom were familiar with his songs, responded by shouting out numerous suggestions and later proceeded to sing along. Breaking only occasionally to converse with the audience in English, Broza sang every song in Hebrew except one. Midway through his performance, he sang a Spanish song off of his first Spanish album, which will be released tomorrow when Broza performs in Madrid. Those who attended clapped and sang along to Broza's last song of the set, "M'tachat Hashamayim," or "Under the Sky." Applauding in response to Broza's "thank you," the audience members begged for an encore with a standing ovation. Broza then returned to the stage to sing "Yiyeh Tov," or "It Will be Alright," one of his most popular songs. At one point during the song, Broza even stopped singing and, in typical rock star fashion, allowed the crowd to finish off the line. College freshman and Yofi! member Marjie Rosenfelt said she was amazed by the performance. "I was so moved," she said. "He's among the greatest."